“If you have not died in the womb, or fallen prey to infant mortality, or to a young girl's greensickness, or to the dangers of childbirth, or if persistent pregnancies and perennial breeding have not worn you to a shadow, and you have not dwindled into a premature grave, then if war, sickness, accident or disease all keep their distance, your chances may be strong for a long life.”

“Good, strong knickers underneath your nightgown will inhibit access to the fertile crescent.”

“You must be ready to stay up late to follow it, to begin your conversation with the owl and end it with the cock.”

“History is not what happened but what you are told has happened, irrespective of what is true.”

“Your nakedness is the work of God the Creator. Let men admire it--and grow religious between your sheets.”

“They've been stealing mortals away for centuries, but they can't have you.”

“-"Leslie? What are you doing?"-"Choosing. I'm mine. Not anyone else's."-"I'm still yours, though. That won't ever change, Shadow Girl.”