Mattie was never truly mine. That knowledge must have filled me as quickly and surely as the milk from her breasts … along with the comfort of her came the fear that I would lose her someday.
-- Narration (Lisbeth) (Prologue)

Importance: This quote, from the first paragraph in the narrative, indicates and defines the central relationship that anchors the action of the book.

Every time someone called her ma’am, Ann Wainwright felt like a fraud … as Mrs. Jonathan Wainwright, she was the mistress of the house, in theory. But she was hardly involved in the running of the plantation: Mrs. Gray handled day-to-day-matters, and her mother-in-law was loath to relinquish her role as hostess of Fair Oaks”.
-- Narration (Chapter 2)

Importance: This quote offers insight into Ann's mind in the moments before she actually holds her daughter for the first time and at the very beginning of her relationship with Mattie.

Sometimes [Elizabeth] ate, sometimes she slept, but...
-- Narration (Chapter 4)