How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The child stared at [the young British officer visiting], but she stared most at her mother. She always did this when she had a chance to see her, because the Mem Sahib—Mary used to call her that oftener than anything else—was such a tall, slim, pretty person and wore such lovely clothes. Her hair was like curly silk and she had a delicate little nose which seemed to be disdaining things, and she had large laughing eyes. All her clothes were thin and floating, and Mary said they were "full of lace." They looked fuller of lace than ever this morning, but her eyes were not laughing at all. They were large and scared and lifted imploringly to the fair boy officer's face. (1.7)
Mary's mother Mrs. Lennox is a beautiful woman, but there's nothing going on underneath that nice-looking shell. She's so shallow that she decides to stay at her house to attend a dinner party even though there is a cholera epidemic going on. For the record, Mem Sahib was a title used often during Britain's occupation of India to address the wives of British officers and officials. It's like calling your own mom ma'am all the time: really formal and kind of weird.
Quote #2
But Mrs. Medlock was not in the least disturbed by her and her thoughts. She was the kind of woman who would "stand no nonsense from young ones." At least, that is what she would have said if she had been asked. She had not wanted to go to London just when her sister Maria's daughter was going to be married, but she had a comfortable, well paid place as housekeeper at Misselthwaite Manor and the only way in which she could keep it was to do at once what Mr. Archibald Craven told her to do. She never dared even to ask a question.
"Captain Lennox and his wife died of the cholera," Mr. Craven had said in his short, cold way. "Captain Lennox was my wife's brother and I am their daughter's guardian. The child is to be brought here. You must go to London and bring her yourself."
So she packed her small trunk and made the journey. (2.25-27)
Both Mrs. Medlock and Dr. Craven carry out Mr. Craven's orders to the letter. They are decent servants, and they do their jobs, but since neither of them really care about the kids they're taking care of, they don't do their jobs well or with much sympathy.
Sometimes, it seems like Frances Hodgson Burnett gets sentimental about poor-but-happy-peasant stereotypes, at least when it comes to Dickon and the Sowerby family as a whole. But Mrs. Medlock's character seems like a much more realistic view of the ways that working for a living can influence your relationships with your employers …
Quote #3
"Everyone is obliged to please me. I told you that," [Colin] said. "If I were to live, this place would sometime belong to me. They all know that. I would make them tell me."
Mary had not known that she herself had been spoiled, but she could see quite plainly that this mysterious boy had been. He thought that the whole world belonged to him. How peculiar he was and how coolly he spoke of not living. (13.80-82)
Colin knows way too much about the world, in an odd way. He's about as sheltered as a kid can be physically, but he knows that (1) everyone expects him to die before he grows up, and (2) everyone will do what he wants because he's the boss around here (or at least, the son of the boss). This makes Colin think he can treat people however the heck he wants to, so even though Colin is, in some ways, really vulnerable to the choices of the people around him (since he can't take care of himself at all), he's also in a position of weird strength.