Her heart had broken at these words, and now, standing before the gate of Magician Emery Thane’s lair, she wished it had stopped beating altogether.
-- Narrator (Chapter 1 paragraph 4)

Importance: When the novel begins, Ceony feels as if her life has ended before it has even begun. Having graduated from college, Ceony hopes to become a Smelter-–her dream–but is stunned to learn she will be a paper magician instead. Ceony’s dismay will not last long, but underscores her absolute dislike of Folding and initial wariness of Thane. Additionally, this quote touches on the theme of the Heart.

The trick is getting the Folds right. Everything must be aligned just so, or the spells won’t work.
-- Thane (Chapter 2 paragraph 57)

Importance: Despite the seeming unappealing nature of folding, Ceony slowly becomes enchanted with it in no small part because of Thane and the magic itself. Thane here explains that Folding isn’t merely throwing together some...