How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I preferred the chores that took me out of the kitchen, for it was there the bees tricked me into seeing Ruth's ghost playing on the floor, churning butter, or counting out kernels of corn. When her voice whispered to me, I caught fire again, from my toes to my face, and I burned slow, like damp wood. (25.9)
Memory can help Isabel, but it can also hurt her. In the weeks after Ruth is sent away, she finds herself haunted by her sister, surrounded by reminders that she's gone. Not only that, but Ruth's absence reminds Isabel of the ordeal she went through with the trial and branding, and she can still feel the loss and the burning.
Quote #5
Christmas at home had meant eating Momma's bread pudding with maple syrup and nutmeg, and reading the Gospel of Matthew out loud whilst Ruth played in Momma's lap. I was miles away from celebrating like that. I tried to bury the remembery, but it kept floating to the top of my mind like a cork in a stormy sea, and foolish tears spilled over. (38.5)
Isabel's thoughts of Christmas with Momma and Ruth are another instance where her perfect memory inflicts pain. She's lost them both, and for the first time ever, she's spending this emotionally loaded holiday alone. It's also a cool example of Isabel's unique voice in the novel—there's something lyrical about "remembery" that fits her character more than the word memory would.
Quote #6
It took some convincing to explain my mission, but I spoke polite and firm and held out the bread pudding, and the children snuck out in their nightclothes and just about dove into the bowl. The mother took the basket and said, "Thank you," and then "Thank you again," and then "Thank you most, most kindly," and they went back inside.
I hummed a carol as I walked away, finally feeling at peace. (38.51-52)
Ultimately, memories of her past Christmases with family persuade Isabel to celebrate this year by doing an act of kindness for someone else. She bakes Momma's bread pudding, but rather than indulge herself by stuffing her face with it, she takes it to a Loyalist family in the district that suffered the worst damage from the fire. While she can't recreate her memories from the past, she can still give others the feeling of warmth and comfort she associates with them.