How we cite our quotes: (Volume.Book.Chapter.Line)
Quote #7
"Think of all she is. Think of all she has. She lies there stiffening herself and clinging to it." (2.9.3.36)
Like Maud Lowder, Susan Stringham tends to see in Milly everything that she lacks in her own life. Youth, beauty, money: you name it. People like Susan are very sympathetic toward Milly, but their sympathy is always connected to their own insecurities. Milly has everything that Susan wants in her own life. For this reason, seeing the poor girl lose all of it affects Susan on a very deep, personal level. It's like Susan feels the loss even more than Milly.
Quote #8
"Satisfied to die in the flower of her youth?" (2.10.1.175)
It's downright insulting to suggest that Milly Theale could ever be "satisfied" with the way her life has turned out. After all, the girl is dying in the freaking "flower of her youth." Then again, maybe it's a blessing that she won't have to grow old and mourn her lost youth the way that the rest of James' characters seem to do.
Quote #9
What deeply stirred her [Aunt Maud] was the way the poor girl must have wanted to live. (2.10.2.10)
Aunt Maud understands social class and cash more than she understands anything else, which is why she can be especially sympathetic to Milly's predicament. Of course, the girl is young and has her whole life ahead of her. But what strikes Maud as even sadder is that Milly won't live to enjoy all of her fantastic wealth.