It felt good for the two of us to be here, in this liminal place where the land shelved into the sea. This realm wasn’t ours.
-- An undisclosed narrator in the Prologue, later revealed to be Emma (Prologue)

Importance: Emma spends her entire life straddling her past life and her present. She opens the novel by describing a liminal place and noting that she does not belong there. This sets the tone for Emma’s chapters, highlighting that Emma is attempting, but failing, to live between two worlds. She is not built for such a thing. Emma references liminal places, including the intertidal zone, throughout the story, representing the harsh environment it presents for its inhabitants. This quote and its subsequent references reaffirm that Emma cannot continue to live in both her past and present.

I never enjoyed hugging in bed before Leo, but when he isn’t here, my body misses his.
-- Emma (chapter 2)

Importance: Emma uses this quotation to indicate the changing point...