How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
[Janice to Clare:] "This isn't what your mom thinks we're doing." [Clare:] "Uh-uh. But it's my wedding. And my hair. And I give you a very large tip if you do it my way." (1.14.25-26)
The fact that Clare has to bribe Janice to do her hair according to her own wishes (on her own wedding day, no less!) suggests that her mother doesn't take kindly to someone disobeying her orders.
Quote #8
[Clare:] And so we are married… The apartment is a laboratory in which we conduct experiments, perform research on each other. We discover that Henry hates it when I absentmindedly clink my spoon against my teeth while reading the paper at breakfast. We agree that it is okay for me to listen to Joni Mitchell and it is okay for Henry to listen to The Shags as long as the other person isn't around. (2.1.1)
The closeness of the day-to-day experience of actually living together as a married couple makes Clare and Henry discover things they dislike about each other for the first time. But they try to accommodate each other's habits. So is marriage just a big compromise?
Quote #9
[Clare:] Our life together in this too-small apartment is punctuated by Henry's small absences. […] Sometimes it's frightening. […] Sometimes I wake up in the night and Henry is gone. […] When I was a child I looked forward to seeing Henry. Every visit was an event. Now every absence is a nonevent, a subtraction. […] Now I am afraid when he is gone. (2.1.6)
Being married to Henry and living with him has changed how Clare views his frequent travels. They have become an intrusion on their married life.