--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Molly was up now, sitting in the kitchen…" description: "\"“Molly was up now, sitting in the kitchen nursing the babies and instructing Mrs. Bienenstock on how to make biscuits. “Don’t pound the dough, Dody!” M..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/tracy-chevalier-7345_biscuit_molly-was-up-now-sitting-in-the-kitchen_2516569.jpg" --- # Molly was up now, sitting in the kitchen nursing the… ![“Molly was up now, sitting in the kitchen nursing the babies and instructing Mrs. Bienenstock on how to make biscuits. “Don’t pound the dough, Dody!” Molly was crying with laughter. “You want to end up crackin’ your teeth on ’em? Pat it gentle like it’s a baby. That’s better.” Robert had only ever…” quote by Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/tracy-chevalier-7345_biscuit_molly-was-up-now-sitting-in-the-kitchen_2516569.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/tracy-chevalier-7345_biscuit_molly-was-up-now-sitting-in-the-kitchen_2516569.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92a/tracy-chevalier-7345_biscuit_molly-was-up-now-sitting-in-the-kitchen_2516569.jpg) > ““Molly was up now, sitting in the kitchen nursing the babies and instructing Mrs. Bienenstock on how to make biscuits. “Don’t pound the dough, Dody!” Molly was crying with laughter. “You want to end up crackin’ your teeth on ’em? Pat it gentle like it’s a baby. That’s better.” Robert had only ever seen his landlady make coffee and eggs, and he did not think she would take kindly to being taught. But Mrs. B. seemed willing; she was smoothing out the biscuit dough into a round on the table. Neither woman even glanced over at him as he moved between the yard and the wagon with the pails. “Now, take this cup,” Molly ordered, “and cut out some circles. Don’t twist it! Twistin’ seals the dough and it don’t rise so well. Jest press and bring the cup back out. There now, put that on your sheet for bakin’.” “We’re”” [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Molly teaches gentle, careful handling of dough, using a baby metaphor to emphasize patience and tenderness. **In simple terms:** Handle tasks gently, like caring for a baby. Key Takeaway Practice patience and care. Themes patience care learning craftsmanship Mood calm instructional Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - cooking - teaching - skill development Key Concepts metaphor skill acquisition Questions to Reflect On - How can gentle approaches improve outcomes? - When is firmness more appropriate? A Different Perspective Over‑care can hinder efficiency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biscuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biscuit/) [Biscuit Dough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biscuit-dough-1207413/) [Cup Molly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cup-molly-1207414/) [Molly Ordered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/molly-ordered-1207415/) [Taught Mrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-mrs-1207416/) ## Related quotes > [You know sometimes football turns on the slightest biscuit of good fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-pleat/you-know-sometimes-football-turns-on-the-slightest-biscuit-of-good/) [David Pleat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-pleat/) > [“Ben sighed, his mouth crammed with biscuit. "You don't trust us at all, do you? You think we're going to whip out our knobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-saunders/ben-sighed-his-mouth-crammed-with-biscuit-you-don-t-trust-us-at-all/) [Kate Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-saunders/) > [“Done there. Been that. Bought the biscuit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-fitzgerald/done-there-been-that-bought-the-biscuit/) [Judith Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-fitzgerald/) > [“I saw the animal's body tense expectantly as he saw the treat in my palm. Unfortunately, it seemed in question as to whether the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/i-saw-the-animal-s-body-tense-expectantly-as-he-saw-the-treat-in-my/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [It's said the FA chairman (Keith Wiseman) would travel 200 miles to open a biscuit tin. Why?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-bates/it-s-said-the-fa-chairman-keith-wiseman-would-travel-200-miles-to/) [Ken Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-bates/) > [Baby I wanna Give you the business. After that sop you up with a biscuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-cafe/baby-i-wanna-give-you-the-business-after-that-sop-you-up-with-a/) [Red Cafe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-cafe/) > [Biscuit eaters never leave any crumbs, that is why they have bigger bums!