How we cite our quotes: (Story.Section.Paragraph) or (Story.Paragraph)
Quote #4
[...] as she walked up the block, with its modern office buildings side by side with older, more elegant brownstones, she felt how close she was still to that earlier self. Still not in control of her sensuality, and only through violence and with money (for the flight, for the operation itself) in control of her body. (Abortion.31)
As Imani goes for her second abortion, she's disappointed in herself. She feels powerless because she's in this situation again, despite her experience and knowledge, just like a teenager who doesn't really know how babies are made. She sees abortion as hardcore violence—but something that can't be avoided in her situation. Her pregnancy threatens her stability in that moment—which makes her feel even more out of control.
Quote #5
Like many thoughtful women of the seventies, she had decided women were far more interesting than men. But, again like most thoughtful women, she rarely admitted this aloud. Besides, again like her contemporaries, she maintained a close connection with a man.
It was a sexual connection. (Porn.1-2)
The main character of this story starts off with a daring premise: men are in her life for sexual pleasure only. She's not looking for a soulmate or proper companionship—she has her girls for that. Because her relationship with her man is based on sexuality, she's got zero tolerance for bedroom shenanigans that interrupt her "flow." That includes the introduction of porn, which makes her feel unsafe and degraded. Once the sexual connection has been compromised, it doesn't take much imagination to guess what will happen to the man in her life.
Quote #6
The long-term accommodation that protects marriage and other such relationships is, she knows, forgetfulness. She will forget what turns him on. (Porn.29)
The wife in Walker's "fable" decides that she'll ignore her husband's porn-fuelled fantasies, no matter how uncomfortable and degraded they make her feel. But she can't let it go, not if she's going to live life on her own terms. It's not only about his sexuality, after all. Forgetting is not an option, but facing reality—for both of them—is equally difficult. The reward, however, is pretty great: freedom from harmful and unrealistic expectations of themselves and each other.