How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Don't do it, Eleanor told the little girl; insist on your cup of stars; once [your family has] trapped you into being like everyone else you will never see your cup of stars again; don't do it […]. (1.61)
Eleanor's issues with her family take the stage early in the novel. It seems like Eleanor is focused on this little girl and her cup of stars, but that's just the surface layer. This whole scene is really about Eleanor and her own family problems.
Quote #2
Why, [Eleanor] thought, there are other people coming; I am not going to be here all alone. Almost laughing, she ran across the room and into the hall, to look down the staircase into the hallway below. (2.30)
Ah, family. Eleanor can't live with them, but she finds the home a horribly lonesome place without them. Thankfully, people are coming to Hill House to act as Eleanor's surrogate family. Poor souls don't know what they're getting themselves into.
Quote #3
"I always had colds all winter long. My mother made me wear woolen stockings."
"My mother made my brother take me to dances, and I used to curtsy like mad. My brother still hates me." (2.133-134)
This quote connects the theme of "Family" to the theme of "Women and Femininity." Sure, Theodora and Eleanor are totally lying about the things their mothers made them do. More importantly, they're bonding over how awful their mothers were, which is either sweet or sad (your call). Why are mothers such a negative force in this novel?