How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Ezra," [Mirah] said, in exactly the same tone as when she was telling of her mother's call to him.
Mordecai with a sudden movement advanced and laid his hands on her shoulders. He was the head taller, and looked down at her tenderly while she said, "That was our mother's voice. You remember her calling me?"
"Yes, and how you answered her—'Mother!'—and I knew you loved her." Mirah threw her arms round her brother's neck, clasped her little hands behind it, and drew down his face, kissing it with childlike lavishness. (47.31-33)
OK, who isn't heartwarmed by this moment of family reunion? This moment shows us that, even after twelve years of separation, Mirah and Mordecai are still united by their family bond and their mutual love of their mother. They share a family tie, but they also share memories.
Quote #8
"God bless you, Dan!" Sir Hugo had said, when they shook hands. "Whatever else changes for you, it can't change my being the oldest friend you have known, and the one who has all along felt the most for you. I couldn't have loved you better if you'd been my own—only I should have been better pleased with thinking of you always as the future master of the Abbey instead of my fine nephew; and then you would have seen it necessary for you to take a political line." (50.13)
Everyone – Daniel, we the readers, and the other characters in the novel – wonders at some point whether Daniel is really Sir Hugo's son or not. This moment pushes us to think about family in a different way. The word "family" doesn't just signify the people you're related to by blood; it also refers to the people that you care about and who love you back. Sir Hugo demonstrates that concept by showing that he couldn't love Daniel any more if he had actually been his son.
Quote #9
"No," she began; "I did not send for you to comfort me. I could not know beforehand—I don't know now—what you will feel towards me. I have not the foolish notion that you can love me merely because I am your mother, when you have never seen or heard of me all your life. But I thought I chose something better for you than being with me. I did not think that I deprived you of anything worth having." (51.10)
Daniel's mother shows us another side of family: being related to someone by blood doesn't necessarily mean that you love them or have to love them.