Twice a day, I am offered a view into other lives, just for a moment. There’s something comforting about the sight of strangers safe at home.
-- Rachel (Rachel, p. 2 paragraph 4)

Importance: Riding on the train to and from her imaginary job, Rachel looks out at her old neighborhood. It is while looking out at the houses on her old block that Rachel sees how comfortable people are at home, and it comforts Rachel as well, for she has been without a true home of her own for a while. It is also through these observations that Rachel first sees Megan and Scott, whom she will come to call Jess and Jason.

I wonder whether they are there, whether he knows, whether he’s left, or whether he’s still living a life he’s yet to discover is a lie.
-- Rachel (Rachel, p. 35 paragraph 28)

Importance: When Rachel discovers that Jess/Megan is having an affair, she is horrified and...