How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
"Forget it," he says. "She’ll conk out. Have a drink. There’s some old whiskey in the kitchen."
"Say; what is this Have a drink routine of yours? I’ve been trying not to drink. All afternoon you’ve been smoking one cigarette after another and saying ‘Have a drink. Have a drink.’" (16.5-16.6)
Just one piece of evidence that suggests Rabbit associates intoxication with sexual inhibition, and he’s trying to use cigarettes to stave off his sexual hunger. Not a very sexy environment, not to speak of healthy: crying Rebecca, restless Nelson, horny Rabbit, postpartum Janice, June heat, cramped apartment, and full of smoke no less. Updike knows how to paint a recipe for disaster.
Quote #11
She gets out of bed and […] goes into the kitchen […] and sniffs the empty glass Harry made her drink whiskey out of. The smell is dark and raw and cozy and deep, and she thinks maybe a sip will cure her insomnia. (17.10)
Remove "whiskey" and insert desired self-destructive behavior. Updike is certainly fixed on booze, but he’s also interrogating how we deal with extremes of physical and emotional pain – that is, often in a counterproductive manner. It doesn’t help when we are as completely alone as Janice is. Who could she possibly call that would help her now?