"And when you get down to it, Lily, that is the only purpose grand enough for a human life. Not just to love but to persist in love."

1) Lily both loved and hated her mother. She loved her for the memories they had together, lived with the guilt of causing her death, and hated her when she learned she was going to leave anyway. Lily comes full circle in this love by fully recognizing her mother's humanity.

2) August loves unconditionally. She is the best of women, and she loves no matter that she receives nothing in return. She persists and she wins the love she deserves.

3) The last character I would use is May. It was her love and inability to cope with the love she had for others that eventually propelled her is the same direction as her sister April. May took on everyone's troubles and tried to find answers at the wailing wall, but there didn't seem to be any answers for her own pain. Through May's death (suicide), June finally marries Neil and goes on to build a new life. For the end of one thing (a life) was the cause of a new beginning (a marriage).