The Pearl

by

John Steinbeck

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Juana Character Analysis

Like her husband, Kino, Juana is hard-working, serious, and able to endure great physical and emotional strain. She nurses Coyotito, builds fires for corncakes, prays in times of distress, and attempts to heal her baby’s scorpion sting. Though she defers to her husband as a wife is expected, Juana is also strong-willed, and it is she who insists that Coyotito see the doctor. When she takes initiative and tries to get rid of the evil pearl, however, Kino beats her into submission. Yet even Kino’s violence Juana accepts rationally, reminding herself of the necessity of man for woman.

Juana Quotes in The Pearl

The The Pearl quotes below are all either spoken by Juana or refer to Juana. 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:
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).
Prologue Quotes

“In the town they tell the story of the great pearl—how it was found and how it was lost again. They tell of Kino, the fisherman, and of his wife, Juana, and of the baby, Coyotito. And because the story has been told so often, it has taken root in every man’s mind…If this story is a parable, perhaps everyone takes his own meaning from it and reads his own life into it. In any case, they say in the town that…”

Related Characters: Kino, Juana, Coyotito
Related Symbols: The Pearl
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 1 Quotes

Juana sang softly an ancient song that had only three notes and yet endless variety of interval. And this was part of the family song too. It was all part. Sometimes it rose to an aching chord that caught the throat, saying this is safety, this is warmth, this is the Whole.

Related Characters: Juana
Page Number: 5
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

She gathered some brown seaweed and made a flat damp poultice of it, and this she applied to the baby’s swollen shoulder, which was as good a remedy as any and probably better than the doctor could have done. But the remedy lacked his authority because it was simple and didn’t cost anything.

Related Characters: Juana, Coyotito, The doctor
Related Symbols: The Scorpion
Page Number: 16
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

“Who do you fear?” Kino searched for a true answer, and at last he said, “Everyone.” And he could feel a shell of hardness drawing over him.

Related Characters: Kino (speaker), Juana (speaker)
Page Number: 36
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

“I am afraid. A man can be killed. Let us throw the pearl back into the sea.” “Hush,” he said fiercely. “I am a man. Hush.”

Related Characters: Kino (speaker), Juana (speaker)
Page Number: 56
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes

A dead man in the path and Kino’s knife, dark bladed beside him, convinced her. All of the time Juana had been trying to rescue something of the old peace, of the time before the pearl. But now it was gone, and there was no retrieving it.

Related Characters: Kino, Juana
Related Symbols: The Pearl
Page Number: 59
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

“Juana,” he said, “I will go and you will hide…if I can escape them, I will come to you. It is the only safe way.” She looked full into his eyes for a moment. “No,” she said. “We go with you.”

Related Characters: Kino (speaker), Juana (speaker)
Page Number: 75
Explanation and Analysis:

Everyone in La Paz remembers the return of the family; there may be some old ones who saw it, but those whose fathers and whose grandfathers told it to them remember it nevertheless. It is an event that happened to everyone.

Related Characters: Kino, Juana, Coyotito
Page Number: 84
Explanation and Analysis:

The two came from the rutted country road into the city, and they were not walking in single file, Kino ahead and Juana behind, as usual, but side by side.

Related Characters: Kino, Juana
Page Number: 85
Explanation and Analysis:

The people say that the two seemed to be removed from human experience; that they had gone through pain and had come out on the other side; that there was almost a magical protection about them.

Related Characters: Kino, Juana
Page Number: 85
Explanation and Analysis:

And then Kino laid the rifle down, and he dug among his clothes, and then he held the great pearl in his hand. He looked into its surface and it was gray and ulcerous. Evil faces peered from it into his eyes, and he saw the light of burning.

