Bastard Out of Carolina Love Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

When she spoke again her voice was fierce, desperate. "He loves her. He does. He loves us all. I don't know. I don't know. Oh God. Raylene, I love him. I know you'll hate me. Sometimes I hate myself, but I love him. I love him." (17.126)

Is Anney in denial here about Glen loving Bone? What do you think her perspective is on all of this? Do you think that Anney wants to love Glen? Does she love in him spite of herself? Does she truly understand what is happening?

Quote #8

"Girl, you are seriously confused about love. Seriously." (18.53)

We cheer pretty much every time Raylene says anything, and we're going to do it again. Raylene knows a thing or two about love and the trouble it causes. Bone certainly is confused about love. Then again, who in this novel isn't?

Quote #9

"You don't know how your mama loves you," she had said. "You can't even imagine." Like Alma loved Annie, maybe, like Ruth loved her sons D.W. and Dwight and Tommy Lee, so much that she made Travis swear not to bury her until they got home. I chewed on a fingernail and watched Mama walk away, wondering if she still loved me and what I would do when we went back to Daddy Glen. (18.74)

All right, so here we get to what has at this point become the central conflict of the novel: familial love versus romantic or sexual love. By familial love, we are specifically referring to the love between parent and child. It has kind of become a competition at this point, especially for Anney, who is already torn in two directions.