How we cite our quotes: ("Abbreviated chapter name," page)
Quote #13
"'Your grandfather took me to an asylum after your mother was born. I told him all about you. He said it was impossible to remember the future.'" ("Six Days," 222)
There seems to be a perpetual stitching together of the fabric of space and time in this work, partly due to the intricate timeline of the narrative. Celia heightens this feeling for us her by "prophesying" a bit, looking forward to the time when Pilar would come and comfort her with her presence. Don't be too quick to brush this aside as generic future wisdom; magical realism is in play here, so Celia's actually being visionary.
Quote #14
"Women who outlive their daughters are orphans, Abuela tells me. Only their granddaughters can save them, guard their knowledge like the first fire." ("Six Days," 222)
Celia articulates her loss by turning the natural order of things upside down. How is it possible for a mother to be an orphan when she loses a daughter? Why should a granddaughter save her grandmother, when it should be the other way around? Because Celia is fragile and broken by Felicia's death (and Javier's disappearance)—and she is feeling the effects of age and loneliness—she needs to rely on Pilar's memory and strength to sustain her.
Quote #15
"My granddaughter, Pilar Puente del Pino, was born today. It is also my birthday. I am fifty years old. I will no longer write to you, mi amor. She will remember everything." ("Six Days," 245).
Celia can only relinquish her habit of recording her innermost feelings because Pilar can now be the receptacle of her memory and her present life. As Pilar so astutely observes in another part of the novel, she can actually feel the vitality of her grandmother's memories moving from Celia to herself. This moment, when Celia ends her dependence on the idea of Gustavo, highlights the importance in the lives of these women of a well-curated and preserved set of lifetime experiences.