How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
Her dreams were empty on account of all that inner life, because they lacked the essential nucleus of any prior experience of—of ecstasy, let's say. Most of the time, she possessed, without knowing it, the emptiness that replenishes the souls of saints. Was she a saint? It would seem so. (3.98)
So, we're starting to get a better picture of what the narrator thinks is so important about Macabéa. (1) Existentialism requires people to have prior experiences; (2) Macabéa has had no prior experiences. She's, like, a philosophical unicorn: something that's too pure and innocent to actually exist.