Dawsey Adams Character Analysis in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Dawsey is a jack-of-all-trades on Guernsey and a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Prior to his membership in the Society, however, Dawsey was extremely shy, quiet, and had a stutter. After his parents' early deaths, he was alone and mostly friendless. After the Society began and he started reading, Dawsey's stutter disappeared and he became more confident. He writes to Juliet after obtaining a used copy of a Charles Lamb book that Juliet used to own. The two begin a correspondence about the Society, the German occupation, and about their shared love of books and of Charles Lamb in particular. He's instrumental in asking others, specifically Amelia Maugery, to write to Juliet about their experiences of the occupation. Through their letters, Juliet learns that Dawsey was good friends with Elizabeth and eventually, Elizabeth's lover, the German Christian Hellman. In the present, with Elizabeth missing on the continent and Christian dead, Dawsey helps the other Society members care for their four-year-old daughter, Kit. He adores Kit and loves caring for her. When Juliet arrives on Guernsey, Dawsey shows her a number of beautiful places and generally acts as her tour guide. Others observe that Dawsey is in love with Juliet, but neither Dawsey nor Juliet accept this until much later. Things become more complicated after the Society receives news of Elizabeth's death from Remy, a Frenchwoman who met Elizabeth in the concentration camp. Dawsey believes that it's the Society's moral obligation to Elizabeth to house and care for Remy, which Juliet takes to mean that Dawsey loves Remy, not her. Isola notices that, after Remy announces her return to France, Dawsey—who has always been lonely—seems to mind being lonely for the first time. Isola also takes this to mean that Dawsey is in love with Remy, but rather than discover clues that support that hypothesis, she finds a number of clues that Dawsey actually loves Juliet. When Juliet proposes to Dawsey, he accepts immediately. Juliet writes to Sidney afterwards that becoming engaged seems to have done away with all of Dawsey's shyness.

Dawsey Adams Quotes in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society quotes below are all either spoken by Dawsey Adams or refer to Dawsey Adams. 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:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Dial edition of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society published in 2008.

Charles Lamb made me laugh during the German Occupation, especially when he wrote about the roast pig. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie society came into being because of a roast pig we had to keep secret from the German soldiers, so I feel a kinship to Mr. Lamb.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 9

Explanation and Analysis:

The way that Christian and I met may have been unusual, but our friendship was not. I'm sure many Islanders grew to be friends with some of the soldiers. But sometimes I think of Charles Lamb and marvel that a man born in 1775 enabled me to make two such friends as you and Christian.

Related Characters: (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 97

Explanation and Analysis:

She told me once that those guards used big dogs. Riled them up and loosed them deliberately on the lines of women standing for roll call—just to watch the fun. Christ! I've been ignorant, Juliet. I thought being here with us could help her forget.

Related Characters: (speaker), , ,

Page Number and Citation: 255

Explanation and Analysis:

Dawsey Adams Character Timeline in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The timeline below shows where the character Dawsey Adams appears in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

From the island of Guernsey, Dawsey Adams writes to Juliet. He explains that he knows of Juliet because he owns The... (full context)

Juliet replies to Dawsey and explains that she's thrilled his letter reached her, as she no longer lives at... (full context)

Family, Parenting, and Legitimacy Theme Icon

In closing, Juliet asks Dawsey if he'd answer three questions for her about the secret pig roast, how the Society... (full context)

Dawsey returns Juliet's letter, thanking her for the book. He says he has a job at... (full context)

The dinner party was the first that Dawsey had ever been to. He didn't know it, but it was also the first meeting... (full context)

Dawsey says he has a question. He explains that ships are coming to Guernsey now, bearing... (full context)

Juliet replies to Dawsey, thanking him for his story about the pig roast, and asks him if he'd tell... (full context)

Juliet tells Dawsey about the "Doodlebugs:" they were bombs. They came during the day and were so fast,... (full context)

Dawsey writes to Juliet and says that the Society would like to be included in her... (full context)

Amelia Maugery writes to Juliet and says that when Dawsey came to ask her to write to Juliet, Dawsey forgot to be shy. Amelia says... (full context)

...tales of the Society and then picks up the story of the Society's inception where Dawsey left off. Amelia had no idea what transpired after the roast pig feast until Elizabeth... (full context)

Elizabeth, Dawsey, and the other dinner guests were forced to pay fines and submit a membership roster... (full context)

