How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"It will be of no use to you after you are married. The money for books and school fees is better put toward your dowry, so that we may find you a suitable husband." (1.5)
From a very young age Koly is taught that school is for boys, housework is for girls. It's worth mentioning that she wants to go to school like her brothers but is told it would be better for her to learn "women's" tasks like cooking, cleaning, and laundry.
Quote #2
When a girl learns to read, her hair falls out, her eyes cross, and no man will look at her. (1.8)
This common belief about what happens to girls when they read says a lot. They are supposedly physically disfigured by this mental change, and become no longer desirable. Importantly, we don't see anything about the negative effects reading has on boys.
Quote #3
"What do you mean no learning?" Maa asked in a cross voice. "You can cook and keep a house, and you embroider as well as I do. Should a wife sit with a book and let the work go?" (1.31)
Maa is shocked when Koly blurts out that she doesn't have learning. After all, Maa taught her how to embroider like nobody's business and make dinner every night; that's all an education a girl needs. Perhaps if Koly were a boy, she could learn to read. But she isn't.