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Dr. Nelson
Patsy is Larry’s closest friend in the air corps during World War I, and Patsy dies while trying to save Larry’s life. In part due to witnessing Patsy’s death, Larry comes back from the war visibly changed, with Dr. Nelson speculating that Larry suffers from “delayed shock,” something we might now call PTSD. Those wartime experiences then lead Larry to forego a conventional life of marriage, career, and family. Instead, Larry feels compelled to find answers to the mysteries of the universe, including the question of why evil exists and why good people like Patsy are cruelly killed.
Patsy Quotes in The Razor’s Edge
The The Razor’s Edge quotes below are all either spoken by Patsy or refer to Patsy. 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:
).
Part 1, Chapter 10 Quotes
“You think of a fellow who an hour before was so full of life and fun, and he’s lying dead; it’s all so cruel and so meaningless. It’s hard not to ask yourself what life is all about and whether there’s any sense to it or whether it’s all a tragic blunder of blind fate.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Patsy Character Timeline in The Razor’s Edge
The timeline below shows where the character Patsy appears in The Razor’s Edge. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1, Chapter 10
...Somerset heard that story. The friend was an Irishman with red hair who they called Patsy. Patsy was a little older than Larry and took Larry under his wing during the...
(full context)
Part 4, Chapter 9
...her and Odette to the country with him. There, Larry told Suzanne about his friend, Patsy, who died while saving Larry’s life in the war. Suzanne and Larry stayed in the...
(full context)
