Money, Karen thinks. Where does all the money come from? She is seasoned enough to know that money can’t buy happiness--and it certainly can’t buy health--but it’s still intriguing to contemplate just how much money the people who own these houses must have.
-- Karen (Chapter 3)

Importance: When Karen first sees Nantucket from the ferry, she is struck by the inordinate wealth of the island. This quote is important because it highlights the different class standing between the Otis family and the Winbury family.

The fighting couple are expensively dressed, lots of suede and cashmere, a nice watch on the man, ballet flats on the woman, and she carries some kind of designed bag. (Merritt would be able to identify not only the designer but also the year; she feels about bags the way most men feel about Corvettes.) Genus: Manhattan, Celeste thinks. Species: Upper East Side. Their natural habitat includes...
-- Celeste (Chapter 7)