How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Don’t be smart. Listen. Tonight you turned against me. I need to see you on your knees. I need you to" – he till can’t say it – "do it." (9.178)
Rabbit uses sex to punish Ruth, and also to gain mastery over her when he feels he might have lost her.
Quote #8
He [Rabbit] has come home from church carrying something precious for Janice and keeps being screened from giving it to her. (16.1)
We find this both touching and sad. Rabbit seems so sincere here. Janice was actually somewhat receptive to his advances (even though he was a royal pest one day) until she "felt" him thinking about what a great lover he was. Were they stopped from making a meaningful connection by both of them thinking, "It’s all about me," or is there something else going on here?
Quote #9
That was just why she had to have some because he didn’t think she dared have any after she let him run off that was the funny thing it was his bad deed yet she was supposed not to have any pride afterwards to be just a pot for his dirt. (17.5)
This is the only hint we get that Janice might have had an extramarital affair. This quote is also a good example of how the characters' sentences run on when they are upset. Janet refuses Rabbit because a) she’s in pain – she just had a baby, and b) out of personal pride. Even if she wanted to have sex, his lack of regard for her, now and in the recent past, makes her feel anything but sexy.