How we cite our quotes: Volume.Part.Chapter.Paragraph
Quote #1
Her hair is so faint and pale a brown—not flaxen, and yet almost as light; not golden, and yet almost as glossy—that it nearly melts, here and there, into the shadow of the hat. (1.1.8.21)
This image of Laura practically melting is crucial to understanding her character, or lack thereof. Laura is a bit like a shadow, a blank slate of a romantic lead who's never very well defined. You can read more about Laura's lack of definition in her character guide.
Quote #2
Think of her as you thought of the first woman who quickened the pulses within you that the rest of her sex had no art to stir. (1.1.8.23)
Here's further proof of Laura's blank-slatehood in this line from Walter. Walter basically tells readers to superimpose their own ideal woman onto Laura, making her a sort of everywoman heroine… and sex symbol.
Quote #3
"I see it—more unwillingly than I can say. To associate that forlorn, friendless, lost woman, even by accidental likeness only, with Miss Fairlie, seems like casting a shadow on the future of the bright creature who stands looking at us now." (1.1.8.73)
Anne and Laura's close ties are at the core of the book's identity theme. At first glance Anne seems like a negative image, or the opposite of Laura. But Anne herself has some positive qualities (such as a willingness to act) that the super-passive Laura lacks.