How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
We were in a tizzy then until Lamont escaped out into his free afternoon. We barely got the napkin off him. He'd dropped down to all fours and scampered for the front door. He was half wild, was Lamont. Boys are. (2.13)
Helena has a very clear opinion about boys: they are "half wild" and full of scampering. She definitely doesn't think that Lamont's boyishness has anything to do with being calm of having good manners.
Quote #2
"Well, I won't do it again," he said in a squeaky voice. He was at the age when a boy's voice is especially squeaky. (3.34)
A snake has bitten off part of Lamont's tail and he's on the hunt to get it back. He might be brave, but he's also still got some growing up to do. In fact, it sounds like Helena thinks her brother is going through puberty, just like a human boy.
Quote #3
Tying my apron about me, I rummaged for a needle and thread while Louise and Beatrice stood by, speechless.
[…]
And I sewed his tail back on him, while he squealed the house down. (3.58-60)
Let's take a look at all the tasks Helena likes to do around her home—cleaning, prepping food, and tons of sewing. These tasks are what traditionally made up more "feminine" occupations back in the 1800s. Women were expected to be good at domestic tasks (a.k.a. taking care of the house) and it looks like Helena, as a girl mouse, is fitting into this mold.
Quote #4
Lamont naturally wanted to take everything he had. Boys collect things—anything useless. (6.2)
Lamont and his sisters are packing for their voyage across the sea, and according to Helena, Lamont's bad packing habits have to do with his gender. She really likes to generalize about what boys do and don't do, so keep an eye out for these assumptions throughout the book. Does Helena ever not generalize about gender?
Quote #5
Camilla always had a pleasant, girlish way of darting about that Louise tried to copy. (6.20)
When it comes to being feminine, Camilla takes the cake. She's great at putting on her gloves, wearing pretty dresses, and looking dainty. And according to Helena, Louise likes to be super girly too. What do you think about this idea that gender is the same for mice and for humans? How is Louise "girlish" like Camilla? Are there any ways in which Louise or Camilla are not traditionally feminine?
Quote #6
He spirited Lamont off to an airing cupboard he ran as a dormitory for traveling mouse boys.
"You've 'eard of the Boy scouts?" Nigel had said. "They were invented in England. 'Ere at sea we've got the Mouse Scouts. My invention." Nigel jerked a thumb at himself.
"It's better to watch boys," he remarked, "and to keep 'em busy." (7.50-52)
Well we know that Helena has some assumptions about boys in general—and it looks like Nigel has some, too. What do you think of Nigel's idea that boys need to be watched and kept busy? Does Lamont support this idea? And what about Nigel?
Quote #7
"Why don't boys ever want to be themselves? Why do boys always want to be somebody else?" asked Louise, who wanted to be Camilla. (9.30)
When Lamont starts acting like Nigel, Louise has some questions. She figures that acting like someone else is a characteristic of boys, but doesn't realize that she wants to be like someone else, too. At least Lamont wants to be like another mouse…
Quote #8
We stared at each other, up and down the rumpled blanket. It was littered with his toys. The rubber ball. A drum with sticks. A nutcracker in the shape of a foreign soldier. A cast iron royal coach with four horses. Boys live in this kind of clutter. I was reminded of Lamont's bedroom. The collar buttons, the birds' bones, the ball of twine. The mess. (11.34)
According to Helena boy mice and boy humans have some similarities—and if one similarity takes the cake, it's their messiness. What do you think about how Helena characterizes her brother and Sebastian? Is she painting a positive picture of boys? Or is it entirely negative?
Quote #9
Then he handed the bouquet over to Beatrice.
"Me?" She pointed an innocent finger at herself. "How nice."
"It would be Beatrice," Louise muttered. "How typical of the entire male sex. Honestly. They go for her type every time." (12.39-41)
We've seen the characters make a lot of assumptions about boys in this book, and now Louise has one more: all boys like Beatrice's "type." Doesn't she sound a little jealous when she says so, though?
Quote #10
Louise and I looked on. Louise sat with ankles crossed and hands folded together as much like Camilla as she could manage. But finally she could stand it no longer. Her nose was in my ear and she was whispering moistly. (14.46)
Louise wants to be as ladylike as possible—and to her that means acting like Camilla. But over time, Louise breaks out of this mold so she can chat enthusiastically with her sister. How does Louise's chatty, excited side relate to her attempts to be like Camilla? Can Louise be excited and ladylike at the same time in this book?