How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
And the widow made an excellent point: the only thing that separated the living from the Unconsecrated is choice, free will. She wanted the choice to be with her husband. […] I can't fathom leaving an old woman to face such a fate. But such is the way of choice, I imagine. (1.50)
Interesting point—that choice keeps the Unconsecrated from the living. Free will's still tricky, though, when you consider the fact that the living don't choose to become infected. In this regard, there's really no escaping choicelessness when it comes to living among the Unconsecrated. Argh.
Quote #2
"It was her choice," I tell him.
He spits on the ground near my feet and some of the spit catches in the short black hairs on his chin. "It was not her choice. […] She was insane, she was sick." (3.27-28)
Sure their mom might have lost her mind—she did get too close to the fence and get herself infected, after all—but the question remains: Did her descent into madness begin before or after she was bitten? Did it begin when she lost her husband?
Quote #3
"So you have chosen to become one of us?" the eldest, Sister Tabitha, asks me. She stands facing me in front of the altar, flanked by two middle-aged Sisters.
"I have no other choices," I tell her, because it is the truth. (4.2-3)
No joke—thanks to Sister T's village rules, Mary's out of luck unless they take her in.