Your people say: you don’t lose your appetite over another person’s problems.
-- Narration (3 )

Importance: The idea underlying this quote is repeated throughout the novel, and becomes a kind of mantra for Tambu. This mantra appeals to Tambu because it gives her a rationalization for why she should not bother to distract herself with the wellbeing of others. For Tambu, “another person’s problems” (23) are not her own problems.

[Y]ou reconsider your options and devise a wiser system to maximize your chances of success by working through each heir, starting with the eldest. You dream of the house you will live in then, in which there will be neither pink frills nor yellow kitchen.
-- Narration (chapter 4)

Importance: In this quote, Tambu schemes about marrying one of MaManyanga’s wealthy sons. The language of “maximizing” success and “working through each heir” reflects Tambu’s personal determination and ruthlessness. So determined to achieve her dream...