Quote 1
Well,
good gosh a’mighty! She’s dead as she’ll ever be, ain’t she? Well,
ain’t she?
Rucker says these words at the end of
Chapter 1 in response to Mary Willis’s and
Loma’s indignant reactions to the news of his second marriage. Rucker’s
careless response to his daughters’ outrage reveals much about his
character. Because he feels that he is right, Rucker exercises no
tact. Instead of speaking gently to his daughters and explaining
the benefits of his remarrying, he speaks roughly of their dead
mother, using the approach most certain to offend Mary Willis and
Loma. Rucker uses slang to make his point, which contrasts with
the refined language that his daughters speak. Rucker responds to
their pleas with the colloquial exclamation, “Good gosh a’mighty!”
Rucker responds so unfeelingly partly because he feels genuinely
frustrated when his daughters do not understand something that seems
so clear to him and partly because he does not care enough to avoid
shocking them.
