How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Title.Paragraph)
Quote #10
It was a dreadful thing that he did, and he is not to be admired for it, but right then I felt I understood why he did it. I even felt a little sorry for him. He probably just wanted some company, for it is very lonely knowing things. (48.luciferous.45)
Mattie is thinking of Lucifer from Milton's Paradise Lost and thinking that instead of apologizing to God, Lucifer tricked Adam and Eve and got humans banished from the Garden of Eden forever. Here Mattie not only demonstrates empathy for the quintessential villain (and empathy is another marker of adulthood), she also shows that she knows the dangers of knowledge.