How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
D the D would have liked to poison me slowly till I turned black and swelled up like a pig and died in agony but I guess that plan flopped when I refused to eat anything. (1.4.5)
Daisy and Leah's theory (of questionable validity) about her evil stepmother marks the moment she starts down the path of deliberate suffering. Starvation for Daisy is a form of suffering she can control, and thus head off other forms of suffering outside her immediate control.
Quote #2
It was the first time in as long as I could remember that hunger wasn't a punishment or a crime or a weapon or a mode of self-destruction. (1.11.12)
This line represents the only moment in the book where Daisy talks about all the purposes that hunger and starvation and suffering serve for her, in essence explaining why she has been doing what she has been doing. Bet her shrinks would have given a lot to have access to this level of honesty and self-awareness.
Quote #3
I tried eating more so Edmond would stop looking at me that way and after a week or so he even said I looked better by which I'm sure he meant fatter so I cut back some after that. (1.11.18)
Oh, Daisy. Just when she starts to take a healthy turn so her cousins stop exchanging worried glances over her wellness and appetite, she manages to completely misinterpret a compliment from Edmond (the unfortunate joys of disordered eating) and goes right back into destructo-mode.