How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
If Juliana were here, he thought, she could stroll in there and do it without batting an eye; she's pretty, she can talk to anybody on earth, and she's a woman. After all, this is women's jewelry. She could wear it into the store. Shutting his eyes, he tried to imagine how she would look with one of their bracelets on. Or one of their large silver necklaces. With her black hair and her pale skin, doleful, probing eyes… wearing a gray jersey sweater, a little bit too tight, the silver resting against her bare flesh, metal rising and falling as she breathed…
God, she was vivid in his mind, right now. Every piece they made, the strong, thin fingers picked up, examined; tossing her head back, holding the piece high. Juliana sorting, always a witness to what he had done. (9.16-7)
Yeah, this is a long quote, but we just wanted to make the point that Frank spends a lot of time thinking about and imagining Juliana. If she never showed up in this book, we'd still want to call her a major character. Frank may think that Juliana isn't so smart (1.76), but she's still the ultimate judge in his mind, the "witness" to what he's accomplished.
Quote #5
Hell, I wouldn't even take the pictures. We'd get a professional photographer to do it. That would please her. Her vanity probably as great as always. She always liked people to look at her, admire her; anybody. I guess most women are like that. They crave attention all the time. They're very babyish that way. (9.19)
We take a lot of shots at Childan for his racism, so maybe it's time to tear up Frank Frink for his sexism. How often does he start out saying "Juliana is…" and end up saying "All women are…"? Maybe this is a good time to point out that Frank has no interactions with any women in this book. It's usually easier to generalize if you don't actually have to deal with the people you're stereotyping.
Quote #6
"Only a woman knows the social conventions," Joe said, carrying her back and dropping her to bounce frighteningly on the bed. "Without a woman we'd discuss racing cars and horses and tell dirty jokes; no civilization." (9.88)
And then again, maybe it's pretty easy to stereotype people even if you are interacting with them. Here's Joe explaining to Juliana that women have a civilizing effect on men. Women are the keepers of social conventions, like manners or not dropping people. Now think about whom he's telling this to: a judo instructor who wanders around America and considers suicide. Is this the most socially conventional woman he could find?