The Natural

by

Bernard Malamud

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Iris turns up in the stadium during one of Hobbs’ games, and her presence seems to inspire him to play better, as he hits an impressive home run right after seeing her. Hobbs later pursues Iris, leading to an erotic scene at a lake. Unlike Memo, Iris is kind and empathetic, and Hobbs confides in her about his desires and his past. Though Iris never encountered Hobbs before attending his game, she feels naturally protective of and maternal towards him. When she reveals that she is both a mother and a grandmother, though, Hobbs is repulsed, and he decides to pursue Memo again. Iris’s letters to Hobbs, which go unanswered, suggest that she became a mother by “mistake” (possibly as the result of a rape), yet Hobbs is hardly as forgiving and sympathetic to Iris as she is to him. Hobbs hits Iris with a foul ball during the last game of the Knights’ season, and though injured, she manages to tell him that she is pregnant with his child. Tragically, though, it is too late for Hobbs to redeem himself and become the upstanding, moral individual Iris would want as her child’s father, since he has already agreed to Judge Banner’s bribe. Iris is a figure who might save Hobbs from himself, but his poor decisions ensure his own failures, free of her positive influence.

Iris Lemon Quotes in The Natural

The The Natural quotes below are all either spoken by Iris Lemon or refer to Iris Lemon. 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:
Ambition, Failure, and the American Dream Theme Icon
).
Batter Up! Part 5 Quotes

[Hobbs] woke in the locker room, stretched out on a bench […] He sat there paralyzed though his innards were in flight […] He longed for a friend, a father, a home to return to—saw himself packing his duds in a suitcase, buying a ticket, and running for a train. Beyond the first station he’d fling Wonderboy out the window.

Related Characters: Roy Hobbs, Pop Fisher, Memo Paris, Iris Lemon
Related Symbols: The “Wonderboy” Bat
Page Number: 133
Explanation and Analysis:
Batter Up! Part 6 Quotes

Half [Iris’s] life ago, just out of childhood it seemed […] she had one night alone in the movies met a man twice her age, with whom she had gone walking in the park. Sensing at once what he so unyieldingly desired, she felt instead of fright, amazement at her willingness to respond […] She had all she could do to tear herself away from him, and rushed through the branches, scratching her face and arms in the bargain. But he would not let her go, leading her always into dark places.

Related Characters: Roy Hobbs, Iris Lemon
Page Number: 144
Explanation and Analysis:
Batter Up! Part 7 Quotes

It later struck him that the picture he had drawn of Memo sitting domestically home wasn’t exactly the girl she was. The kind he had in mind, though it bothered him to admit it, was more like Iris seemed to be, only she didn’t suit him. Yet he could not help but wonder what was in her letter.

Related Characters: Roy Hobbs, Memo Paris, Iris Lemon
Page Number: 174
Explanation and Analysis:
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Iris Lemon Quotes in The Natural

The The Natural quotes below are all either spoken by Iris Lemon or refer to Iris Lemon. 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:
Ambition, Failure, and the American Dream Theme Icon
).
Batter Up! Part 5 Quotes

[Hobbs] woke in the locker room, stretched out on a bench […] He sat there paralyzed though his innards were in flight […] He longed for a friend, a father, a home to return to—saw himself packing his duds in a suitcase, buying a ticket, and running for a train. Beyond the first station he’d fling Wonderboy out the window.

Related Characters: Roy Hobbs, Pop Fisher, Memo Paris, Iris Lemon
Related Symbols: The “Wonderboy” Bat
Page Number: 133
Explanation and Analysis:
Batter Up! Part 6 Quotes

Half [Iris’s] life ago, just out of childhood it seemed […] she had one night alone in the movies met a man twice her age, with whom she had gone walking in the park. Sensing at once what he so unyieldingly desired, she felt instead of fright, amazement at her willingness to respond […] She had all she could do to tear herself away from him, and rushed through the branches, scratching her face and arms in the bargain. But he would not let her go, leading her always into dark places.

Related Characters: Roy Hobbs, Iris Lemon
Page Number: 144
Explanation and Analysis:
Batter Up! Part 7 Quotes

It later struck him that the picture he had drawn of Memo sitting domestically home wasn’t exactly the girl she was. The kind he had in mind, though it bothered him to admit it, was more like Iris seemed to be, only she didn’t suit him. Yet he could not help but wonder what was in her letter.

Related Characters: Roy Hobbs, Memo Paris, Iris Lemon
Page Number: 174
Explanation and Analysis: