How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #1
The man was about six inches in front of the woman, strolling carelessly, while she bore on with greater purpose, only turning her head now and then to see that the children were not too far behind. (2)
We are introduced to some very gendered representations here, right off the bat: the man strolls carelessly ahead, the woman more "purposefully." What do you think this distinction suggests? Why is she characterized as more purposeful? While the husband is lost in thought, she turns very maternally to check on the children. What do these details tell us about gender roles in Kew Gardens? We won't go so far as to call the man a deadbeat dad, but it sounds like he could stand to get his head in the game and share responsibilities with his wife, if you ask us.
Quote #2
"Fifteen years ago I came here with Lily," he thought. (3)
Come on man, fifteen years ago…Get over it! Is it significant that the man's memories focus on a woman—and not just any woman, but a woman who refused his proposal? How do the married man's contemplations about "the woman I might have married" affect the dynamic between him and his wife, Eleanor?
Quote #3
Imagine six little girls sitting before their easels twenty years ago…and suddenly a kiss, there on the back of my neck. And my hand shook all the afternoon so that I couldn't paint. I took out my watch and marked the hour when I would allow myself to think of the kiss for five minutes only—it was so precious—the kiss of an old grey-haired woman with a wart on her nose, the mother of all my kisses all my life. (8)
What do you make of the fact that Eleanor's most memorable kiss is not from her husband, or even from another man, but from an old woman? Since the kiss is from an old woman, it seems more maternal than romantic—at least, we would certainly hope so. What does this memory tell us, then, about Eleanor and her relationship to men and women?