Quote 7
"No, let it grow a little longer and I could cut mine and we’d be just alike only one of us blond and one of us dark." (38.143)
Catherine wants to literally "cut" through the outward appearance of gender difference.
Quote 8
"Oh, no. I’m something called a V.A.D. We work very hard but no one trusts us." (5.34)
Catherine is a Voluntary Action Deployment nurse. She doesn’t have the education of the nurse, but performs all the duties of a nurse. Perhaps this makes her seem even more courageous. She saw pain and suffering, wanted to help, and didn’t waste time saying "I’m not qualified."
Quote 9
"I’m afraid of the rain because I sometimes see me dead in it. […] And sometimes I see you dead in it." (19.137-138)
When we know how truly scared Catherine is, it makes her seem even more courageous.