How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I would never have suspected it of myself, [Eleanor] thought, laughing still; everything is different, I am a new person, very far from home. "In delay there lies no plenty; … present mirth hath present laughter..." (1.95)
Both Eleanor and Theodora attempt to gain freedom by going to Hill House. It's telling that both of the female visitors need to escape the dissatisfaction they have in their home lives. Of course, it's also ironic that they're escaping to a house.
Quote #2
For a moment her face was thing with anger, and Eleanor thought, I hope she never looks at me like that, and was surprised, remembering that she was always shy with strangers, awkward and timid, and yet had come in no more than half an hour to think of Theodora as close and vital, someone whose anger would be frightening. (2.91)
Eleanor strikes us as the kind of person who'd never had a friend before now. When she meets Theodora, the two seem to form an instant bond of friendship. Guess she finally has someone to share that heart necklace with, right? (Yeah, think again.)
Quote #3
"Eleanor." Theodora put an arm across her shoulders. "Would you let them separate us now? Now that we've found out we're cousins?" (2.148)
The women's bond is given a name beyond friendship, connecting the themes of "Women and Femininity" and "Family." Do the men in the novel ever form these kinds of bonds?