All right,” Connie said, turning his intense gaze upon her. “Then you will see to it that they are all right. You are appointed the commander of wives and children.
-- Connie Fledermann (Prologue)

Importance: This quote signifies the premise of the story about to unfold. When Connie gives Marianne this directive, she spends years finding the wives and children of the men first gathered in that room in the prologue. This quote re-appears several times throughout the novel, when in times of difficulty or struggle Marianne remembers her purpose and her promise. This quote also resonates with the motif of keeping promises and secrets.

Everything was a distraction from the basic struggle between life and death.
-- Marianne (chapter 4)

Importance: Marianne thinks this to herself after she uses Elisabeth’s communion dress (a symbol) to clean up one of Martin’s bloody childhood accidents. She realizes that when she saved the dress she had no idea what the...