My husband Tony sometimes says to me that I underestimate my own power, and I wonder whether that makes living more hazardous for me than for other people.
-- Narrator (NA)

Importance: This is typical of M, betraying the contradictory combination of conceit and diffidence that she exhibits throughout the novel. She lets us know that she is powerful by passing on Tony’s words, rather than making the claim directly about herself. Thus, we learn about her character through what she tells us, in combination with how she tells us. Her self-centered perspective is clear from her notion that she struggles more than “other people,” but her unwillingness to speak well of herself is just as clear in the twist that she puts on Tony’s positive assessment, by suggesting that her powers are a curse rather than a strength.

I first came to know your work fifteen years ago, when it picked...
-- M (NA)