How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"She dursn't," said Geoffrey. "She niver durst do anything except recite poitry."
"Dursn't jump off a gate, dursn't tweedle, dursn't go on a slide, dursn't stop a girl hittin' her. She can do nowt but go about thinkin' herself somebody. 'The Lady of the Lake.' Yah!" cried Maurice. (6.236-6.237)
The men of the Leivers family resent Miriam for imagining herself to be a great, cultured lady like one of the heroines in her adventure books. The direct connection between "Lady of the Lake" and Miriam's haughtiness shows us that Miriam might've been better off if she'd read books with less stereotypically "feminine" role models—like Lisbeth Salander, for example.
Quote #8
It was a volume of verse with a brief note: "You will allow me to send you this, and so spare me my isolation. I also sympathise and wish you well.—C.D." Paul flushed hot.
"Good Lord! Mrs. Dawes. She can't afford it. Good Lord, who ever'd have thought it!"
After failing to chip in for a set of paints for Paul's birthday, Clara Dawes decides to show Paul she cares about him by buying him a solo gift: a volume of poetry. Paul is absolutely stunned by this "cultured" present. It makes him feel like Clara's a kindred spirit when it comes to loving art and poetry. Of course, that makes him want to sleep with her.
Quote #9
He made her copy Baudelaire's "Le Balcon." Then he read it for her. His voice was soft and caressing, but growing almost brutal. He had a way of lifting his lips and showing his teeth, passionately and bitterly, when he was much moved. (8.515)
Art and Culture play big roles in mediating the relationship between Paul and Miriam. Paul often communicates to Miriam through the way he recites French poetry. We think that, in speaking through the poetry of others, Paul can express emotions he'd never be able to get out on his own—being a man in early-20th-century Britain and all.