Grief is such a—oh, it is such a solitary thing; this is the terror of it, I think.
-- Narrator (N/A)

Importance: At the start of the novel, Lucy insists that she must talk about her first husband William and all the sorrows he has recently experienced. Despite her insistence, Lucy's narration abruptly veers into descriptions of her own sorrow and grief. In this moment, Lucy attempts to explain what she feels in the wake of her second husband's passing. The choppy, halting syntax of the line, however, conveys the difficulty Lucy feels in expressing her true emotions. The moment not only contributes to Lucy's character development, but to the author's thematic explorations regarding grief, fear, and identity.

This is part of the story, and I wish it was not, but it is.
-- Narrator (N/A)

Importance: In order to avoid talking about herself, Lucy decides to structure her story around descriptions of William's life. She begins...