What is a good quote by Emily in Atonement?

Literature is subjective, especially when looking at
fiction. This being said, what one may define as a "good quote", another may find
nothing substantial in the same words.

As for a quote from
Emily, in McEwan's Atonement, one needs to understand Emily's
perspective in the novel. Bedridden for the majority of the text, Emily suffers from
severe migraines. Given this, the pain one feels from constant migraines can cause their
normal temperament to be changed.

The most pertinent images
of Emily appear as provided by the narrator. While her "quotes" provide simplistic
ideas, the narrator's understanding of Emily's character much
better.

She
would soothe the household, which seemed to her, from the sickly dimness of the bedroom,
like a troubled and sparsely populated continent from whose forested vastness competing
elements made claims and counterclaims upon her restless attention...She had no
illusions.

This, although
deep into the novel (chapter seven) offers readers a defined understanding of who Emily
really is. She is a woman, who despite her 'ailment' recognizes the importance of taking
care of her family. She also recognizes that it will be hard, given the different
directions that she is pulled. The fact that she can "send her tendrils into every room
of the house" shows her desire to become the one all can depend
upon.