I was glad that I wouldn’t have hair anymore that was the same color as my father’s.
-- Marietta (N/A)

Importance: Marietta makes this statement in reference to the fact that her hair turned white when she was relatively young. This statement is the first indication to the reader that Marietta harbors deep-seated, long-lasting resentment towards her father.

God isn’t interested in what kind of job or what kind of education anybody has.
-- Marietta (N/A)

Importance: Marietta gives this as a justification for why she and her husband decide to keep Eupehmia from going to high school. Euphemia then views God as an opponent to her desires, which narratively signals the divergence of Euphemia's values and those of her parents.

Marietta, in my mind, was separate, not swallowed up in my mother’s grown-up body.
-- Euphemia (N/A)

Importance: Euphemia makes this statement in reference to her mother as an adult versus her mother as a child. Euphemia...