How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
I was not present at Ruth May's birth but I have seen it now, because I saw each step of it played out in reverse at the end of her life. The closing parenthesis. [...] Now she will wait the rest of the time. It will be exactly as long as the time that passed before she was born. (4.10.2)
Adah describes death as the opposite of birth, like a personal circle of life. We return to the oblivion we came from. (Oh, and it sounds like Adah's been reading some e. e. cummings.)
Quote #8
Why, Ruth May is no longer with us! It seemed very simple. We were walking along this road, and she wasn't with us. (5.1.5)
Perhaps Leah's in shock, but she gets over Ruth May's death pretty quickly. Or maybe it's because she's been around so much death in her time in the Congo, she knows it's just a part of life.
Quote #9
The loss of a life: unwelcome. Immoral? I don't know. (6.3.3)
Adah encounters quite a dilemma as a doctor in the United States. In the Congo, death is a sometimes necessary part of life. It prevents overpopulation, and the hunger and conflict that results from it. Plus, Adah doesn't separate human life from "life" in general. All living things matter to her.