How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Not her father's little girl, not any longer. (12.62)
We see here that David feels that Lucy has slipped through his fingers. But don't we get the idea that that happened a long time ago? Is it just David who realizes it now?
Quote #8
"Lucy and I are not getting on," he says. "Nothing remarkable in that, I suppose. Parents and children aren't made to live together. Under normal circumstances I would have moved out by now, gone back to Cape Town. But I can't leave Lucy alone on the farm. She isn't safe. I am trying to persuade her to hand over the operation to Petrus and take a break. But she won't listen to me." (16.42)
David seems to be as frustrated with Lucy, who is in her mid-twenties, as many parents tend to be with their teenagers. Is he only worried about Lucy's safety, or is he also concerned that he's lost his sway over her actions?
Quote #9
You have to let go of your children. David. You can't watch over Lucy for ever. (16.43)
In many ways, Bev knows Lucy better than David does. More than that, in moments of advice-giving like this one, we get the impression that she plays both a surrogate mother to Lucy and a surrogate wife to David.