How we cite our quotes: ("Abbreviated chapter name," page)
Quote #7
"...Neighbors had kept their distance, believing she was destined for an early death and anyone she touched would be forced to accompany her. They were afraid of her disease as if it were fatal, like tuberculosis, but worse, much worse. What they feared even more...was that passion might spare them entirely, that they'd die conventionally, smug and purposeless, having never savored its blackness." ("Baskets," 157)
Celia herself is clearly horrified by living a life of numb affections, as reflected in her question for Pilar and I Ching ("Should I live for passion?"). It's not a surprise that she is able to see this same fear in the eyes of the women around her.
Quote #8
"That girl [Lourdes] is a stranger to me. When I approach her, she turns numb, as if she wanted to be dead in my presence. I see how different Lourdes is with her father, so alive and gay, and it hurts me, but I don't know what to do. She still punishes me for the early years." ("Letters: 1950-1955," 165)
Jorge wants to punish Celia for loving Gustavo, so he has her tortured in an asylum and separated from Lourdes. Lourdes detests her mother for not loving her, so she clings to her father. Jorge clings to Lourdes because affection is not forthcoming from his wife. It's a vicious, vicious cycle.
Quote #9
"'After we were married, I left her with my mother and my sister. I knew what it would do to her. A part of me wanted to punish her. For the Spaniard. I tried to kill her, Lourdes. I wanted to break her, may God forgive me. When I returned, it was done." ("Changó," 195)
To be fair, Jorge hangs around for a long time after his death just to make this confession to Lourdes and set the record straight. In doing this, Jorge proves his love for both Celia and Lourdes—but it's too little and too late. Lourdes can't reach out to Celia and never delivers his message of contrition to her.