Shuggie Bain
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Chapter One: 1992, The South Side Chapter Two: 1981, Sighthill Chapter Three: 1982, Pithead Chapter Four: 1989, The East End Chapter Five: 1992, The South Side
Themes
All Themes Identity and Societal Expectations Coming of Age and Trauma Addiction and Abandonment Pride and Appearances Sectarianism
Quotes
Characters
All Characters Shuggie Bain Agnes Bain Shug Bain Leek Bain Lizzie Campbell Wullie Campbell Catherine Bain Eugene Colleen McAvennie Jamesy McAvennie Jinty McClinchy Joanie Micklewhite Leanne Kelly Annie Lamby
Symbols
All Symbols Dancing Agnes’s Phone House Exteriors Black Cabs
Upgrade to LitCharts A+
Instant downloads of all 1916 LitChart PDFs (including Shuggie Bain).
LitCharts Teacher Editions. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does.
Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts.
The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of every Shakespeare play.
Literature
Guides Poetry
Guides Literary
Terms Shakespeare
Translations
Ask
LitCharts AI
Ask
AI
Literature
Lit
Poetry
Lit Terms
Terms
Shakescleare Ask AI

Shuggie Bain

by

Douglas Stuart
Download this LitChart! (PDF)
Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Shuggie Bain makes teaching easy.

Catherine Bain Character Analysis

Catherine is Agnes’s eldest child from her first marriage to a Catholic man, whom Agnes left for Shug when the children were young. Catherine struggles to navigate her turbulent family life, but she begins working in the city in the hopes of making a better future for herself. She plans to marry Shug’s nephew, Donald Jnr, who has the same confidence and charisma as her stepfather. Being closest in age, Catherine and Leek have a particularly close bond, leaning on each other for support in order to deal with their mother’s alcoholism. Catherine also tries to her best to care for Shuggie, serving as a second mother at times and trying to mediate a relationship between her stepfather and Shuggie after Shug leaves Agnes. When Catherine marries Donald Jnr and moves to South Africa, both her brothers and Agnes are left feeling abandoned. She keeps in contact with Leek but refuses to speak to her mother. When Agnes dies, she does not come to the funeral.

Catherine Bain Quotes in Shuggie Bain

The Shuggie Bain quotes below are all either spoken by Catherine Bain or refer to Catherine Bain . 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:
Identity and Societal Expectations Theme Icon
).
Chapter Two: 1981, Sighthill Quotes

“You three keep your mouths shut,” she hissed. She lowered her head into the cavernous bag and tilted it slightly to her face. The children watched the muscles in her throat pulse as she took several long slugs from the can of warm lager she had hidden there. Agnes drew her head from the bag; the lager had washed the lipstick off her top lip, and she blinked once, very slowly, under the layers of wasted mascara.

“What a shithole,” she slurred. “And to think I dressed up nice for this?”

Related Characters: Agnes Bain (speaker), Shuggie Bain, Shug Bain, Leek Bain, Catherine Bain
Related Symbols: House Exteriors, Black Cabs
Page Number: 95
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Shuggie Bain LitChart as a printable PDF.
Download
Shuggie Bain PDF

Catherine Bain Quotes in Shuggie Bain

The Shuggie Bain quotes below are all either spoken by Catherine Bain or refer to Catherine Bain . 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:
Identity and Societal Expectations Theme Icon
).
Chapter Two: 1981, Sighthill Quotes

“You three keep your mouths shut,” she hissed. She lowered her head into the cavernous bag and tilted it slightly to her face. The children watched the muscles in her throat pulse as she took several long slugs from the can of warm lager she had hidden there. Agnes drew her head from the bag; the lager had washed the lipstick off her top lip, and she blinked once, very slowly, under the layers of wasted mascara.

“What a shithole,” she slurred. “And to think I dressed up nice for this?”

Related Characters: Agnes Bain (speaker), Shuggie Bain, Shug Bain, Leek Bain, Catherine Bain
Related Symbols: House Exteriors, Black Cabs
Page Number: 95
Explanation and Analysis:
Home About Contact Help
Copyright © 2024 All Rights Reserved
Terms Privacy Privacy Request
The LitCharts.com logo.
Requesting a new guide requires a free LitCharts account
You'll also get updates on new titles we publish and the ability to save highlights and notes.

or

Already have an account? Sign in
Complete your free account to request a guide
Already have an account? Sign in
The LitCharts.com logo.
Creating notes and highlights requires a free LitCharts account.
You'll be able to access your notes and highlights, make requests, and get updates on new titles.

or

Already have an account? Sign in
Complete your free account to access notes and highlights
Already have an account? Sign in
The LitCharts.com logo.
Saving guides requires a free LitCharts account
Easily access your saved guides anytime.

or

Already have an account? Sign in
Complete your free account to save guides
Already have an account? Sign in