Then—oh, then—if you still stood on one foot, with your hot hand clutching the three moist dollars in your pocket, and hoarsely proclaimed your hideous and culpable poverty, nevermore would Mrs. Parker be cicerone of yours.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: This quote, spoken by the narrator in second-person address, represents Mrs. Parker’s classist attitude toward poverty, and also serves as a good example of the story’s highly stylized syntax and diction.

Through the glass of the little skylight you saw a square of blue infinity.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: This quote, spoken by the narrator toward the end of the second-person section, represents the heavenly attributes of the skylight room, and the way that stargazing symbolizes the aspiration to get out of poverty in the story.

They're too lovely for anything," said Miss Leeson, smiling in exactly the way the angels do.
-- Miss Leeson (chapter 1)

Importance: This quote, spoken by Miss Leeson, shows the way that the narrator...