Quote 1
"A tornado must be a woman," Abby decided.
The women on the porch clicked their agreement with their sewing needles. (19.22-23)
Abby comes to this conclusion during a conversation about Trembling Sally, shortly after a discussion about how Sally blames Abby for the tornado that destroyed her. Interestingly, Mother Barker assures Abby that they all know she didn't cause the tornado—and yet just a few moments later, Abby decides that "a tornado must be a woman," and all the other women agree. What do you think they're all identifying in this moment?
Quote 2
"But Mother Barker, you're so good. Can't some of those practices cause other folks harm?"
"Well, fact is, I haven't always been good. Old age has a way of mellowing the outrages of youth. When I was young, I used to do all kind of stuff to folks out to do me wrong."
"Mother Barker, I can't imagine…"
"I threw salt after one woman who was after my husband. Woman moved so many times from hours to house 'til she broke down the moving wagon. Salted her good. One ornery man made me so mad I rotted the teeth out of his head." (23.61-64)
Mother Barker knows how to use her folk remedies for good—and for evil. Mwah ha ha ha… Implied in this passage is the fact that while Mother Barker was responding to mean treatment, two wrongs don't make a right, no matter how much Mother Barker chuckles while recounting these incidences to Abby.
Quote 3
"You know," Abby was saying as she served warm pomegranate wine to the women, "when we got here, I scrubbed us all raw. I washed the ashes and smut from our hair and bodies. I rinsed the smoke from the burning eyes of the children. But I could not wash the wailing of that woman from my mind." (30.7)
To be fair, Trembling Sally tried to murder Abby and Lily's kids while they slept, so it makes sense that Abby is a bit haunted by the woman. Still, though, we see again how Trembling Sally isn't just mad herself, but unsettles Abby mentally, too.