[the pampas] heaved with grain, tents, Indians on the move, white women escaping from captivity, horses swimming with their gaucho riders still astride, while all around the dorado fish darted like lightning into the depths, into the middle of the bursting river. And in each fragment of that river that was devouring its own banks, a bit of sky was reflected.
-- China (Narration)  (Part One, Chapter 1)

Importance: This quote is taken from an early section of the narrative in which China considers the circumstances of the life in which she finds herself. The key element here is the quote's reference to nature in both its power to sustain life and its power to destroy. This is one of the earliest references in the narrative to its overall thematic interest in the power and value of nature.

I felt a violent passion for my clothes, my dog, my friend, a love which was as much fear as...
-- China (Narration)  (Part One, Chapter 5)