How did I wind up here? Rebecca thought. How on earth did I wind up here?
-- Narrator/Rebecca (No Outlet paragraph 33)

Importance: When the novel begins, Rebecca has had to leave her posh New York apartment behind for a broken-down cottage in the mountain town of Squamash in upstate New York. Since Rebecca is a famous photographer, she and the reader can only wonder how she went from Manhattan to a mountain.

Talking about art requires artists to sound purposeful and sure of themselves, but she’d never felt that way.
-- Narrator (How She Wound Up There: The Money Version paragraph 5)

Importance: Rebecca, as a photographer, does not feel confident in her abilities. But, she cannot exactly understand why she lacks the confidence. It will only be later that she discovers she has been using photography as a way to stand apart from life, rather than embracing it. She also learns that she hasn't been truly passionate about what she does in a way that other artists...