How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
SAM. When did you last give her a hiding?
WILLIE. (Reluctantly) Sunday night.
[…] SAM. Hiding on a Sunday night, then Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday she doesn't come to practice…and you're asking me why? (125-131)
A "hiding," for those of you who are lucky enough not to know, is a beating. Willie takes it upon himself to punish his girlfriends when they make him mad and afterward they go into hiding so that he can't find them. The double meaning of beating and concealment make this a great word to use to describe such shameful violence.
Quote #2
SAM. You hit her too much. One day she's going to leave you for good.
WILLIE. So? She makes me the hell-in too much.
SAM. (Emphasizing his point) Too much and too hard. You had the same trouble with Eunice. (133-137)
When Willie says that Hilda makes him "the hell-in", he means that she makes him mad or frustrated. He's using that as an excuse for his violent behavior towards her, but Sam reminds him that the problem is his, not his girlfriend's. This violent attitude towards women isn't the main thrust of the play, but its presence is just another reflection of the violent society the characters live in. Willie's cluelessness about his violent behavior mirrors Hally's lack of awareness of how he demeans his friends.
Quote #3
SAM. Beating her up every time she makes a mistake in the waltz? (Shaking his head) No, Willie! That takes the pleasure out of ballroom dancing. (140-142)
You can say that again, Sam. Yeah, the prom wouldn't be as fun if every time you screwed up a move in the Macarena you got a whooping. But all jokes aside, the simple division between pleasure and violence that Sam points out is an important one; it shows how the violence the characters experience drains the joy out of their lives.