Back then I was a romantic. I didn't understand that there's no stopping betrayal. If you live long enough and well enough to know love, its various permutations and shades, you will falter. You will break someone's heart. Fairy tales don't tell you that. Poetry doesn't either.
-- Fiona ("Year 2079" (1))

Importance: This quote is part of Fiona's address to her audience at the question-and-answer session in 2079. While it may appear that Fiona is talking about romantic love between two partners, in the story that follows, Fiona has remarkably little conflict with her romantic partners, enjoying a long marriage to Will and, after his passing, enjoying a second pleasant marriage to Henry. What Fiona is referring to is the tensions between siblings and family members, which will be the main focus of the novel. However, in the very final pages of the novel, as examined in the final quote of this section, Fiona will precisely...