How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
After talking with Cecilia, Dr. Hornicker made the diagnosis that her suicide was an act of aggression inspired by the repression of adolescent libidinal urges. To each of three wildly different inkblots, she had responded, "A banana." She also saw "prison bars," "a swamp," "an Afro," and "the earth after an atomic bomb." When asked why she had tried to kill herself, she said only, "It was a mistake," and clammed up when Dr. Hornicker persisted. (1.34)
Adolescent libidinal urges? What the heck? Let's get out our old Freudian handbook and unpack this. Dr. Hornicker believes that Cecilia's teenaged sexual (libidinal) urges are being repressed and have to come out somehow. Thus, seeing the bananas (phallic symbol alert!) on the Rorschach (ink blot) cards. Dr. Hornicker believes it's her anger about the repression that causes her suicide attempt.
Quote #2
Even up close, the girls didn't look depressed. They settled into the seats, not minding the tight fit. Mary half sat in Kevin Head's lap. They began chattering immediately. As houses passed, they had something to say about the families in each one, which meant that they had been looking out as intensely as we had been looking in. […] They were, after all, our neighbors. (3.142)
Who would've thought that, up close, the girls seemed like totally normal teens? This passage makes the reader happy for them, but sad at the same time because we know what happened to them—and what could have been different.
Quote #3
Dr. Hornicker happened to be on call that night and managed to see Lux for a few minutes without Mrs. Lisbon's knowledge. "The girl was still waiting for the test results, so she was understandably tense," he said. "Still though, there was something else about her, an additional unease." Lux had gotten dressed and was sitting on the edge of the emergency room cot. When Dr. Hornicker introduced himself, she said, "You're the doctor who talked to my sister." (4.35)
When Dr. Hornicker finds out that Cecilia's older sister is in the hospital, he runs to talk to her. He's probably worried that she's not doing well after her little sister's suicide and wants to check her out. Cecilia must have told her sisters that she'd seen Dr. Hornicker after the doctors stitched up her wrists. With Cecilia dead, you can imagine that Lux feels a little uneasy about this particular psychiatrist.