As for Gloria, she will never again call herself by the name she was given...
-- Narrator (Gloria)

Importance: Glory has this thought the morning after Dale Strickland rapes her. So traumatized and disturbed by Dale's violence, his aggressive repetition of her given name, Glory attempts to distance herself from the event by changing her name. This decision shows her desire to reinvent herself, to erase the memory of the rape. Her decision to change her name also speaks to the other characters' desire to escape their prescribed identities and create new lives for themselves.

Why must she share her grief with total strangers?
-- Narrator (Corrine)

Importance: Corrine has this thought while sitting in the doctor's office waiting for Potter. Though she is immediately referring to her irritation regarding sitting in the waiting room, her thought also speaks to her later response to Potter's death. So distraught over losing her husband, Corrine self-isolates, refusing to allow anyone...