the fact that nobody really wants to see you if you’ve got kids, even your best friends, Nanya, Anat, Jess, the fact that they all just assume I’m so preoccupied with the kids I can’t think straight, and they’re right, pretty much, most of the time,”
-- The Protagonist

Importance: The protagonist simultaneously fears that her perpetual internal monologue prevents her from adequately fulfilling her role as a mother and that her maternal obligations prevent her from appealing to her friends. While she criticizes her friends for avoiding her now that she has four children, she also recognizes that her constant domestic obligations make socializing nearly impossible. However, her claim that she is only mostly too preoccupied by her children to entertain friends suggests that she would try to see them whenever possible and wishes they would make a greater effort to connect with her. This passage ultimately implies that...