Don't revisit the past. You're stronger than you know.
-- Tiny's husband (chapter 1)

Importance: When Tiny tells her husband that she is pregnant with an owl-baby, he dismisses her announcement as a fairy tale. However, he also makes this allusion to Tiny's past in his response. Because the reader has yet to learn about Tiny's life before her marriage, this moment infuses the narrative with mystery and tension. Tiny's husband's words are alluding to Tiny's childhood in the gloaming. He wants Tiny to forget her past, because he believes her past inhibits her from living a normal life in the present.

You'll be a wild thing that belongs in a cage.
-- Tiny's Father (chapter 1)

Importance: Although Tiny is careful not to discuss her past with her husband, in scenes where she is feeling emotionally overwhelmed, her mind slips into memory. One such instance occurs when Tiny is driving home from the clinic. In this flashback, Tiny recalls her father...