“When a person you love dies, the calendar becomes a minefield... But the anniversary is different. On the anniversary of the loved one’s death, you slip backward through time to this same day, one, five, ten years ago. You live it all over again, minute by minute.”
This quote speaks to the theme of grief prevalent throughout Saint X. The experience of losing a loved one is described as a "minefield," emphasizing the sudden, explosive nature of grief that can be triggered unexpectedly, particularly on significant dates. In the quote, the mention of the anniversary as a day where one relives the trauma minute by minute highlights the cyclic nature of grief, how it binds one to the past, and the difficulty in escaping this loop.
“She was what all the dead are: whatever the living make them.”
This quote illustrates the theme of perception and the subjectivity of memory in Saint X. Each individual interprets and remembers the deceased differently based on their experiences, emotions, and biases. In the novel, different characters perceive and construct Alison's character differently: as a symbol, a mystery, a loss, or a burden. This line underscores the idea that the dead live on in the narratives created by the living.
“For so long it was all I wanted. The truth! The truth! Good, fine, but for what? With the truth we will do what, become what? And in gaining the truth, what do we lose? It seems to me now that some truths will never be enough to seal the mysteries that precede them. I think in her own way my mother understood this all along—that there is nothing the truth can give you that you cannot give yourself. That in the end, you just have to decide. To live. To continue.”
In this quote, Claire grapples with the concept of truth, which is a central theme in Saint X. It underlines the idea that sometimes the pursuit of truth might lead to more confusion and pain rather than closure. The truths uncovered may not be enough to answer all the questions or mysteries. The quote also reflects on the limits of truth, emphasizing that, in the end, individuals must make their own decisions and find their ways to cope and live, independent of the external truths they uncover.
