I wanted the girl to know the truth.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: Charles's resolution to tell Elizabeth about himself acts as the novel's inciting event. The moment also introduces the novel's explorations of truth, secrecy, and the past. Charles is privately deciding that he wants to claim his identity and is thus seeking to embrace his story for both his own and his daughter's sake.

There was this history I was a part of, a history my body had experienced and moved through, but I never knew it.
-- Narrator (chapter 2)

Importance: Louise's story about Charles's childhood inspires his reflections on his personal history. Charles begins to realize that he has experiences and histories lodged inside of him that he cannot access on his own. Hearing Louise talk grants him access to this buried past. He in turn understands that if he tells Elizabeth about her history, he might similarly help her understand herself.

Since that day I've...
-- Narrator (chapter 4)