I expected my life to be a lot funnier.”
-- Maud (chapter 3)

Importance: In an early temporal jump, Flattery narrates a scene that takes place in 2010, when Mae reunites with Maud. At lunch, Maud apologizes to Mae for her behavior as a teenager and admits that she “expected [her] life to be a lot funnier” (51). Much of the novel revolves around the expectations that adolescents hold for adulthood. Here, Maud nicely summarizes the way in which these expectations often prove false.

I knew the same transformation was available to me. I could become someone of my own invention.”
-- Mae (chapter 5)

Importance: As she sits down to type for the first time in Andy Warhol’s studio, Mae senses that the position offers her the opportunity to completely transform herself. She begins to view the Factory not simply as her place of employment, but as representative of the transformative power of culture, independence, and maturity.

A dirty mind...
-- Shelley (chapter 6)