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/biscuit-eaters-never-leave-any-crumbs-that-is-why-they-have-bigger/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Mixing things up, one biscuit at a time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mixing-things-up-one-biscuit-at-a-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If anyone tells me I'm fat, I say, - That's because every time I make love to your wife, she gives me a biscuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-freud/if-anyone-tells-me-i-m-fat-i-say-that-s-because-every-time-i-make/) [Clement Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-freud/) > [“Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, you don’t know how to dance, do you, Josephine?” I didn’t know how to dance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/well-butter-my-butt-and-call-me-a-biscuit-you-don-t-know-how-to-dance/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [“If something’s worth doing, then it’s worth doing properly, even if it is only offering a biscuit with a cup of tea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-gaynor/if-something-s-worth-doing-then-it-s-worth-doing-properly-even-if-it/) [Hazel Gaynor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-gaynor/) > [Cruise the diamond district with my biscuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-kim/cruise-the-diamond-district-with-my-biscuit/) [Lil' Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-kim/) > [“If you got the devil to pay, he'll want extra red-eye on his biscuit. He always do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-thornhorn/if-you-got-the-devil-to-pay-he-ll-want-extra-red-eye-on-his-biscuit/) [Randy Thornhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-thornhorn/) > [I cannot go any further without mentioning my favourite biscuit of all time, now sadly, tragically, extinct. The oaty, crumbly, demerara notes of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-slater/i-cannot-go-any-further-without-mentioning-my-favourite-biscuit-of/) [Nigel Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-slater/) > [If your slave commits a fault, do not smash his teeth with your fists; give him some of the (hard) biscuit which famous Rhodes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/if-your-slave-commits-a-fault-do-not-smash-his-teeth-with-your-fists/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) ## More by Tracy Chevalier > [My writing routine is: get son off to school and sit down at 8 A.M. I read what I wrote the day before, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/my-writing-routine-is-get-son-off-to-school-and-sit-down-at-8-a-m-i/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [“While Molly and Joseph Anning suffered materially that winter, with many days of weak soup and weaker fires, Mary barely noticed how little she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/while-molly-and-joseph-anning-suffered-materially-that-winter-with/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [I wanted to wear the mantle and the pearls. I wanted to know the man who painted her like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/i-wanted-to-wear-the-mantle-and-the-pearls-i-wanted-to-know-the-man/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [“I knew I should believe him, as he taught at Oxford, but his answers did not feel complete. It was like having a meal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/i-knew-i-should-believe-him-as-he-taught-at-oxford-but-his-answers/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [“They were a mother's words, words I would say to my own daughter if I were concerned for her”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/they-were-a-mother-s-words-words-i-would-say-to-my-own-daughter-if-i/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [“he was a collector rather than a hunter, buying his knowledge rather than seeking it with his own eyes and hands. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/he-was-a-collector-rather-than-a-hunter-buying-his-knowledge-rather/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [“He spoke her name as though he held cinnamon in his mouth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/he-spoke-her-name-as-though-he-held-cinnamon-in-his-mouth/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [“There followed a time when everything was dull. The things that had meant something lost importance, though they were still there, like bruises on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/there-followed-a-time-when-everything-was-dull-the-things-that-had/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [“I had always thought of the sea as a boundary keeping me in my place on land. Now, though, it became an opening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/i-had-always-thought-of-the-sea-as-a-boundary-keeping-me-in-my-place/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [I find that when I come out of the library I'm in what I call the library bliss of being totally taken away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/i-find-that-when-i-come-out-of-the-library-i-m-in-what-i-call-the/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [“It is less distracting in the silence,” she said. “Sustained silence allows one truly to listen to what is deep inside. We call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/it-is-less-distracting-in-the-silence-she-said-sustained-silence/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [The sign of a masterpiece: A painting when there's a lack of resolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/the-sign-of-a-masterpiece-a-painting-when-there-s-a-lack-of-resolution/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [“I did not sleep well that night. I was not used to having the power to affect someone’s life so and did not easily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/i-did-not-sleep-well-that-night-i-was-not-used-to-having-the-power-to/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [I have consistently loved books that I've read when I've been sick in bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/i-have-consistently-loved-books-that-i-ve-read-when-i-ve-been-sick-in/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [“Everybody