How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He was dressed very oddly. In addition to the helmet, he wore a large vest knitted from soft rope, which reached the ground, and under that a short one-piece suit made from old sugar sacks. His feet were wrapped in layers of rough cloth, tied with string. (1.4)
This is our first glimpse of Arthur, and yeah, he is dressed very oddly. He's also wearing a set of wings. We're new to Ratbridge, but we're guessing that this isn't standard attire for kids. We can probably trace this back to how Arthur lives underground with his adoptive caretaker and doesn't interact with the rest of the world much… so why would he care how he looks? Come to think of it, where would he even buy clothes in the first place?
Quote #2
From the way the ladies paraded their derrieres, it seemed that to have an interesting behind was very much the thing! Round ones, cone-shaped ones, pyramidal ones, cuboid ones, and some that defied description. All, large and wobbling like jellies. (12.9)
This is a somewhat frightening vision of what fashion in Ratbridge looks like. We've heard of bustles and Spanx and other ways to enhance one's (ahem) assets, but this seems a little extreme. But if the ladies of Ratbridge are that concerned with their appearances, then we guess it makes sense to go to drastic measures.
Quote #3
"I missed out last week, and they haven't let me in the tearooms since." (13.12)
This is one of the fashionable ladies of Ratbridge complaining about how she missed last week's fashion tip, and suffered the consequences. Now, we all know that inner beauty is what counts, but it seems like these ladies have forgotten that. Completely. All they seem to care about is external appearances and whether they're keeping up with the latest trends.