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The following text is from Louise Erdrich's 1986 novel The Beet Queen. The narrator discusses her relationship with her young niece, Dot. Celestine, the narrator's sister-in-law, is Dot's mother.
Dot and I had a mental connection, I was sure of it. I understood things about the baby that her mother could not accept. For instance, she was never meant to be a baby. Dot was as impatient with babyhood as I. She tried at once to grow out of it. Celestine never saw that, because she, and only she, took pleasure in Dot's helpless softness. Only Celestine was saddened by her daughter's fierce progress. Day by day, Dot grew stronger. In her shopping-cart stroller she exercised to exhaustion, bouncing for hours to develop her leg muscles.
Dot and I had a mental connection, I was sure of it. I understood things about the baby that her mother could not accept. For instance, she was never meant to be a baby. Dot was as impatient with babyhood as I. She tried at once to grow out of it. Celestine never saw that, because she, and only she, took pleasure in Dot's helpless softness. Only Celestine was saddened by her daughter's fierce progress. Day by day, Dot grew stronger. In her shopping-cart stroller she exercised to exhaustion, bouncing for hours to develop her leg muscles.