asks the same questions -- but they don't know that they ask the same questions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/everybody-asks-the-same-questions-but-they-don-t-know-that-they-ask/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) [Explore all 90 Tracy Chevalier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) ## More Biscuit quotes > [You know sometimes football turns on the slightest biscuit of good fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-pleat/you-know-sometimes-football-turns-on-the-slightest-biscuit-of-good/) [David Pleat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-pleat/) > [I cannot go any further without mentioning my favourite biscuit of all time, now sadly, tragically, extinct. The oaty, crumbly, demerara notes of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-slater/i-cannot-go-any-further-without-mentioning-my-favourite-biscuit-of/) [Nigel Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-slater/) > [“If you got the devil to pay, he'll want extra red-eye on his biscuit. He always do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-thornhorn/if-you-got-the-devil-to-pay-he-ll-want-extra-red-eye-on-his-biscuit/) [Randy Thornhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-thornhorn/) > [Cruise the diamond district with my biscuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-kim/cruise-the-diamond-district-with-my-biscuit/) [Lil' Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-kim/) > [“If something’s worth doing, then it’s worth doing properly, even if it is only offering a biscuit with a cup of tea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-gaynor/if-something-s-worth-doing-then-it-s-worth-doing-properly-even-if-it/) [Hazel Gaynor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-gaynor/) > [“Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit, you don’t know how to dance, do you, Josephine?” I didn’t know how to dance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/well-butter-my-butt-and-call-me-a-biscuit-you-don-t-know-how-to-dance/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [If anyone tells me I'm fat, I say, - That's because every time I make love to your wife, she gives me a biscuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-freud/if-anyone-tells-me-i-m-fat-i-say-that-s-because-every-time-i-make/) [Clement Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-freud/) > [Mixing things up, one biscuit at a time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mixing-things-up-one-biscuit-at-a-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Biscuit eaters never leave any crumbs, that is why they have bigger bums!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/biscuit-eaters-never-leave-any-crumbs-that-is-why-they-have-bigger/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Baby I wanna Give you the business. After that sop you up with a biscuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-cafe/baby-i-wanna-give-you-the-business-after-that-sop-you-up-with-a/) [Red Cafe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-cafe/) > [It's said the FA chairman (Keith Wiseman) would travel 200 miles to open a biscuit tin. Why?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-bates/it-s-said-the-fa-chairman-keith-wiseman-would-travel-200-miles-to/) [Ken Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-bates/) > [“I saw the animal's body tense expectantly as he saw the treat in my palm. Unfortunately, it seemed in question as to whether the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/i-saw-the-animal-s-body-tense-expectantly-as-he-saw-the-treat-in-my/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“Done there. Been that. Bought the biscuit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-fitzgerald/done-there-been-that-bought-the-biscuit/) [Judith Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-fitzgerald/) > [“Ben sighed, his mouth crammed with biscuit. "You don't trust us at all, do you? You think we're going to whip out our knobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-saunders/ben-sighed-his-mouth-crammed-with-biscuit-you-don-t-trust-us-at-all/) [Kate Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-saunders/) > [If your slave commits a fault, do not smash his teeth with your fists; give him some of the (hard) biscuit which famous Rhodes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/if-your-slave-commits-a-fault-do-not-smash-his-teeth-with-your-fists/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) [Browse all 61 Biscuit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biscuit/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Molly was up now, sitting in the kitchen nursing the babies and instructing Mrs. Bienenstock on how to make biscuits. “Don’t pound the dough, Dody!” Molly was crying with laughter. “You want to end up crackin’ your teeth on ’em? Pat it gentle like it’s a baby. That’s better.” Robert had only ever seen his landlady make coffee and eggs, and he did not think she would take kindly to being taught. But Mrs. B. seemed willing; she was smoothing out the biscuit dough into a round on the table. Neither woman even glanced over at him as he moved between the yard and the wagon with the pails. “Now, take this cup,” Molly ordered, “and cut out some circles. Don’t twist it! Twistin’ seals the dough and it don’t rise so well. Jest press and bring the cup back out. 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