Bree is Norah’s younger sister. A rebellious, intelligent, and free-spirited young woman, Bree caused a scandal in their family when she ran away from home before graduating high school to elope with a much older man. In 1964, already divorced, the twenty-year-old Bree is reclaiming her youth by enrolling in college. Bree nurtures Norah’s more emotional side and urges her to rebel against societal expectations of women—and the strict demands her marriage to David makes on her. Throughout the years, Bree retains her same wild, soul-searching core, but she softens and becomes more interested in spirituality and religion as she grows older. Bree’s unapologetic pursuit of personal freedom and autonomy inspires a deep envy within Norah, who feels restricted by her marriage and bound to a certain way of living even as, over the years, social and sexual norms change and evolve.
Bree Quotes in The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
The The Memory Keeper’s Daughter quotes below are all either spoken by Bree or refer to Bree. 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 3: March 1964
Quotes
She too had been shocked by Bree’s nerve, her daring, and she was angry that the rules seemed to have shifted, that Bree had more or less gotten away with it—the marriage, the divorce, the scandal.
She hated what Bree had done to them all.
She wished desperately that she’d done it first.
But it would never have occurred to her. She’d always been good; that was her job.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Bree Quotes in The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
The The Memory Keeper’s Daughter quotes below are all either spoken by Bree or refer to Bree. 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 3: March 1964
Quotes
She too had been shocked by Bree’s nerve, her daring, and she was angry that the rules seemed to have shifted, that Bree had more or less gotten away with it—the marriage, the divorce, the scandal.
She hated what Bree had done to them all.
She wished desperately that she’d done it first.
But it would never have occurred to her. She’d always been good; that was her job.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
