How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"What news?" Madam demanded. Her red eyes perched above dark rings from a sleepless night. A livid purple welt had raised on the left side of her face where Lockton had struck her. Most of the bruises on her arms and shoulders were hid under her gown, but she walked stiff and sore as an old crone. (17.40)
Madam Lockton isn't exactly the most likeable character in this book, but you have to admit to feeling sorry for her—not just because she's prejudiced, hypocritical, and self-centered (read: terrible), but because she's trapped in an abusive relationship. Is it possible that she inflicts suffering on others as a way to regain the control she doesn't have in her marriage?
Quote #5
Becky watched me go to and fro. "The sweet milk Madam made up? I figure it contained a sleep potion, knocked you out cold so they could spirit her away. I am dreadful, powerful sorry, but they sold her away from you." (21.35)
It's bad enough that Madam Lockton decides to sell Ruth out from under Isabel, but it's even worse that she drugs Isabel in order to do it. Watching Isabel wake up to learn that her sister is gone and her subsequent grief is one of the story's most painful moments.
Quote #6
The man stepped back and pulled the iron away. The fire in my face burned on and on, deep through my flesh, scarring my soul. Stars exploded out the top of my head and all of my words and all of my rememberies followed them up to the sun, burning to ash that floated back and settled in the mud. (23.18)
Anderson's description of Isabel's branding is probably the most graphic moment in her story, and she expertly uses imagery to allow us to feel Isabel's pain along with her. Being deliberately burned in the face as a punishment is hard enough for us to imagine, but the details of what Isabel endures give us a clear idea of her suffering and shame.