Madness and towers

My next thought was that Elladine had said she had left me the means to find her, though I could not imagine what she meant. The contents of the box included only the ring, the packet of needles and the three hanks of thread. Which led to the fleeting suspicion that Mama, however lovely, might not have had all of her wits about her. This would explain the aunts' attitude, certainly. Even women as reconciled to the holy will as the aunts might bridle at having a madwoman in the family. It would also explain papa's locking her in the tower, since such is known to be the fate of madwomen and madmen wherever madness and towers occur in appropriate contiguity. Towers, or, in a pinch, attics [28].

Tepper, Sheri S. Beauty. Doubleday / Foundation, 1991. ISBN: 0385419392.