“. . . she dreamed of nothing, for she hoped for nothing and expected nothing. It was as cold and dark inside her as out in the frosty night.”

“Just because you don't know everything don't mean you know nothing.”

“She was not as stupid as some I have had, and better company, but still perhaps her going was for the best. She was not what I needed.""Because I failed," whispered Alyce in the shadows."Because she gave up," continued the midwife. "I need an apprentice who can do what I tell her, take what I give her, who can try and risk and fail and try again and not give up...”

“I think sometimes that people are like onions. On the outside smooth and whole and simple but inside ring upon ring, complex and deep.”

“I want to remake the world; anything less is not worth the trouble.”

“I want to remake the whole world; anything less is not worth the trouble.”

“. . . . I cannot escape my life but can only use my determination and courage to make it the best I can.”