Resentful of the past, fearful of the future
Where'd You Go Bernadette“Resentful of the past, fearful of the future” is a playful phrase Bee Branch remembers as part of a family joke about Ice Cream. Borrowed from a remark about Ringo Starr, it becomes a mock-pitiable description of the dog—and a small recollection of Bernadette Fox laughing with her family.
Origin and Family Joke
Bee tells Elgin Branch that the family was like the Beatles: Bernadette was John, Elgin was Paul, Bee was George, and Ice Cream was Ringo. The phrase came from something Bernadette had read in a book about Ringo Starr. Bee explains that people said the musician was “resentful of the past and fearful of the future,” and that Bernadette laughed especially hard when the family adapted the line for Ice Cream.
Repetition and Meaning
Whenever they saw Ice Cream sitting with her mouth open, the family repeated the mock-sympathetic refrain: “Poor Ice Cream, resentful of the past, fearful of the future.” The joke turns an observation about Ringo Starr into affectionate nonsense about their dog. In Bee’s recollection, its force lies less in the phrase’s literal meaning than in its repetition and in the memory of Bernadette laughing at it.
Place in Bee’s Recollection
Bee recounts the joke while speaking with Elgin, who smiles as she remembers it. The exchange briefly restores a shared family scene through its Beatles roles, Ice Cream’s open mouth, and a line they repeated together. Bee then struggles to speak about Soo-Lin, describing her as nice but like “poop in the stew”; the shift from playful reminiscence to difficult disclosure gives the remembered catchphrase a tender, fleeting quality.
