How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
She came back still wearing the wedding dress. Mrs. Patz, whose sister was a nurse at Bon Secours, said that Cecilia had refused to put on a hospital gown, demanding that her wedding dress be brought to her, and Dr. Hornicker, the staff psychiatrist, thought it best to humor her. (1.25)
While Mr. Baubee, the newspaper editor, can only think of women in terms of flowers and weddings, Cecilia turns the stereotype of the blushing bride on its head. She's suicidal, but also insists on a wedding dress as her costume. It's a traditional symbol of virginity and purity, but she turns it into a bizarre get-up whose meaning is unclear. It's cut short, tattered, and dirty from constant wearing and it gives Cecilia a strange vibe, like a defiled ghost. We're told that Cecilia gets her period right before her suicide attempt, so the wedding dress might have some sexual connotations. Some orders of nuns have wedding ceremonies, complete with white gowns, in which they are joined to God as "brides of Christ." Being raised in a strict Catholic home, Cecilia may have also been playing with or attacking this idea.
Quote #5
[A] creature with a hundred mouths started sucking the marrow from his bones. She said nothing as she came on like a starved animal [. . . ] with terror he put his finger in the ravenous mouth of the animal leashed below her waist. It was as though he had never touched a girl before; he felt fur and an oily substance like otter insulation. Two beasts lived in the car, one above, snuffling and biting him, and one below, struggling to get out of its damp cage. (3.57)
Once Trip shows some interest in her, Lux's sexual desire comes roaring out. When she pounces on Trip in his car she's compared to a wild animal, even a monster (a hundred mouths, what?) rather than a virginal young woman. Her vagina is referred to as a beast (two beasts, one above and one below), as though her sexuality were predatory. Trip is sexually experienced, so he can handle it, but imagine if it would have been one of the other neighborhood boys. They would've run for the hills.
Quote #6
Usually Mr. Lisbon did their raking alone, singing in his soprano's voice, but from fifteen Therese had begun to help, stooping and scratching in mannish clothes, knee-high rubber boots and a fishing cap. (3.67)
The division of labor between the genders is alive and well, especially when it comes to the home. Mr. Lisbon, as the only man in his family, takes on all of the yard work. When Therese helps him, we see her disguise herself as a man (not literally, of course). Therese is the least traditionally feminine of the sisters. She's not much interested in clothes, and she's a science nerd—typically a boy's thing in the 1970s.