"I'm getting sick of waiting on you, you and everyone else. I'm not your servant, you know. I've got a million stamps to paste and I'm not about to do it myself."
This opening moment is a useful frame for the events of the play. It sets up the story's main action, as Germaine invites people over to help her paste stamps into booklets so she can redeem them for store credit. It also shows her lack of foresight, as she does not anticipate the jealousy and irritation that enlisting her friends' unpaid labor will cause. Similarly, this moment also reveals the tension inherent to her relationship with her daughter Linda, as they immediately begin to quarrel over Linda's leaving the house to spend time with her boyfriend. Germaine feels this is indicative of her selfish and unappreciative attitude toward her labor.
"You wouldn't catch me having luck like that. Fat chance. My whole life is shit and always will be. A million stamps! A whole house."
This early quote indicates the bitterness the other women feel toward Germaine over her recent win. Marie-Ange feels this particularly deeply, as she believes she is much worse off than Germaine financially. This also sets up her later comments about the nature of contests and luck, as she thinks these lotteries are rigged because she never wins any of them. This moment shows why later on Marie-Ange will lead everyone in taking the stamps from Germaine, as she believes that she won't notice and doesn't actually need so many. Her use of the word "luck" indicated her belief that fate has always been arrayed against her.
"Thursday and Friday... Same thing... I work. I slave. I kill myself for my pack of morons."
This quote appears at the beginning of the play and is said by the chorus of women. This moment of unified speech represents how they all share these domestic responsibilities and resent what has been thrust upon them. It also highlights a main idea of the play, showing how the women are trapped in monotonous work every day because of the domestic role assigned to their gender. As indicated by the tone, this leaves them feeling physically and emotionally depleted, particularly given the lack of thanks or even recognition they receive.
"Kids are so ungrateful! Kids are so ungrateful!"
This picks up where the previous quotes left off, showing both the conflict between generations and the lack of understanding and appreciation they receive from their children. This feeling is initially suggested in Germaine's conflict with Linda. It further underscores the lengthy speech from the chorus, emphasizing the fact that the women feel that their children take them for granted. This feeling recurs in Rose's complaints about her son as well as Thérèse's child-like mother-in-law.
"Well, if you ask me, there's no substitute for an authentic, genuine fur. Incidentally, I'll be getting a new stole in autumn."
This comment from Lisette reveals her performative behavior. She talks about the value and importance of the fur coat as a way to differentiate herself from the other women in the play. She believes her appreciation for the "finer" things, like the fur coat, place her firmly in a more elevated class position. However, as is revealed by her unnecessarily haughty tone, this is informed by a deep sense of insecurity. She makes comments like this one to create a false perception of herself.
"I don't want to lose him! I don't want to! If he goes away, I'll be all alone again, and I need... someone to love..."
This quote comes at the end of Des-Neiges's heartfelt soliloquy. She talks about how she slowly developed feelings for the traveling salesman the other women have been teasing her about throughout the play. She is reticent about it with them, but reveals to the audience that she has become very attached to his presence and is very afraid of losing the relationship she has formed with him. These closing quotes frame her loneliness, as she is less happy about the feelings she is experiencing and more concerned about what will happen in their absence. Her desire for "someone to love'' speaks more broadly to the feelings of neglect and yearning that the other women experience and describe in their soliloquies.
"I grew up in church basements and I want to see other things... I've never laughed in my life!"
This quote from Angéline demonstrates the frustration she experiences with the aggressive conservatism of their community. This moment follows the reveal that Angéline has been frequenting the club where Germaine's sister Pierrette works. The women all disapprove of her behavior and are scandalized by her choice. She defends herself, claiming that she only goes there to socialize and that she felt the need to broaden her social horizons. In this closing excerpt, she states that, having grown up in such a restrictive environment, she has never really experienced actual laughter. This comment shows her relative innocence, but also demonstrates the harmful impact of this judgmental and regimented social circle.
"That's just it! I've made a mistake and I want to correct it. After this I'll start fresh. You understand, don't you Pierrette?"
This comment is from Linda's friend Lise. She has just revealed that she is pregnant and does not know what to do with the baby, as she is unwed and the father is nowhere to be found. She is afraid of her parents' anger as well as the harsh judgment of the community. She says this to Pierrette because Pierrette overheard her and offered to help her get a safe abortion. This quote shows how Lisette wants to be able to start over and not be trapped in the life of a single parent shunned by the community.
"And here I've gotta pretend everything's great. But I can't tell Linda and Lise I'm washed up."
In comparison to Germaine and the others, Pierrette has been more readily able to adapt to new ideas. This results in her being perceived as more open-minded and aware of the changing times in the eyes of the next generation (Linda and Lisette). At the same time, while she is more progressive, Pierrette still struggles with many of the same issues as the other women: an unreliable partner, a lack of money, and a life that has not turned out exactly as she planned. She is concerned about this being seen by Linda and Lise, as she thinks it will make them see her as someone who cannot be relied upon. This is of particular consequence, in her mind, as she wants to help Lise get an abortion safely.
"Will you lay off! I'm old enough to know what I'm doing!"
This quote from Linda is, in many regards, the essence of her battles against her mother. She feels frustrated that she is seen as being a child with no autonomy. She sees herself as "old enough" to make her own decisions and to choose to spend time with her boyfriend instead of gluing stamps into booklets with her mother. The flaws in Germaine's perception suggest that there is some truth to what she says. While Tremblay does not present her as a flatly faultless character, he implies that Linda is unfairly critiqued by both her mother and aunt Rose, as they claim a position of authority but appear to have no greater insight or understanding.
