How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"Jody's mother had accepted her youngest with something of detachment, as though she had given all she had of love and care and interest to those others" (2.22)
Ma Baxter isn't exactly warm and cuddly these days, but maybe she used to be, before she lost all her babies when they were infants. This is just—we don't even have anything snarky to say about this, Shmoopers. It's just sad. Of course, it's even sadder that Jody has to suffer for it.
Quote #5
"[Penny] would act on any such occasion, he knew, as a bulwark for the boy against the mother's sharpness" (2.23)
Hm. We're conflicted about this. On the one hand, we don't really think parents should be hiding things from each other. On the other hand, we can believe that Ma Baxter was abusive enough that Jody might have needed Penny's protection.