The truth they passed among themselves, in looks alone, was that Anya Whitson was a cold woman; any warmth she had was directed at her husband. Precious little of it reached her daughters.
-- Narrator (Prologue)

Importance: Even though Evan, Meredith, and Nina never address their beliefs out loud, they were all in agreement that Meredith and Nina did not get any of their mother’s affection. On the surface, Evan pretended there was nothing wrong and encouraged his daughters to try harder at their relationship with their mother.

Meredith had never understood why a woman who saw the world in black and white would care so much about flowers, but Nina knew the power of black and white images. Sometimes a thing was its truest self when the colors were stripped away.
-- Narrator (Chapter 3)

Importance: Meredith and Nina both weigh in on the motif of vision when they give their opinions of their mother’s love...