Juliet thanks Dawsey for sending white lilacs, her favorite flower, via Mr. Dilwyn—who explained that he'd do anything... (full context)

..."her" dead pig. They passed the carcass around until it began to stink. Amelia called Dawsey to kill the pig because he has a way with the creatures and can kill... (full context)

Dawsey tells Juliet about the soap he gave Mr. Dilwyn for Mrs. Dilwyn. Near the midway... (full context)

Dawsey mentions that he's working at the port and the quarry. Amelia and Kit came for... (full context)

...truth is bad enough. In April of 1942, Elizabeth gave birth. Eben, Isola, Amelia, and Dawsey attended the birth. Christian wasn't there; he'd been sent to the continent not long before.... (full context)

Juliet writes to Dawsey and mentions that she's received two letters from Miss Adelaide Addison and others from Isola... (full context)

...Guernsey when the Germans bombed it. He doesn't remember much of the night that he, Dawsey, and Elizabeth were stopped after the pig roast, as he was drunk. Booker says that... (full context)

...copies of all the letters she's received from Guernsey. She says she's in love with Dawsey and Eben, wants Amelia to adopt her, and would like to adopt Isola. She writes... (full context)

Dawsey writes to Juliet that according to Adelaide Addison, having fun is the worst sin. He... (full context)

...wasn't enough wood to boil the water away, so people started cooking soups in seawater. Dawsey noticed that there were people who couldn't haul buckets home, so he acquired a pram... (full context)

Christian noticed that Dawsey dropped his Charles Lamb book and mentioned that he loved the author. As they parted,... (full context)

...to avoid looking at the rubble so she can pretend London is beautiful. She mentions Dawsey's letter telling her about Christian and laments that the war goes on and on. In... (full context)

Juliet writes Dawsey about her most recent letter from Adelaide, in which Adelaide incredulously recounted going to find... (full context)

Dawsey returns Juliet's letter and says he doesn't know why Adelaide is so horrible. He says... (full context)

Juliet responds to Dawsey; she's thrilled to be able to talk about Charles Lamb with him. She writes that... (full context)

Isola writes to Juliet with some "highly personal" questions. She says that Dawsey told her not to ask them, but she believes that being a man, Dawsey has... (full context)

Dawsey writes to Juliet that his job at the quarry is over and he's taking care... (full context)

Dawsey writes Juliet and lists how everyone on Guernsey is preparing for her arrival. He's been... (full context)

Juliet responds to Dawsey and says that she'll be there in two days. She'll arrive on the evening mail... (full context)

...excited to see all her friends. Juliet could recognize all of them: Isola, Eben, Eli, Dawsey, and Kit. When she finally stepped onto land, Isola immediately hugged her. Kit sat on... (full context)

Dawsey managed Juliet's bags and kept Kit safe, and Juliet realized that everyone depends on Dawsey... (full context)

Eben, Eli, Dawsey, and Isola have taken Juliet all around the island. The architecture is impressive and varied.... (full context)

...doing anything. Eventually, Skeeter and his friend left for the local pub. Juliet says that Dawsey laughed, but everyone else said that it was a pretty normal meeting. (full context)

...she seems very kind. In a postscript, Juliet points out that she hasn't written about Dawsey in this letter. (full context)

...thanks her for her letter and the news of Elizabeth. She asks if she and Dawsey might come to visit. Juliet also writes to Sidney and calls Elizabeth's death an abomination.... (full context)

Dawsey writes to Juliet from Louviers, France. He says that the trip across France was awful;... (full context)

...are haunted. She wanted to know about Kit and Sir Ambrose. Amelia could barely speak; Dawsey answered most of Remy's questions. Remy is alone now. Her parents are both dead and... (full context)

...him. Sidney wants to have a supper party too so he can meet Eben, Isola, Dawsey, and Amelia. Juliet is thrilled and explains that Isola will host Sidney. On Friday, Isola... (full context)

Sidney writes Sophie from Guernsey with information about Juliet, Kit, and Dawsey. Kit appears to love Juliet and is adorable, though her glare is withering. Juliet seems... (full context)

Then, Sidney tells Sophie about Dawsey. He's quiet and has a calming presence. Juliet seems nervous around him and he watches... (full context)

...her. She invites him back whenever he'd like. Isola also says that when she had Dawsey and Amelia over for tea yesterday, Amelia mentioned that she was sure he and Juliet... (full context)

