I, Marnie Walsh, aged thirty-eight, of Herne Hill, London, am lonely.
-- Narrator (Part One)

Importance: Marnie's isolated circumstances in the narrative present introduce the novel's explorations of loneliness as a form of entrapment. Marnie identifies herself as a lonely person after looking through her photos and realizing that she has not photographed another person since she and Neil divorced. This moment therefore captures the significance of Marnie's isolation and reveals how her solitude has come to define her identity and reality.

I like being on my own.
-- Michael (Part One)

Importance: When Michael's friend Cleo insists that he needs to spend more time with other people, he becomes argumentative. He is defensive of his solitary lifestyle because at this early juncture of the novel he feels reluctant to and afraid of change. His insistence that he likes being alone shows how stuck he is in his ways and how immobilized he is by his alienation. This line of...