How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
While she made our lunch, she would also keep an eye on her washing. If it was Tuesday and the colored clothes had been starched, as she placed them on the line I would follow, carrying a basket of clothespins for her. (2.6)
Annie's mother works non-stop and it is this overburdened vision of womanhood and femininity that marks most of the book.
Quote #2
Once, when showing me a way to store linen, she patted the folded sheets in place and said, "Of course, in your own house you might choose another way." That the day might actually come when we would live apart I had never believed. My throat hurt from the tears I held bottled up tight inside. Sometimes we would both forget the new order of things and would slip into our old ways. But that didn't last very long. (2.16)
It goes without saying that Annie will be the woman in charge of her own household one day. But this idea freaks young Annie out.
Quote #3
I liked a girl named Albertine, and I liked a girl named Gweneth. At the end of the day, Gwen and I were in love, and so we walked home arm in arm together. (2.25)
Annie makes friendships quickly and loves her friends hard—her friendship with other girls is as intense as her relationship with her mother. And, just as Annie later becomes disgusted with her mother, Annie also becomes disgusted with Gwen.