How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue.
Quote #7
(RUTH has her fists clenched on her thighs and is fighting hard to suppress a scream that seems to be rising in her) (1.2.66)
Ruth bottles up her anger instead of dealing with it. Her life of poverty and toil is really causing her to suffer. The prospect of a new child is pushing her to the edge of her endurance.
Quote #8
RUTH
I’m all right…
(The glassy-eyed look melts and then she collapses into a fit of heavy sobbing. The bell rings) (1.2.69)
Finally, Ruth explodes. She can only deny her grief for so long until she cannot take it anymore. The rage and sadness has just gotten to be too much to keep inside.
Quote #9
WALTER (Quietly)
Sometimes it’s like I can see the future stretched out in front of me – just plain as day. The future, Mama. Hanging over there at the edge of my days. Just waiting for me – a big, looming blank space – full of nothing. Just waiting for me. But it don’t have to be. (1.2.226)
Walter fears that his life will always be a life of nothing. He is overwhelmed by a sense of dread and fears that his suffering will continue on and on forever.