She began to fear that she would always be greedy, all the time. Nothing ever seemed to fill her up. Nothing ever seemed to touch the sides.”
-- Barbara/Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: After winning the beauty pageant, Barbara knows that the town of Blackpool with suffocate her if she stays. This was her turning point, her decision to pursue a different life for herself.

Love meant being brave, otherwise you had already lost your own argument: the man who couldn’t tell a woman he loved her was, by definition, not worthy of her.”
-- Sophie (chapter 15)

Importance: Sophie (Barbara) has decided to become engaged to Clive, though in her heart she knows that it is a mistake. At this point in the novel she is still conforming and playing a role, though she's not really aware of it, yet.

Being on top of your career was like being at the top of a Ferris wheel: you knew that...
-- Sophie (chapter 16)