I Never Promised You a Rose Garden Family Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

From a distance down the hall they heard the grate of a large key in a lock and again Jacob stiffened, moaning softly, "Not for her—our little Debby..." He did not see the sudden, ruthless look in his daughter's face. (1.23)

Jacob doesn't want his daughter, who he still sees as a little girl, to be locked away—but he also doesn't see how she harbors some ill feelings toward him. This disconnect foreshadows what we will learn later about his treatment of Deborah.

Quote #2

She looked like a shock victim. As she left, he felt the wrench of her going in the two parents... after their good-bye, they, too, looked like people in shock, and he thought briefly: wound shock—the cutting away of a daughter. (1.25-26)

The ward doctor observes here how the parents seem to feel so connected to the daughter—but this observation turns out to be ironic, since the Blaus don't actually communicate with Deborah. The connection is pretty tenuous.

Quote #3

Deborah suddenly recalled the picture of her parents standing very single and yet together on the other side of the shatter-proof locked door. Not aforethought this thing, but more than a little with malice. (3.47)

Does it seem like Deborah resents the fact that her parents have left her at the hospital? Does she think they're being mean about it? Is she maybe happy to get away? Why or why not?