To be a tree, no more and no less, was all she was prepared to undertake.
-- Narrator (Part 1 Chapter 1)

Importance: This quote, near the beginning of the novel, shows Nanda Kaul's withdrawal from society. It identifies her with the still, inhuman landscape she has retired to and it explains that she has no intention of reengaging with the world of social affairs.

Here was a letter and she would have to open it. She resolved to say 'No' to whatever demand or request it contained. No, no, no.
-- Narrator (Part 1, Chapter 3)

Importance: Nanda Kaul appears firm in her total rejection of familial duty here, but we know that she ends up allowing Raka to come to Carignano. This quote illuminates the internal tension between her rejection of her past and her inability to be anything else than what she was conditioned to be.

Then there was the bread to be spread with butter, jam jars opened and dug...
-- Narrator (Part 1, Chapter 7)