The happening and telling are very different things. This doesn’t mean that the story isn’t true, only that I honestly don’t know anymore if I really remember it or only remember how to tell it. Language does this to our memories, simplifies, solidifies, codifies, mummifies. An off-told story is like a photograph in a family album. Eventually it replaces the moment it was meant to capture.
-- Rosemary (Part 1, Chapter 7 paragraph Page 48)

Importance: This quote is one of the first hints that Rose is hiding something in her storytelling. Rose is deep in denial about what happened when she was younger. While she has distinct memories of her childhood, she recognizes that those memories aren’t always correct or that she’s modified them to hide from what she’s done. She’s so used accustomed to telling her own version of what happened that she isn’t sure whether or not that’s...