How we cite our quotes: ("Abbreviated chapter name," page)
Quote #10
"When you make a saint, the saint takes good care of you. But Felicia showed none of these blessings. Her eyes dried out like an old woman's and her fingers curled like claws until she could hardly pick up her spoon. Even her hair, which had been as black as a crow's, grew colorless in scruffy patches on her skull. Whenever she spoke, her lips blurred to a dull line in her face." ("God's Will," 189)
Things don't really go as Felicia hopes from the moment she chooses to marry Hugo Villaverde. Even when she does everything right and optimistically hopes for positive change, she's pretty well doomed to destruction. It almost feels like transformative suffering is a genetic thing in her family, as this passage mirrors very closely the moment when Celia takes to her bed over the loss of Gustavo.
Quote #11
"Later, they passed colorful handkerchiefs over Felicia's body, all the while grieving in low voices to purify her corpse. By the time they finished, the terrible lumps on Felicia's head had disappeared, and her skin was as smooth as the pink lining of a conch. Her eyes, too, had regained their original green." ("Six Days," 214)
Suffering is not particularly redemptive for Felicia, but somehow, she is granted a miracle of healing after her death. What is the use of this, you may ask? We're not sure, but perhaps it exists to prove to Celia that Felicia's religious beliefs have some validity, even if they don't save her.
Quote #12
"I've started dreaming in Spanish, which has never happened to me before. I wake up feeling different, like something inside me is changing, something chemical and irreversible. There's a magic here working its way through my veins." ("Six Days," 235)
Finally, we have the metamorphosis that gives the book its name. Pilar finds that a few days in Cuba is the only thing she needed to solidify her original identity within her. She feels like a new person after this happens, as though her mother tongue has truly taken root in her soul and brought her to a place of wonder and clarity.