...to lisping all the time. Juliet assures Sidney that he didn't see the best of Dawsey, as Dawsey is preoccupied with Remy at the moment. She also asks what Sidney said... (full context)

...tells Sophie to burn this letter after reading it. She admits that she has loved Dawsey from the moment she arrived, but has been trying to be calm about it. However,... (full context)

Juliet wanted to kill Mark but greeted him anyway. She felt queasy as she introduced Dawsey and Mark. Dawsey left and Juliet tried to seem happy to see Mark. She convinced... (full context)

...pie with Amelia. In a postscript, Juliet assures Sophie that this doesn't mean anything about Dawsey. (full context)

Dawsey writes Juliet from Louviers. He says that Remy is doing better, though she's still frail.... (full context)

Juliet tells Sophie to ignore everything she's written about Dawsey: Dawsey has just written about how sunny and cheerful Juliet is, which she sees as... (full context)

...and Remy was unable to contain herself—she burst out laughing. Juliet mentions that she and Dawsey are awkward around each other now. (full context)

...joke about Sidney when Isola shared that with the group, but Isola kept Sidney's secret. Dawsey escaped before Isola could read his head. She finds him perplexing. He was chatty for... (full context)

...Tonic," and Sophie shouldn't drink it. Juliet says that she can't answer any questions about Dawsey, as she never sees him anymore. After Mark showed up, Juliet and Dawsey stopped talking... (full context)

Juliet says she asked Isola about Dawsey since he won't talk. Isola is becoming disillusioned with phrenology; she commented that Dawsey should... (full context)

...without steady income. Juliet hasn't told anyone yet; she's too afraid of what Amelia and Dawsey would think. She wonders if Kit would even agree to go to London. (full context)

...upstairs. Juliet checked Billee Bee's room, but she and the letters were gone. Juliet called Dawsey and he called Booker to warn him. Dawsey and Juliet started to run down the... (full context)

...in her hands—a quilted ferret—and Juliet was thrilled to see that the letters were safe. Dawsey opened the smokehouse door and found Billee Bee inside with Isola's angry parrot. Juliet accused... (full context)

...calm the day they discovered Billee Bee, but that evening, she began to get nervous. Dawsey and Remy stopped to check in on Juliet. Juliet didn't find it particularly comforting. She... (full context)

...that took place in the afternoon. She was walking along the cliffs with Remy and Dawsey when they saw a woman coming towards them. The woman had a German Shepherd with... (full context)

...wonders if she just wanted Remy to get over it. She confesses too that when Dawsey said that good will isn't enough, she wondered if good will is all Dawsey feels... (full context)

Sidney writes Juliet and says that she's clearly in love with Dawsey. He asks if he can visit on the 13th. Juliet sends Sidney a telegram in... (full context)

...to Sidney and says that earlier, she and Kit took a picnic to spy on Dawsey while he rebuilt a stone wall. Dawsey then invited Juliet for dinner. It was awkward... (full context)

Juliet sends a distraught telegram to Sidney. She saw Dawsey and Remy in St. Peter Port, buying a suitcase. They were smiling and happy. She... (full context)

On Friday, Isola tests her idea to look at things sideways. She accompanied Dawsey, Juliet, and Remy to fetch Sidney from the airfield. She observed that Dawsey shook Sidney's... (full context)

...picnic. As everyone was poking the fire, Eben made an announcement, flanked by Remy and Dawsey. Juliet went strangely rigid. Eben explained that this is to be a farewell party for... (full context)

...this, Isola decided to stop worrying about her. Isola decided to look for evidence of Dawsey's feelings to share with Remy and so offered to scrub Dawsey's floor on Monday. On... (full context)

...what took place on Monday. She checked trees for carved hearts on her way to Dawsey's house. After two hours of cleaning, she'd found no evidence. She began to dust the... (full context)

...in and asked her what was wrong. Isola began to bawl that she failed and Dawsey will be unhappy. After Isola calmed down, she told Juliet about Dawsey loving Remy but... (full context)

Isola followed slowly and then hid herself by the library. Juliet entered the library, where Dawsey and the workmen were, and asked for a private word with Dawsey. Isola was sure... (full context)

...come back to Guernsey to give her away at her wedding on Saturday; she's marrying Dawsey. Juliet says that her whole life has come into being in the last day, and... (full context)