There you are!
-- Thomas (Part I)

Importance: Thomas Hart makes this exclamation when he sees Grace Macauley for the first time, shortly after she is born. His excited response to meeting Grace captures his immediate attachment to and care for her. Her sudden appearance in his life moves him and inspires his lifelong commitment to her well-being. This moment also captures the novel's underlying notions that to be seen by others is to exist.

My life would have been a happier one! But all these years there have been two fires in me and neither puts the other out!
-- Thomas (Part I)

Importance: When Thomas is alone, he talks to himself in order to process his complex mental and emotional experiences. In this passage, Thomas is speaking to his divided life. He has felt compelled to compartmentalize his sexuality from his faith as a way to survive. This facet of Thomas's experience explains his isolation and feelings of...