Related Characters: Kino, Juana
Related Symbols: The Pearl
Page Number: 86
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Pearl LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Pearl PDF

Juana Character Timeline in The Pearl

The timeline below shows where the character Juana appears in The Pearl. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
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...before him, and then steps outside of his brush house to watch the sun rise. Juana, meanwhile, begins to make a fire in the pit and to grind corn for morning... (full context)
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...industrious ants and coaxes a shy dog that has wandered over to their hut, as Juana makes the cakes and sings to Coyotito. It is a morning like all others, safe... (full context)
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Kino goes back into the hut and eats his corncake with Juana, both of them silent because they need not speak, as sun streams in through the... (full context)
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Suddenly, Kino and Juana freeze as they see a movement from Coyotito’s hanging box and turn their heads to... (full context)
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As the scorpion moves further down the rope, Juana prays in a whisper, an ancient prayer as well as a Hail Mary. (full context)
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From Coyotito’s shoulder, Kino takes the scorpion and squashes it angrily. Juana, meanwhile, tries to suck the poison out of Coyotito’s shoulder. Kino stands by, feeling helpless. (full context)
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Just as Kino is admiring her fortitude, Juana demands that the doctor be gotten. (full context)
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...spreads quickly through the neighbors. When word gets back that the doctor will not come, Juana decides that the family will go to the doctor themselves. (full context)
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The neighbors follow at the heels of Kino and Juana as they walk to and arrive at the city, replete with plaster, stone, and fancy... (full context)
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...about the town—the sins of its inhabitants, the bad ways of the doctor—pin Kino and Juana down as “poverty people,” and look on to see what will come of their visit. (full context)
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When the servant tells the doctor about Kino and Juana, and Coyotito’s scorpion bite, the doctor becomes angry, insulted by the notion that he would... (full context)
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Shame settles over the group of neighbors and beggars that has followed Kino and Juana; they disperse to save Kino from the humiliation. (full context)
Chapter 2
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Kino and Juana walk to the beach, in the direction of their canoe. Kino had inherited the canoe... (full context)
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On Kino’s blanket, Juana sets down Coyotito, who’s calmed but still swollen. Juana treats his sting with seaweed, which... (full context)
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The narrator notes that Juana has directed her prayers not toward Coyotito’s survival, but toward Kino’s finding a pearl with... (full context)
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Kino and Juana take off in the canoe, and look down at the oyster bed, which, it’s suggested,... (full context)
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...surface and places that final oyster at the bottom of the canoe. Both Kino and Juana try not to get too attached or dwell on Kino’s apparent excitement. Kino opens all... (full context)
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...time to open the promising oyster, Kino hesitates, afraid its glint was an illusion, but Juana encourages him. (full context)
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...Pearl that Might Be resonant and warm and sees dream forms in his lucky find. Juana comes to look at the pearl, which Kino holds in the hand with which he... (full context)
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Juana goes over to check on Coyotito and finds that the swelling of his shoulder has... (full context)
Chapter 3
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Kino and Juana, unaware of the envy that surrounds them, assume that everyone feels the joy that they... (full context)
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When Juan Tomas asks Kino what he will do as a rich man, Juana covers her excitement with her shawl and Kino quietly states that he and Juana will... (full context)
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Juana looks admiringly at Kino while he sees in the pearl visions of ever-grander dreams. He... (full context)
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...declaring that his son will read and write and make numbers, and that he and Juana will know things through him. Never having spoken so much in his life, Kino stops,... (full context)
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Juana begins to make a fire and the neighbors remain. Word comes that the priest is... (full context)
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...will thank God for it and pray to Him for guidance. Kino nods obediently and Juana reports that they plan to be married. The priest blesses them approvingly and leaves. (full context)
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Juana calls to Kino to show him Coyotito’s stomach spasms and flushed face, which convince the... (full context)
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...doctor and his doctor’s bag carefully. The doctor claims that the baby will improve and Juana looks at him admiringly. (full context)
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...the night and then reburies the pearl in a hole under his sleeping mat. To Juana’s inquiry about who Kino fears, he responds, “everyone.” (full context)
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As Kino and Juana try to fall asleep, Kino’s mind continues to work, dreaming of a learned Coyotito and... (full context)
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Kino assures Juana that he is alright, and Juana begins to make a fire and clean Kino’s head... (full context)
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...Kino pulls out the pearl to admire it, full of promise and comfort. Kino and Juana smile together, as one, and greet the morning full of hope. (full context)
Chapter 4
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The importance of this day for Kino and Juana is felt very strongly. Juana dreams of a baptism for Coyotito. (full context)
