My shadow rises up like a prayer.
-- Beauty (chapter 2)

Importance: This is the first chapter where we meet Beauty, and the fact that she basically starts her first chapter with this religious sentiment goes to show how she is a spiritual, even if not typically religious, person. This immediately tells the reader something about Beauty's character and suggests that this spirituality will have an important part to play as the novel progresses. The phrase is used talk about the shadow cast by the flame of a candle Beauty is holding, and the transience of shadows and flames also suggests that there will be a lot of changes and sacrifices in Beauty's story. The language she uses is highly eloquent, and even poetic, which demonstrates her intelligence and education.

I see you, I hear you, and you are not alone.
-- Beauty (chapter 2)

Importance: Even though this quotation is used by Beauty to describe the closeness of her...