There is no you here. There is Agnes.
-- Narrator (Manifest)

Importance: In "Manifest," the second-person narrator struggles to make sense of her individual identity after her mother begins to call her by her late grandmother Agnes's name. Throughout the short story, the narrator inadvertently begins to behave like Agnes, a person she is convinced was wicked and cruel. These are the final two lines of the story. They capture the extent of the narrator's transformation and prove that she has manifested Agnes simply by letting her fear control her.

I want to be a woman like my mother.
-- Narrator (Breastmilk)

Importance: The first-person narrator of "Breastmilk" experiences a crisis of identity after she gives birth to her son. She feels suddenly unsure of who she is and doubts her capabilities as a mother and a wife. In part, this is because she cannot produce milk for her baby and because she has not fully forgiven her...