How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
My past is dead. The Marquis de Rollebon is dead, Anny came back only to take all hope away. (31.2).
When Antoine finally gives up on his history project, he realizes that all it ever was was a distraction from the absurdity of his own existence. He used to think that getting Anny back would help him, too. But now he realizes that there's no getting away from the true of existence once it's been revealed to you. Now he feels like every part of him is dead.
Quote #8
"Maybe he is going to kill himself." No: this gentle, baited soul could never dream of death. (33.6)
After the Self-Taught Man gets banned from the Bouville library, Antoine wonders if the guy will kill himself. But he quickly loses the thought, since he knows that the STM is too gentle to do something so drastic. Let's hope he's right.
Quote #9
A year from now I'd find myself as empty as I am today, without even a memory, and a coward facing death. (33.36)
Antoine considers spending his entire fortune for the sake of getting a thrill out of life again. But he knows that if he did this, he would leave himself with nothing. Not even his memories would be important, since he believes that things only exist in the here and now. All he would have left would be death.