Marly's mother tells her that the kitchen "is the first place we women have to learn to dig." Lines such as these may surprise modern young readers who have grown up in a society where women's roles have expanded far beyond kitchen chores and housework.

Throughout the novel, Marly confronts rules about acceptable behavior for women: she is not supposed to explore by herself because she is a girl; she and her mother have "a fine female time" when they eat leftovers, rather than cooking "perfect pots of things every meal" for the men, who have gone fishing; Marly is glad that she is a girl because it is acceptable for girls "to be scared or silly or even ask dumb questions"; and she thinks that "cities were much better for boys," apparently because boys are free to explore and go out with their friends. From...