"Poor Vampi, Nayeli thought. She was an orphan -- her parents had died in one of those events Nayeli thought of as somehow especially Mexican."

"Nayeli wandered through her mother's small house in the dark. The sideboard that held her father's picture was always lit with a few votive candles standing on saucers, Dona Maria's small altar to Don Pepe."

"He used to take her down to the Baluarte River to shoot his .38. She smiled."

"He earned the equivalent of twenty American dollars a week. And he had to buy his own pistol and bullets."

"He meant that regimes and ancient orders and cultures would all collapse. The world as we know it becomes a new world overnight."

He was protective of her and did not want to worry her about life's difficulties.

He thought she would be able to understand complicated ideas.

He found her annoying and wanted to limit their conversations.

He was interested in unusual trivia and wanted to share it with her.

He was a well-educated, well-dressed, and polite man.

He sought the respect of other men.

He was always looking to start a fight.

He was a rugged man, able to live off the land.

"Her father looked so handsome in his police uniform, erect and grim -- he believed no real man ever smiled in photographs, especially not in uniform."

"He never said he wished he'd had a son, though she could tell he thought it often."

"But he could not make enough money to take care of them."

"Don Pepe was a Mexican man: a fatalist."

She is self-centered and somewhat spoiled.

She resents being mistress of her father's house.

Miss Taylor would not be such a good friend to Emma if she were not being paid by Emma's father.

Her fears of being lonely are unfounded.

"Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence..."

"She was the youngest of the two daughters of a most affectionate, indulgent father..."

"She recalled her past kindness -- the affection of sixteen years -- how she had taught and how she had played with her from five years old..."

"[Miss Taylor] had been a friend and companion such as few possessed...peculiarly interested in herself, in every pleasure, every scheme of hers..."

When a loved one leaves home, a person left behind can feel great sorrow.

Children who are allowed to have their own way face the consequences later.

Parents should not try to become close friends with their children.

Accepting all things as inevitable causes a person to have a pessimistic outlook.

Nayeli feels comforted when she remembers going shooting with her father.

Nayeli feels ashamed when remembering her father because she was not born a boy.

Emma feels deepening grief when she remembers Miss Taylor.

Emma feels grateful, when she remembers Miss Taylor, for their 16 years together.

Fathers and daughters share their own unique relationships.

A father's status in society benefits his daughter.

Fond memories of one's father should be treasured.

A father's sacrifices for his daughter is the ultimate expression of love.

Nayeli's father writes her a postcard saying that his good luck is fleeting.

Nayeli's father leaves home so he can earn enough money to take care of his family.

Emma's situation allows her to run her father's household even though she is young.

When Emma is depressed on the wedding day of her dear friend, Emma's father goes to bed after dinner, as usual.