Bette Character Analysis in Vertigo

Bette Watts is Alan's wife and the mother of Zack and Briony. She and her family live in Garra Nalla and become friends with Luke and Anna, welcoming them into the town's community. Bette is a nurse, and she shares in her husband's active lifestyle. While Bette is more reserved than Alan, her sudden question about starting a family makes Anna pause in thought. Anna's dismissive answer to Bette's question is an early clue that Anna's "boy" isn't what he seems.

Bette Quotes in Vertigo

The Vertigo quotes below are all either spoken by Bette or refer to Bette. 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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Delighted to find that Luke and Anna can both hit a ball he invites them to play doubles on the weekends, and sometimes of an evening after work. Like all social tennis, it is played with an underlying ferocity, the men volleying at the net as though their life depends on it and swearing under their breath. Nor is Anna immune to this manic athleticism, even if there is something comically grim in the way that Alan barks out the score after every point.

Related Characters: , , ,

Page Number and Citation: 50

Explanation and Analysis:

Bette is not a shy woman but she has a natural reserve so Anna is surprised when she says, ‘Do you think, Anna, that you’ll ever start a family?’
‘We’ve put that on hold,’ says Anna, firmly. ‘First we have to decide where home is.’ This isn’t the whole truth, far from it, and she hopes the boy isn’t listening.

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 53

Explanation and Analysis:

Bette Character Timeline in Vertigo

The timeline below shows where the character Bette appears in Vertigo. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Anna meet Alan Watts, another resident of Garra Nalla who lives nearby. Alan, his wife Bette, and their two children Zack and Briony live in a large but sparsely decorated house... (full context)

...with the drought. As the men examine brochures for a portable desalination plant, Anna and Bette stand by the window and watch a distant pod of dolphins. To Anna’s surprise, Bette... (full context)

...Luke visit a nearby tree nursery to buy she-oaks for the garden. Afterwards, Alan and Bette suggest that the four of them have lunch at the Wolga hotel. The weather is... (full context)

...days ago—has burned to the ground. Later that morning, Alan calls and tells them that Bette can’t decide whether or not to take the kids away from town until the fires... (full context)

...point out that they should nonetheless stay and keep watching, just in case. Just then, Bette points to the north and shouts for everyone to look in that direction. A massive... (full context)

Alan yells to Bette, telling her to take the kids down to the beach where they’ll be safer from... (full context)

As Luke takes his walk, Anna nervously wonders where he could be. Bette guesses that he might be shell-shocked like Alan, who still stares out to sea as... (full context)

...town. Many of the townsfolk are still in shock or traumatized by the crisis, but Bette insists on having a party so the children can see that the adults are fine.... (full context)

...goodbye and silently thanks him for staying with them for so long. At this moment, Bette happily points out that the black swans have returned to the lagoon. They haven’t been... (full context)

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Bette Character Analysis

Bette Quotes in Vertigo

Bette Character Timeline in Vertigo

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