How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Paragraph)
Quote #1
[…] in no time at all everything I touched turned to solid loneliness. (2)
Moments like this contrast the jokes, puns, and general hilarity of this text. This emotional roller coaster mirrors the one in Jean's head after his mother dies, and is part of what makes the story interesting to read.
Quote #2
Following, I said, my wife's untimely and tragic death, of an ulceration cancereuse, I had earnestly thought I would never again set brush to canvas. (7)
This might be a clue that Jean's mother died of cancer, but definitely not proof. In the same breath that he turns his dead mother into his dead wife, he also claims he his grief has stopped him from painting. If we can believe him when he says he was productive during that period, we see this as an expression of his guilt over not being sad enough.
Quote #3
It was a high, thin, broken moan, and it seemed to come less from an adult than from either a tragic, subnormal infant or a small malformed animal. (24)
Jean hears this sound every night when he is at the Yoshotos', as if life is hammering it in to him that other people are sad too. It is also a representation of an audible representation of grief.
Quote #4
"My mother's dead, and I have to live with her charming husband, and nobody in New York speaks French, and there aren't any chairs in your son's room. How do you expect me to teach these two crazy people how to draw?" (3)
All of Jean's frustration and sadness are visible in this moment. His desire to teach is a desire to connect with others. Because he is teaching under false pretenses, he can't connect honestly with his students, or with M. Yoshoto, who would probably be the best person to confide in.
Quote #5
The worst that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly. (68)
Much of the story presents art as a way to deal with sadness, and sadness as an artist's muse. This comment suggests that art can also lead to a perpetual state of sadness. These different perspectives on art and grief exist simultaneously throughout the text, suggesting the paradox of an artist.
Quote #6
I would listen, listen, listen, with my head in my hands--till finally, unable to stand it any longer, I would reach down into Mme. Yoshoto's throat, take up her heart in my hand and warm it as I would a bird. (54)
By listening to the moaning from the Yoshotos' bedroom every night, Jean develops empathy for the grief of others. Of course, this is presented to us in comic hyperbole, so we can laugh and cry at the same time.