Content Warning: The source text includes references to child abuse, sexual abuse, incest, mental health conditions, and misogyny.

“No globe or map fully convinced me that Zebulon County was not the center of the universe.”

The majority of the novel takes place on the Cook’s family farm, which is made up of 1,000 acres. This quote highlights the fact that the farm—and the land it sits on—is often put ahead of human interests and feelings.

“I remember what I thought. I thought, okay. Take it. He is holding it out to you, and all you have to do is take it.”

Many people in town accuse Ginny, Ty, Rose, and Pete of stealing the farm from Larry; however, he was the one who came up with the idea. Ginny’s initial reaction to Larry’s offer shows how she always does what he wants, including taking the farm.

“I saw that maybe Caroline had mistaken what we were talking about, and spoken as a lawyer when she should have spoken as a daughter. On the other hand, perhaps she hadn’t mistaken anything at all, and had simply spoken as a woman rather than as a daughter. That was something, I realized in a flash, that Rose and I were pretty careful never to do.”

Rose and Ginny never got to escape the farm, primarily because they were stuck there raising Caroline following their mother’s death. As a result, the three sisters have radically different reactions to The Impact and Harm of Gender Roles. Caroline is never afraid to be more forceful in her delivery, something that Ginny and Rose cannot do because of their caretaking roles.