“Tragedies don’t inoculate you against further tragedies, and misfortune doesn’t get sprinkled out in fair proportions; bad things get hurled at you in clumps and batches, unmanageable and messy.” 

Young’s thoughts are a response to Pak’s insistence that nothing will go wrong if she supervises the dive for a few moments while he leaves. These lines foreshadow worsening circumstances for Pak and Young, as well as Pak’s inability to see how no plan is foolproof.

“Modesty, blending in, invisibility: those were the virtues of wives, not notoriety and gaudiness. Wasn’t that why brides wore veils—to protect them from stares, to mute the redness of their cheeks?” 

Young’s thoughts as she enters the courtroom provide a glimpse into the way Young views her role: She is meant to be modest and unobtrusive. However, Young will have to discard this role to discover the truth and obtain justice.

“But it felt undeserved, wrong, like a prize won by cheating, and instead of buoying her, it weighed her down with worry that God would see and correct the injustice, make her pay for her lies some other way.” 

Although Young is relieved that no one has discovered their secret, she worries that God will punish them for it. This foreshadows what will happen in the rest of the text. Although their lie is seemingly harmless, it will have tragic consequences.