I am your maid. I know so much about you. But when it comes down to it; what is it that you know about me?
-- Narrator (Prologue)

Importance: The narrator closes the Prologue with a question in order to set the impetus for the rest of the novel. The author unpacks the definition of an archetypal maid by tracing her main character's growth from a vocational to person identity. While the narrative is framed by the investigation of Mr. Black's death, this quotation centers the author's thematic examinations on the identity of the maid.

I picture offensive people or recall uncomfortable moments, and I wipe them away. Gone. Erased, just like that. My mind is returned to a state of perfection.
-- Narrator (Chapter 2)

Importance: Throughout the novel, Molly conflates physical and moral purity. Her desire for simplicity precludes her ability to examine the more nuanced definition of morality. She visualizes cleaning away the upsetting memories in...