...among other things a marriage is a system of belief, a story, and though it manifests itself in things that are real enough, the impulse that drives it is ultimately mysterious.”
-- Faye (chapter 1 paragraph 22)

Importance: This quote shows how lost the narrator is in explaining why her marriage ended. According to the system of belief of what makes a good marriage, everything was fine. It was the story of a middle class family with lovely children who lived in the English countryside. Later readers learn that her friend thought that her marriage was so perfect, her family so happy, that he felt like a failure when he saw them together. Yet, this story is not what keeps a marriage together. She is at a lost at trying to explain what does. It is a mystery. The answer would have saved her marriage.This quote also sets up the theme of illusion versus reality. Even...