Camille Character Analysis in On the Road

Dean’s second wife and the mother of two of his daughters. Like his other wives, Dean abandons Camille repeatedly in order to go on the road, but it is Camille who he appears to end up with at the end of the novel (ironically, just after divorcing her to marry Inez). At the end of Part Three, Camille gets fed up with Dean and throws him out of their house, but at the end of the novel she writes Dean to tell him that she and their daughters will wait for him in San Francisco. It is unclear whether Dean really does go back to Camille and settle down, or whether he keeps her waiting indefinitely.

Camille Quotes in On the Road

The On the Road quotes below are all either spoken by Camille or refer to Camille. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Freedom, Travel, and Wandering Theme Icon

“I want to know what all this sitting around the house all day is intended to mean. What all this talk is and what you propose to do. Dean, why did you leave Camille and pick up Marylou?” No answer—giggles. “Marylou, why are you traveling around the country like this and what are your womanly intentions concerning the shroud?” Same answer. “Ed Dunkel, why did you abandon your new wife in Tucson and what are you doing here sitting on your big fat ass? Where’s your home? What’s your job?”

Related Characters: Carlo Marx (speaker), Ed Dunkel, Dean Moriarty, Camille, Marylou

Page Number and Citation: 120-121

Explanation and Analysis:

Carlo is an important character, since he was first described as being just like Sal and Dean, but his friendship with them frays as his life goes in a different direction. In a sense, Dean represents the reckless and doomed extreme of the counterculture. He is accountable to nobody and has no ambition besides having fun new experiences. Carlo rejects the same kinds of authority and mainstream culture as Dean, but Carlo is shown to be devoted to his poetry. Of anyone in the book, Carlo is the one who seems most productive; he always has new and interesting poetry Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint a

Suddenly Dean was saying good-by. He was bursting to see Camille and find out what had happened. Marylou and I stood dumbly in the street and watched him drive away. “You see what a bastard he is?” said Marylou. “Dean will leave you out in the cold any time it’s in his interest.”

Related Characters: Sal Paradise (speaker), Marylou (speaker), Dean Moriarty, Camille

Page Number and Citation: 159

Explanation and Analysis:

While Dean and Sal often discredit Marylou's opinions and character, she is able to see something about Dean that Sal can't; he is fundamentally selfish, which is a threat to his and Sal's friendship. Prior to this passage, Sal and Dean and Marylou were all traveling together, but Dean left them on a whim in San Francisco in order to go visit another woman. Sal seems just as surprised by this as Marylou as they watch him drive away, but Marylou is the one who is able to show Sal that this is part of a pattern of behavior for Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Po

Camille Character Timeline in On the Road

The timeline below shows where the character Camille appears in On the Road. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...is with Marylou during the day while Carlo works, then goes to his other woman, Camille, at 1 AM. Then, he meets up with Carlo and they talk until six in... (full context)

Carlo and Sal went to the house where Dean and Camille were. Carlo knocked on the door, then hid, not wanting Camille to see him. Dean... (full context)

...Dean then arrived and announced that he was all set to divorce Marylou and marry Camille. (full context)

Sal learned that Dean had lived with Camille in San Francisco and had a daughter. He worked on the railroad and made decent... (full context)

Sal got another call from Camille, in San Francisco, looking for Dean. Dean called her back, while Sal called Carlo Marx... (full context)

...Marylou flirted with Sal and told him that Dean was going to go back to Camille, so he should come to San Francisco and live with her. (full context)

...“to have an affair with Marylou,” since he knew Dean would get back together with Camille. (full context)

...for twelve hours at a stretch,” while spending the rest of the time living with Camille. Sal had thought that Marylou was going to “switch” to him, and so began to... (full context)

...arrived in San Francisco, Dean left Sal and Marylou, without any money, to go find Camille. Marylou complained about “what a bastard,” Dean was. (full context)

Dean finally found Sal in this state and brought him to his house with Camille. Sal liked Camille better than Marylou, who he told Dean was a whore. Dean got... (full context)

Dean answered the front door completely naked and welcomed Sal inside, where they talked. Camille was upset, as she knew that the arrival of Sal meant Dean would likely go... (full context)

The next morning, Camille came into the house, saw Dean and Sal with another friend, and threw Dean out... (full context)

Galatea criticized Dean for leaving Camille, and Sal tried to defend him. Galatea scolded Dean for traveling east and leaving Camille... (full context)

...Dean met a woman named Inez at a party and fell for her. He called Camille to plan a divorce so he could marry Inez. A few months later, Camille gave... (full context)

...that he was doing with Inez exactly the same thing that he had done with Camille. Oddly, Inez and Camille talked on the phone often about “Dean’s eccentricities.” (full context)

...he was going to get a Mexican divorce (“cheaper and quicker than any kind”) with Camille. Dean and Sal “had a big night,” reuniting with old friends including Ed and Galatea.... (full context)

...Inez got married, but then he immediately went back west to San Francisco to see Camille and his two daughters. (full context)

Dean told Sal things were good between Camille and him, and that he wanted Inez to come to San Francisco as well and... (full context)

Camille Character Analysis

Camille Quotes in On the Road

Part 2, Chapter 5 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 9 Quotes

Camille Character Timeline in On the Road