The the novel's first line is Connie's reference to being insane for real "this time," suggesting that at least in her own mind, her past experience of mental/emotional instability wasn't a genuine reflection of her state of being. This is the first layer in the thick, complex foundation of resentment, anger and pain that fuels the unhappiness and desperation that grows in her throughout the narrative and eventually culminates in the climactic murders in Chapter 19. In other words, these two words foreshadow Connie's forthcoming struggles. Another element of foreshadowing is the references to Angelina and to Luis, who both play important roles. (albeit different sorts of roles) in the narrative to follow. Finally, there is the reference to Claud's death as the result of a dangerous medical "experiment," which foreshadows the emergence into the narrative (Chapter 4) of a similar experiment and Connie's resistance to participation in that experiment, resistance triggered at least in part by Claud's death as referred to here.
Woman on the Edge of Time