Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 3 from Speak, Memory

It was really difficult for me to decide on a quotation in chapter 3 of Speak, Memory. I think that's because the English major in me likes for these quotations to link back to the entire theme of the chapter--which is going to be difficult in this situation. So, here goes:

"Aunt Pasha's last words were: 'That's interesting. Now I understand. Everything is water, vsyo-voda" (68).

The reason this particular passage stands out to me is, first of all, that the thought is intriguing. Why would a dying woman say, "Now I understand. Everything is water"? It's just curious (yes, I just used the word curious like a British person would-Americans really just use it as a description of a person's mental state). It's odd. It makes us stop and think about it. Which leads me into my second point: Nabokov basically floods us with names and family history in this chapter. But what I do like is that while he does this he gives us interesting little stories about each one to keep our attention. Some might argue that there aren't enough stories to compensate for the tiresome length of the list of names, but I think it's at least a redeeming quality in this rather heavy chapter.