How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
As she stroked on blusher and applied her lipstick, Marigold remembered how Dad had hated her wearing makeup when she was still in school so that, coming back from Saturday outing with her friends, she'd had to scrub her face in the ladies' room of the local railway station. How strange it was now that she was putting on makeup so that her daughter wouldn't grouse at her the minute she walking in through the door. (29.8)
There's an odd imbalance in Marigold and Lily's relationship that allows Lily to have control over some aspects of her mom's life, like looking professional and her best for work. It's strange that Marigold doesn't tell Lily what's what and reprimand her for bossing her around.
Quote #8
Marigold put her arms around her daughter. "Of course you don't look like Pop," she lied, smoothing the wild corkscrews of Lily's frizzy hair. "Not a bit." (29.41)
It's tough moral territory when moms lie to their daughters, but in this case, Marigold knows that telling the truth will not help the situation. It may be a lie, but the best she can do is encourage her daughter to move out of her depressed state of mind.
Quote #9
Lily tossed her head. What Daniel Steadman might think didn't matter now […] Daniel Steadman had been a mistake, and a humiliation. There were other things to do in life; […] She'd concentrate on her schoolwork then, she decided. She'd… she'd devote herself to science […] She'd be strong and stern and famous like… like Madame Curie! (35.56)
It's interesting how for Lily, there's no middle ground between having a boyfriend and basically being a nun. Like a lot of other things in her life, she jumps from having a crush on Daniel to deciding to never fall in love with anyone ever again. Fortunately, she figures out that it doesn't exactly work this way and abandons her plan of being the 21st-century edition of Madame Curie. Not being Curie isn't awesome, but just because Lily really needs to work on finding the middle ground.