How different are the words of those exalted beings from [Vincent's]?
-- The narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: The reader must ask: what role does Vincent play in this narrative? This quote showcases the wisdom existent within humanity. The narrator describes Vincent in terms of his oracular abilities, but since there is no evidence that Vincent actually has superhuman powers, Vincent must stand for human excellence. A portrait of him opens the novel in order to offer an initial antithesis for the narrator.

We were thrown off balance by [Suhasini's] love for one of us, and so we tore into her with such vengeance that she collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
-- The narrator (chapter 2)

Importance: This quote demonstrates the overwhelming tendency for Shanbhag’s characters to distance themselves from the “other.” When they encounter someone who is a stranger (someone who is not included in the “we” that is the narrator’s family), they expect to be mistreated or used and...