How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The feeling bore no resemblance to what she had read about love. Love was supposed to be a kind of blissful insanity. (2.67)
There are two ways to learn about love—to read about it and to feel it. Therese has only read about it, but are books an accurate way to depict love? Or do they make it more dramatic than it is? What about this book? Is it accurate or dramatic?
Quote #2
It would be almost like love, what she felt for Carol, except that Carol was a woman. It was not quite insanity, but it was certainly blissful. (5.14)
Therese recognizes that her feelings for Carol are atypical, or at least unlike the male-female relationships she's read about in books. But she doesn't let this scare her away or gross her out. She not only accepts her feelings, she pursues them.
Quote #3
Yet the simple fact that she wasn't in love with [Richard] made Therese feel guilty, guilty about accepting anything from him. (5.54)
Therese feels guilty, but she isn't leading Richard on. She lets him know flat out that she doesn't love him, but he says he loves her, so he sticks with her.