How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Nostrums for consumption, for "women's diseases"—notorious mixtures of opium and alcohol, in the very shop to which her husband sent patient for the filling of prescriptions. (4.2.10)
That's right: a powerful drug like opium used to be sold over the counter in many American pharmacies. Heroin was even a legal drug at one point because people had no clue how powerful and addictive it was. Another sad truth is that at the time, women who were unhappy or having issues were often just given a hefty fix to calm them down. Not exactly a solution to the problem…
Quote #2
"I mustn't let it make me self-conscious," she coaxed herself—overstimulated by the drug of thought, and offensively on the defensive. (7.2.11)
Carol thinks of thought itself as a kind of drug. Once she starts thinking about something, she becomes addicted to thinking about it over and over, especially if she's insecure about something someone said to her.
Quote #3
"We can't get wholesomely drunk and relax. We have to be so correct about sex morals, and inconspicuous clothes, and doing our commercial trickery only in the traditional ways." (13.1.39)
One thing Guy Pollock hates about Gopher Prairie is the way the people there constantly try to outdo one another when it comes to moral behavior. This eventually creates a sort of race situation where everyone is competing to be the most moral. And before you know it, no one's having any fun at all. Who said all fun was immoral?