Please hire me, I need to get the fuck out of my house.
-- Merit (Chapters 1-4 )

Importance: This quote from Merit is significant because it rather flippantly expresses the urgency with which Merit feels she needs to shake up her home life before it becomes intolerably stale, a primary motivator for her throughout the novel. However, it also typifies the quippy and brash style of communication that Jane and Merit immediately adopt with one another, one that is not typical of workplace banter and that underscores the nature of the relationship between the two women.

Lars said specifically that I should bring someone onto my team, and I don’t want to give him the impression that he had any say over who I chose.
-- Jane (Chapters 1-4 )

Importance: This quote from Jane embodies exactly the kind of power and influence that she prefers to carry around the office with her, and serves as an early point of...