I thought there was nothing to lose...
-- Victor (chapter 1)

Importance: After a patient dies on Victor's table at the front, he boldly reaches his hands into the man's chest and squeezes his heart for roughly half a minute. When this surprising act brings the soldier back to life, his colleagues marvel at what he has done. Victor insists the act had nothing to do with his medical training, but was merely born of desperation. The moment captures the fragile nature of Victor and the other characters' lives and circumstances. The war has destabilized their lives, and thus begotten their more impulsive behaviors.

Nothing was certain; the future did not exist . . .
-- Narrator (chapter 2)

Importance: Although Roser has been in love with Guillem for many years, Guillem has been reluctant to engage with her romantically. Everything changes between them, however, when Roser devotes herself to Guillem's care after he returns from the front sick. In this scene, Roser...