How we cite our quotes: (Phrase between semi-colons)
Quote #1
soak your little cloths right after you take them off (5)
"Little cloths," i.e., reusable menstrual pads that people in many areas used before Tampax came around. (And still use, in a lot of places.) The fact that Girl has her period, or will have it soon, makes her a sexual being in her mom's eyes.
Quote #2
on Sundays try to walk like a lady and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming (10)
This is the first of many times that Mom calls Girl a slut. Why do you think she keeps accusing her of this? And what does it mean to walk like a lady—and why do you only have to do it on Sunday? Is it okay to be a slut on, say, Tuesday?
Quote #3
but I don't sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school (14)
The fact that Girl defends herself by saying that she doesn't sing benna on Sundays at all lets us know that she knows how bad benna is. (And, since benna often has sexual content, we get the sense that Girl might know more about these things than her mom would like.)
Quote #4
this is how to hem a dress when you see the hem coming down and so to prevent yourself from looking like the slut I know you are so bent on becoming (17)
What is it about a fallen hem that signifies a woman is a "slut?" Does it have to do with sex—or is it just a sign that a girl isn't taking care of herself?
Quote #5
this is how to behave in the presence of men who don't know you very well, and this way they won't recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming (33)
Also, remember that men have super slut-detecting powers. And you were totally asking for it. Or not.
Quote #6
this is how to make a good medicine to throw away a child before it even becomes a child (42)
After reading Mom telling her daughter not to become a slut over and over, it's kind of shocking for her to teach Girl how to have an abortion. We’re pretty sure that the only reasons that Mom could know this are a) she has had an abortion, b) she wishes she wasn’t a mom, or c) all of the above. We know at least that Kincaid’s mom wasn’t the most excited to be a single mom. Either way, this is some heavy stuff.
Quote #7
this is how to bully a man (45)
Hm, you know what's missing from all this advice? Any sense that men and women can be in loving, fulfilled relationships with each other. Just bullying and sex. Awesome.
Quote #8
this is how a man bullies you (46)
Mom says this just like she's teaching Girl how to cook fish. It seems like domestic abuse is expected to be part of Girl's everyday life. Notice that Mom doesn’t give any advice on leaving a man who abuses you, or stopping him from bullying you. She just tells Girl as if to inform her. Like, by the way, you will be abused by men, just letting you know, one woman to another.
Quote #9
this is how to love a man; and if this doesn't work there are other ways, and if they don't work don't feel too bad about giving up (47-48)
This is the nicest we've ever seen Mom. What do you think has gotten into her? Maybe a little personal experience? We feel a little sad for her here because we guess that she has been in these shoes before. It’s maybe at this part more than any other part that she feels like a sympathetic mom.
Quote #10
you mean to say that after all you are really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won't let near the bread? (53)
Yeah, we get by now (after three repetitions) that "that kind of woman" is a "slut." That kind of woman doesn't even get to check if bread is fresh. Why not? She might pollute it with her dirty slut germs? (Probably.)