Poor old duck
This phrase was said by Frances about her sister Anne. Anne was younger than her. In some situations, Frances seemed a little bit boring to her. When in some moments Anne was brighter in expressing emotions or feelings when everything was new to her, Frances in that same time was cold and a little bit ironic due to her age. Frances could laugh at sister, at her naivety and childishness, and thus wounded Anne.
Liverpool
When Tom asked Frances is she was back, she replied that she is still in Liverpool. "You are back, then!" said Tom. She marked the touch of uncertainty in his voice. "No," she laughed, "I'm still in Liverpool," and the undertone of intimacy made him burn. This dialogue has a hidden sense. Tom by his question aimed to ask whether Frances was still in love with Jimmy and her answer meant “yes.”
Rabbit
Once Anne started a conversation with her sister and told that one boy gave her a rabbit that they caught together. "Well, he gave me a wild rabbit what he'd caught, to keep with my tame one—and it's living." This rabbit is metaphorical symbol of hope and some love which this boy gave Anne. Moreover, it’s living, so that she is feeling it's life force and this rabbit was for her vary valuable.
Bog Dogs
Anne was the younger sister in the family and love to her was a very obscure feeling. Once author even said: “Anne was in her unvexed teens; men were like big dogs to her: while Frances, at twenty-three, suffered a good deal”. It meant that Anne wasn’t in a relationship yet. Men scared her, and she was afraid of love. She only started her acquaintance with boys and with the feelings that they provoke in her soul.
