My father’s heart had deteriorated so badly that there ought to be an immediate operation.
-- Janet (N/A)

Importance: This is the information that Janet receives from the heart specialist in the cardiology ward. The medical state of Janet's father's heart is the central material foundation for the story's drama, as both Janet and her father struggle to come to terms with the potentially fatal implications of the condition.

Fame must be striven for, then apologized for. Getting or not getting it, you will be to blame.
-- Janet (N/A)

Importance: Janet makes this statement in narration when thinking about her own personal success and the attitudes of those around her. Janet does not appear to be an especially well-known writer, but she is nonetheless taunted by the paradox, articulated in this quotation, in which she will always face interpersonal obstacles no matter how successful or unsuccessful she is.

I think the best for me to do...
-- Janet's Father (N/A)