How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I resolved more. I determined to keep to my quarters and then and there spent two hours composing an essay in my blank book on the subject of proper behavior for young women. (8.27)
Charlotte is so freaked out by trying on boys' clothes that she attempts to correct herself by writing a moral essay. What is the difference between writing a moral essay and recording her adventures?
Quote #5
While he labored I read to him from on of my favorite books, Blind Barbara Ann: A Tale of Loving Poverty. He was listening intently when his needle snapped in two. (9.5)
The book Charlotte mentions doesn't actually exist, though it's a clever reference to the didactic fiction (meaning, fiction that's written to teach something) that was given to women to read during the nineteenth century. From the title we can guess that Barbara Ann is blind, poor, and an object of both our pity and admiration. She is also presumably a paragon of female virtue. How does Charlotte's narrative (the story she is telling about herself) challenge Barbara's? Also, why does Ewing snap his needle in two?
Quote #6
Suddenly I sat up. But Zachariah had died! I had seen him beaten to death, committed to the sea. Was it his ghost then who had saved me? I remembered thinking of an angel. Had I hallucinated the moment? Made a story of it myself? It was like the kind of forecastle yarn I'd heard the sailor tell so often. I had not believed them. Not then. And yet – what was I to think other than that a miracle had transpired? (16.3)
The men's tales have stuck in Charlotte's mind and almost convince her that she has indeed seen a ghost. Oh, the power of a good story! Can we compare Charlotte's disbelief of the crew's stories to Mr. Doyle's reaction to his daughter's journal? Is a ghost appearing in the rigging as fantastic as a girl working as a member of the crew?