Here We Are Family Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)

Quote #1

"I don't suppose I ought to say it about my own sister, but I never saw anybody look as beautiful as Ellie looked today. And always so sweet and unselfish, too. And you didn't even notice her. But you never pay attention to Ellie, anyway. Don't think I haven't noticed it. It makes me feel just terrible. It makes me feel just awful, that you don't like my own sister."

"I do so like her!" he said. "I'm crazy for Ellie. I think she's a great kid." (35-36)

Notice how quickly this snowballs: the husband said he didn't get a look at Ellie. His wife says that he didn't notice her because—in a quite possibly incorrect leap of inference—he doesn't like Ellie. In reality, she seems angry that he waxed poetic about how great Louise looked—and this accusation is really her reaction to that.

Quote #2

"I keep thinking, when we come back and get in the apartment and everything, it's going to be awfully hard for me that you won't want my own sister to come and see me. It's going to make it awfully hard for me that you won't ever want my family around. I know how you feel about my family. Don't think I haven't seen it. Only, if you don't ever want to see them, that's your loss. Not theirs. Don't flatter yourself!" (37)

The wife is probably anxious about other problems with the marriage—sexual problems, for one. She seems to be harping on whether or not her groom likes her fam instead of identifying the real problem.

Quote #3

"Oh, now, come on!" he said. "What's all this talk about not wanting your family around? Why you know how I feel about your family. I think your old lady—I think your mother's swell. And Ellie. And your father. What's all this talk?" (38)

This doesn't feel unconvincing (depending on your perspective). The husband almost calls the wife's mom her "old lady"—but that seems to be more of a colloquial slip than a sign of secret disrespect.