The Yearling Family Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

"Most women-folks cain't see for their lives, how a man loves so to ramble" (1.43)

Wimmin, right? It's almost like they're from another planet, or something. No but really: in The Yearling, men's work is men's work and women's work is women's work. The sexes might struggle together to survive, but that doesn't mean they understand each other.

Quote #2

"It seemed natural to both of them that she should preside" (1.56)

Hey gender reversal! In the 1870s (and for the most part the 1930s, when Rawlings was writing), the man should be presiding over the table—so this gives us a quick insight into how the Baxter family might be a little different from the other families around them.

Quote #3

"His father would have sent him back to the spring, without his supper, to tear out the flutter-mill" (2.3)

Way to teach little Penny a lesson, Grandpa Baxter. Most people end up replicating the mistakes of their parents, but Penny is determined to be a better father to his son than his father was to him. And it looks like it's working.