Penelope told the manager she couldn’t pick Ralph up, and when he asked her why, the shame nearly swallowed her voice.
-- Narrator (Pittsburgh )

Importance: This expresses Penelope’s guilt at being so far away from her father. She feels bad at not being there when he needs her.

Penelope entered the house and felt her former life heaped upon her
-- Narrator (Homecoming)

Importance: The pain from her childhood returns to Penelope when she comes home. She had been able to repress these feelings while she had gone away however they all come back to her on seeing their family home.

but she owed it to her father, now that she was back in Brooklyn, to live somewhat more respectably.
-- Narrator (Penelope) (The Harpers)

Importance: Penelope believes she has to give up the lifestyle she had while living in Pittsburgh. She knows her father would not approve and that she would be wasting the education he paid for by working in...