“What could she have done? She was a heroine, and with that came certain obligations.”

“Why, what could she have done, being what she is? Was there another Troy for her to burn?”

“Irena Sendler never thought of herself as a hero. She only did what she felt she must, and wished she could have done more.”

“But whether it was a proper shame for what she had done or a shocking shame for her compunctions in sinning, the Bishop was not permitted that afternoon to discover; because when she had got as far as that she was interrupted by being obliged to faint.”

“September could see it. She did not know what is was she saw. That is the disadvantage of being a heroine, rather than a narrator. She knew only that a red light glowed and went dark, glowed and went dark.”

“She wasn't certain of exactly what they had together; she doubted Owen knew, either; but whatever it was, she desperately wanted to hold on to it. They were only at the beginning of what they could become together; if she could help it, she would do anything that she could to keep it from ending.”