She must turn around and see/ what has happened to her, or she will go mad.
-- Speaker (On the Road to Sri Bhuvaneshwari paragraph 3)

Importance: This quote lays out one of the central themes of the collection: the importance of confronting the past. Voyage of the Sable Venus presents this not as something that is simply good to do, but rather something that is necessary for one's survival. Here, the speaker realizes that in order to improve her life, she must face everything that has happened to her in the past. In other poems, the past that must be confronted is a broader, global history.

The World wants to know/ what I am made of. I am trying/ to find a way/ to answer Her."
-- Speaker (On the Road to Sri Bhuvaneshwari paragraph 5)

Importance: This line introduces another recurring aspect of Voyage of the Sable Venus, that of self discovery, and the strength it brings. The speaker feels as if she is being tested, in a way, and...