The Price of Salt, or Carol Chapter 1 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
(Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 1
It was the dress of queens in fairy tales, of a red deeper than blood. […] Herself meeting herself. (1.66)
In this odd scene from the beginning of the book, Therese tries on a red dress and feels like she's seeing her true identity. Nothing like this happens again, but red is a traditional literary symbol of lust and passion, so Therese is seeing an inner passion on the outside.
Quote 2
It was the hopelessness that terrified her and nothing else. […] The hopelessness of herself, of ever being the person she wanted to be and of doing the things that person would do. (1.75)
Therese sees her inner passion when she tries on the dress, but she's unsure what it is. At this point, she can't be the person she wants to be because she's unsure of who that is.
Quote 3
She tried to imagine what it would be like to have worked fifteen years in Frankenberg's department store, and found she was unable to. (1.3)
When Therese meets Mrs. Robichek, she sees a potential fate for herself: working (and probably dying) at Frankenberg's. Those are the choices society gives to young women in this time period—work a dull job until you're married, or don't marry and stay there forever. Yikes.
Quote 4
"You just tired, you baby," Mrs. Robichek said, tucking a woolen blanket about her shoulders in the chair. (1.85)
There's a recurring motif of older women putting Therese to sleep because she is young. It's what kids do when they play with dolls.
Quote 5
The store was organized so much like a prison, it frightened her now and then to realize she was a part of it. (1.3)
Yeah, this is a discouraging description of a job, isn't it? No one puts "atmosphere like a prison" on a craigslist posting for a job. You find that out after you get there, especially if you're working retail or food service.
Quote 6
And the loneliness, augmented by the fact one saw within the store the same faces day after day, the few faces one might have spoken to and never did, or never could. (1.7)
How much of this loneliness is self-imposed by Therese? What does she mean by "never could"? What's stopping her? Whatever it is, Therese rebels against this thought by sending a Christmas card to Carol, something that isn't socially acceptable but majorly pays off.
Quote 7
Therese had kept the green gloves at the bottom of her tin locker at school. […] Finally, they were too small to wear. (1.12)
These gloves, which have importance to Therese although she never mentions them again, recall the quote about the same faces day after day. Therese has a habit of ignoring things in order to preserve them, but it ends up having the opposite effect—she loses things without being able to enjoy them.
Quote 8
But it wouldn't last, Therese knew. She would move, and it would be gone. (1.70)
Here is when Therese looks at herself in the mirror and catches a glimpse of a person she wants to be. She could treat this identity like the gloves and never do anything, or she could move and try to get it, risking losing it in the process. That loss could be temporary or permanent. Whatever it is, Therese is dissatisfied with how she is now, and she wants to change.
Quote 9
It was easy, she thought, because she was not really escaping at all. (1.88)
This is a discouraging thought. According to Therese, she's simply going from being trapped in one place to being trapped in another.
Quote 10
She knew what bothered her at the store. […] It was the waste actions, the meaningless chores that seemed to keep her from doing what she wanted to do, might have done. (1.7)
Therese doesn't like busy work. Perhaps that's how she looks at her disappointing relationship with Richard: busy work. It's definitely how she views sex with him.