How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Why do you always have to pretend to be different?"
"Because everyone has to do something."
"What d'you mean?"
"Every woman has to have something which singles her out, which catches the eye, which makes her the center of attention." (2.41-2.44)
This dialogue between Anne—the one who wants to be the center of attention—and Mary tells us a lot about how they view the roles of women in this day, and how each one wants to either conform to those standards or defy them. It also makes us wonder how much of Anne's personality is an act.
Quote #2
"A girl can't rule a country like this, the great lords'd eat her alive." (1.115)
Anne Boleyn on women, ladies and gentleman. Anne's like the type of woman who wouldn't vote for a woman president because she thinks women are hormonal. But Anne will later change her tune when she finds the country in her grasp.
Quote #3
"I am sorry," I said awkwardly. "You know that I have to do what my uncle and my father tell me." (2.218)
As a woman, Mary has no real agency or power: she must do what the men in her family tell her to do. To be fair (or unfair, in this case), George must do the family's bidding, too, but as a man, he has the advantageous position of also being able to tell Mary and Anne what to do if he feels like it.