How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
If I could boil my life down to its essence it would be this: my head in my mother's lap, her hands in my hair as we sit in front of the fire and she tells me stories handed down by the women in our family about life before the Return. (1.43)
Indeed, these moments are what end up driving Mary's life. Without this memory of her mother and her stories, Mary would have ended up a very different woman in a very different place.
Quote #2
She is on her feet before I even know what's happening. She stares at me and for a moment all I can think is Mother and then she opens her mouth and my world shatters with her screams that fall off into moans as her vocal cords give way.
I cannot bear it and I start to move toward her, struggling under the weight of the Guardian's hand. (2.37-38)
Why does Mary move toward her? Perhaps she hopes her touch will trigger reality back into her mother's eyes; perhaps, for a moment, she wants to join her mother in her madness. But perhaps it's because turning away from her mother would feel like a betrayal.
Quote #3
I can't help but ache inside as I approach, knowing my mother is not there. Will never be there. I think about all of the memories trapped in the rough log walls, all of the warmth and laughter and dreams. (3.20)
What's that phrase? Home is wherever I'm with you? An old log house is just a shell when Mary knows her mother will never join her there again.