“All the reading she had done had given her a view of life that they had never seen.”

“In such a way she had done what her people prized above all else: she had given her respect to those different from herself.”

“Kate had never in her life seen such frightful deformities, and the goblins had never seen such a hideous dress.”

“But that was only the beginning of her mortification. Harold had proved her wrong. He had seen that she was a shifty, shallow hypocrite. She had not dared to be alone with him since her exposure. She had never looked at him and had hardly spoken. He seemed cheerful, but what was he thinking? He would never forgive her.”

“She had waited all her life for something, and it had killed her when it found her.”

“She had her addictions and one of them was reading.”

“Today, she had yielded the sovereignty of her country to Eugenides, who had given up everything he had ever hoped for, to be her King.”

“He never wanted to be away from her. She had the spark of life.”

“Her life, except for reading, had been dull—but it had not been in vain.”

“Daisy had known the novel was silly even as she had read it, but that had not detracted one bit from her enjoyment.”