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Mrs. Bowers
Mrs. Bowers’ daughter, Madge, is kind and soft spoken but has disappointed her mother by taking up with a religious cult. Madge becomes engaged to Arthur, a kind man she met through her new religion, but Mrs. Bowers is so disapproving of the pair that Madge and Arthur leave the boarding house hastily in the dead of night. In watching Madge and Mrs. Bowers’ relationship suffer, Isobel comes to realizes that she has replaced Madge, to some extent, as Mrs. Bowers’ daughter figure, and she feels both triumphant and contrite about that fact.
Madge Quotes in I for Isobel
The I for Isobel quotes below are all either spoken by Madge or refer to Madge. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
You left the house thinking of freedom, of being a different person, seeing the world ahead of you, but you didn't go on, you went back. To fight the old fight and this time to win, to have the verdict set aside, to be the favored child.
Any rag will make a doll for the idiot in the attic.
Auden had a general in his head. (“But they've severed all the wires, and I don't know what the general desires.'”
Isobel had an idiot in the attic.
[…]
Back in her room, she sat on her bed and reflected. She was in a different position from Auden; she knew what the idiot desired, all right, and had to watch to see it didn't get it.
[…]
The idiot played its games with the real world and- and what was worse-it played them behind Isobel's back. Not any more, now that she knew. Could she do this, watch a part of herself and control it, fight against it all her life?
She was not too discouraged, the new knowledge giving her a feeling of strength. At least she knew where she was going wrong-no wonder the others disliked her, watching her suck up to Mrs. Bowers, taking what ought to be Madge's.
Idiot wants a mother.
Idiot can't have one.
Life is very difficult.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Madge Quotes in I for Isobel
The I for Isobel quotes below are all either spoken by Madge or refer to Madge. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
You left the house thinking of freedom, of being a different person, seeing the world ahead of you, but you didn't go on, you went back. To fight the old fight and this time to win, to have the verdict set aside, to be the favored child.
Any rag will make a doll for the idiot in the attic.
Auden had a general in his head. (“But they've severed all the wires, and I don't know what the general desires.'”
Isobel had an idiot in the attic.
[…]
Back in her room, she sat on her bed and reflected. She was in a different position from Auden; she knew what the idiot desired, all right, and had to watch to see it didn't get it.
[…]
The idiot played its games with the real world and- and what was worse-it played them behind Isobel's back. Not any more, now that she knew. Could she do this, watch a part of herself and control it, fight against it all her life?
She was not too discouraged, the new knowledge giving her a feeling of strength. At least she knew where she was going wrong-no wonder the others disliked her, watching her suck up to Mrs. Bowers, taking what ought to be Madge's.
Idiot wants a mother.
Idiot can't have one.
Life is very difficult.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
