“Mary adored her mother with a hopeless affection, like an unrequited crush. She understood this feeling was common in middle children, as Mary was, but there was also a story.”

“What part did she give you?" Zoe asked her mother."Mary, the mother of God.""Talk about miscasting," Nelia said.”

“It came to Mary now that her mother had been right, after all; Mary had been born for this. In sixteen years she'd shot along the shortest route she could find between life and death, as the crow flew.”

“Mary is a very well-written typical eldest child in that she puts her own needs at the forefront... She's not as inclined to conciliate or placate. Cora is fascinated by Mary”

“He scart me," the girl said.Miss Mary nodded and looked over at her in a slow, tired way. "That's your common sense talkin'," she said. "That man scare anybody got common sense.”

“Rilla was not fond of Mary Vance. She had never forgotten the humiliating day when Mary had chased her through the village with a dried codfish.”