"Karen: It's funny. We always talk about [Mary] as if she were a grown woman. Martha: There's something the matter with the kid ... she causes trouble here; she's bad for the other girls ... it's a feeling I've got that it's wrong somewhere ..." The Children's Hour, p. 14.

"Every time that man comes into this house, you have a fit. It seems like you just can't stand the idea of them being together ... you're fonder of Karen ... and it's unnatural, just as unnatural as it can be. You were always like that even as a child ... well, you'd better get a beau of your own now - a woman of your age." Ibid, Mrs. Mortar to Martha, p. 20

"I'll think of something to tell her. I can always do it better on the spur of the moment ... Grandma's very fond of me, on account my father was her favorite son...