How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Page)
Quote #7
"The Marassas were two inseparable lovers. They were the same person, duplicated in two. They looked the same, talked the same. When they laughed, they even laughed the same and when they cried, their tears were identical. When one went to the stream, the other rushed under the water to get a better look. When one looked in the mirror, the other walked behind the glass to mimic her. What vain lovers they were, those Marassas." (11.84-85)
Martine tells Sophie this story when she tests her virginity. She does this to distract both of them from the humiliation of the task, but also to introduce Sophie to the idea of the "soul mate." But in the end, Martine doesn't imagine that Sophie's soul mate will be her husband. She expects that it will be herself. Martine's love for Sophie has really become dependency, and the virginity test—which she believes is for Sophie's own good—becomes a way to control and contain her daughter.
Quote #8
"Because you don't marry someone to escape something that's inside your head. One night, I woke up and found myself choking Marc. This is before I knew I was pregnant. One day he'll get tired of it and leave me." (29.192)
Martine offers this bit of relationship wisdom to Sophie as they discuss what she (Martine) will do with her unwanted/unexpected pregnancy. Sophie believes that her mother should just marry Marc and everything will be okay, but Martine understands that she has big issues that cannot be resolved with wedding vows. However, Martine's comprehension of marital love is narrow. While it's true that most people won't endure being choked night after night, it's also true that Marc has not left her in all this time. She cannot conceive of a love that would be big enough to accept her with all her difficulties.
Quote #9
I was telling her that I would never let anyone put her away in a mental hospital, that I would take care of her. I would visit her every night in my doubling and, from my place as a shadow on the wall, I would look after her and wake her up as soon as the nightmares started, just like I did when I was home. (30.200)
Sophie knows that her mother is sinking deeper into mental illness and she wants desperately to be her lifeline. She also desperately wants to avoid an intimate relationship with her husband, since it is too physically and emotionally difficult for her. It is in an intimate moment with him that Sophie wanders away in her mind and makes these promises to care for her mother. The "doubling" she speaks of here refers to the twinning of the mythical Marassas, the soul mates who shadow each other and become one. The doubling is handy technique that allows Sophie to detach herself from her husband when things heat up.