Cloud 9 Love Quotes

The first real declaration of love we hear in this play comes from a little boy named Edward who tells a grown man named Harry that he loves him. The strange part is that Edward does not mean love in the Platonic sense. He means full-blown romantic, sexual love. And even though Churchill slips this casually into the play, chances are there are more than a few critics out there who think Churchill got a little too broad with her definition of "love."

Betty admits to Ellen that she loves Harry Bagley and wants to go away with him. But her love is doomed in a couple of ways. First, there's no way she will ever bring herself to leave Clive. Second, Harry is actually having sex with her young son and planning to put the moves on her husband, too.

While Betty's talking about how much she loves Harry Bagley, Ellen takes her cue to tell Betty that she loves her. And again, not in the Platonic sense. Ellen is gay and she wants to be with Betty.

Edward really loves playing with his sister's doll. In fact, he loves it so much that he imagines that the doll loves him back. His parents, of course, think this is ridiculous and give him a smack upside the head. The irony is that Edward's sister Victoria is also played by a doll, and the parents are more than happy to project all sorts of bogus ideas onto her, like what she likes and how she wants to grow up to be a lady.

When Clive finds out about his wife's kiss with Harry Bagley, he totally plays the hypocrite card. Sure, he's had sex with Mrs. Saunders; but his wife has kissed another man, so now he's the one who's been wronged. He basically admits that he can't love Betty anymore like he once did, effectively putting Betty at a disadvantage for the rest of her life (as though Clive needed any more power over her).

On more than one occasion, Ellen professes her love to Betty. But Betty seems unable or unwilling to acknowledge that Ellen is talking to her as something more than a friend. It's only when Ellen makes her case as directly as possible that Betty acknowledges what's going on and advises Ellen to get married. After all, acting straight was a popular style in Victorian times.

Clive demands that his son Edward love and respect him, but not because he's a good father. It's only because he is the father that Clive thinks he's entitled to love and respect, because he loved his own father in the same way. For Clive, love is not something you feel for someone voluntarily. You force yourself to feel it out of duty.

As Lin gets more aggressive with her flirting, Victoria decides that she likes their little games and strokes her own ego by getting Lin to profess her love over and over. During this scene, Victoria keeps on thinking of various scenarios that are supposed to make her unlovable, like having her teeth fall out. But Lin is always ready to say she'd love her anyway. Victoria already knows this is the answer, but it makes her feel good to hear it.

Gerry treats Edward terribly, but Edward just keeps coming back like a loyal dog. He even tells Gerry that he loves him, and Gerry says the same thing back. But there is not a whole lot of evidence in this play to suggest that Gerry actually means what he's saying here.

At the end of the play, Betty from Act 2 hugs Betty from Act 1. The gesture shows us that after a lifetime of living to please other people, Betty has finally learned to love herself for who she is. It's a pretty big deal.