Guilt was extinct in Lapvona thereafter. Perhaps this was what allowed the village to move on after so much loss.
-- Narrator ("Spring")

Importance: Although it comes early in the novel, before the more heavy grappling with grief and memory that Moshfegh explores in the wake of Lapvona’s drought, this quote provides important speculation on the question of cultural memory. Here, Moshfegh gives a hesitating answer to the questions she will ask later in the text about how people are capable of moving on from suffering and trauma as though it had not happened at all.

Marek liked birds because he felt they were liminal creatures between heaven and Earth, and by liking them he was aligning himself with ascension. Jacob liked them for the way they looked.
-- Narrator ("Spring")

Importance: This quote plays into questions of beauty and privilege, and the depth of meaning created by faith. Marek, who is observant and creative as a...