At several points in the story, Lucy makes observations that may be unobvious to the reader. Lucy seems to see thing coming before they happen. Kincaid does this to give the impression that Lucy is notably intelligent, which turns out to be central to the novel. The author spends a lot of time dwelling on Lucy's ability to understand things, as if to point out she has a superior intellect. Readers discover later that the rift between Lucy and her mother was caused by the mother having lower expectations for Lucy. In this manner, Lucy's expression of her intelligence is directly linked to her rebellion from her mother, which happened in the past. Past of course effects future, and Lucy's fallout with her mother also resulted in her inability to love. Lucy finally obtains independence and freedom from her mother but she is unable to love because she believes that she will not be able to love anyone like she loved her mother. Due to the fact that Lucy's mother neglected her and pushed her aside after the arrival of her brothers Lucy can no longer give herself completely to anyone for fear that they will just leave her like her mother did.