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All the neighbors go, as expected, to follow Kino and Juana to the pearl dealers. (full context)
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Juana and Kino prepare to go with Coyotito, Kino tilting his hat forward to convey his... (full context)
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Kino feels evil swell about him, but gains strength when he looks at Juana. (full context)
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...possibility of going to the capital, at first wary of the idea and then determined. Juana watches him bury the pearl and feeds Coyotito. (full context)
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...that the capital may not be the best place to go because, there, Kino and Juana will have no one to rely on. (full context)
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...with God” and, when Juan leaves, Kino sits observing all the sounds that surround him. Juana sits with him for comfort and sings the song of the family. (full context)
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Kino senses something outside the house and clutches his knife as he walks outside. Juana hears a struggle and when she goes outside, Kino is on the ground with no... (full context)
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Juana brings Kino, half conscious, into the house and wipes off his blood. Kino reports that... (full context)
Chapter 5
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Kino awakes in the middle of the night to see Juana arise from the bed mat, go over to the fireplace, pause by Coyotito, and then... (full context)
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Kino hisses at his wife with bared teeth, while Juana looks back with brave eyes. She is familiar with and unafraid of Kino’s murderousness. Kino... (full context)
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Juana, meanwhile, lifts herself up and reassures herself that Kino is necessary for her survival. She... (full context)
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Following after Kino, Juana comes across the pearl. She is considering whether she ought to try disposing of it... (full context)
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Seeing that Kino has killed the other figure, Juana recognizes that she and Kino have left the life they’d led before, and that there’s... (full context)
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Kino begins to complain of having lost the pearl, but Juana silences him by presenting it. She tries to explain to Kino that they have to... (full context)
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Kino instructs Juana to get Coyotito from the house while he brings the corn and prepares the canoe.... (full context)
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...arrive and Kino, determined, runs towards the house, only to find it engulfed in flames. Juana comes towards Kino, carrying Coyotito, and says that the house had been torn up by... (full context)
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Kino and Juana sit in silence during the day and hear what the neighbors are saying about them... (full context)
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Kino and Juana leave the house before the moon has come out. Juan calls to his brother, “Go... (full context)
Chapter 6
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In strong wind and under a black sky, Kino and Juana begin to follow the sandy road that leads to Loreto, the home of a statue... (full context)
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Coyotes and owls make their night noises. Evil lurks about. Kino and Juana walk all night, and Kino hears the song of the pearl and the song of... (full context)
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...dawn, Kino finds a clearing by the road to sleep in for a bit. While Juana nurses Coyotito, Kino covers up the tracks they’ve made. A wagon passes by and hides... (full context)
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Kino watches ants at his feet as he eats a corncake Juana has offered him. The sun rises high and hot. Kino instructs Juana not to touch... (full context)
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Juana and Kino discuss the likelihood of whether they are being followed. Kino is certain that... (full context)
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...can see in the pearl only the man he’s killed. He declares that he and Juana will be married, but he sees in the pearl Juana’s beaten body. He declares that... (full context)
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Juana is playing with Coyotito and Kino is lightly asleep when Kino cries out in a... (full context)
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Kino backs up, considering it hopeless to cover his tracks, and suggests to Juana that maybe he should just surrender himself. Juana challenges him, doubting that the trackers would... (full context)
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Kino pictures the trackers coming up the mountain after them, once they find Kino and Juana’s previous resting ground, but he cannot see them from where they are. (full context)
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Kino tells Juana to go north to Loreto or Santa Rosia while he leads the trackers into the... (full context)
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Kino and Juana arrive at a little spring, with water bubbling out of the stone and falling into... (full context)
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...estimates that they’ll catch up by evening and suggests that they go west. He orders Juana to go hide in a cave up the hill, where she’ll be more hidden. Kino... (full context)
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Kino tells Juana the plan—when the trackers follow Kino’s path uphill, Kino and Juana will go back down... (full context)
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Kino pictures the position of the men, and then returns to Juana and informs her that he plans to attack the tracker with the rifle first. She... (full context)
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...narrator reports that all the people of La Paz remember the moment when Kino and Juana came back to the town as the sun was setting. They walked not in single... (full context)
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...canoe, and Kino lays down the rifle and takes out the pearl, offering it to Juana. She insists that he do the deed. He flings the pearl back into the ocean,... (full context)
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Kino and Juana stand next to one another and the music of the pearl fades away. (full context)