I don’t call that living when all you think about is staying alive.
-- Eric (Chapter 1)

Importance: Early in the novel, Eric decides he cannot avoid fate. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, Eric knows what awaits him. Katrin urges him to fight no matter what. Eric agrees to fight only to make her happy, but even Katrin knows the future is unavoidable. Eric explains that he does not want to live a life where all he does is think about staying alive, because there is much more to life than merely staying alive. Katrin will learn much more about this in the coming chapters.

And all that benevolent admonishing worked futilely on the fact that he, the admonisher, was necessary to her doing what he asked.
-- Narrator (Chapter 2)

Importance: Here, Katrin considers what he next step will be in life following Eric’s funeral. Prior to his dead, Eric had always gently pushed her to do things...