How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
A child's independence is too big a risk for the shaky balance of some parents. (5.1)
Dr. Fried muses that some parents want to help their kids but are nevertheless threatened by idea of these kids gaining independence. Well, that's a doozy. Why do you think parents don't want their kids to grow up and leave?
Quote #5
Esther's daughter was blonde! A singular, thrilling, impossible fair-skinned blonde [...] for Pop she was the final retort to a long-dead village nobleman and his fair-skinned daughters. This one would go in gold. (5.16)
Pop puts a lot of pressure on Deborah, the blonde golden child, to be the fulfillment of the family's dreams. Deborah doesn't have the more typical facial features of Pop's Latvian family or Jacob's Polish family, and an undercurrent of Jewish self-loathing might have something to do with the fact that Pop is so excited that Deborah is blonde. Like, she's Jewish, be she looks like she's not—which to him is a good thing. It's another sad example of people not accepting themselves and wishing they were something else.
Quote #6
Jacob was consort of the dynasty, but Deborah—golden, gift-showered Deborah—always smiling and contented, was a central pin on which the dream could turn. And then they found out that their golden toy was flawed. (5.18-19)
Once it's discovered that Deborah has a tumor, her family starts to realize that maybe she's not going to be perfect and save the family and be a representative for the fulfillment of all their dreams. In a way, they start to think of her as damaged—and she totally internalizes that.