How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I grew up and I found my purpose and it was to become a physician. (P.14)
Marion sees his profession as his entire reason for being. It's not surprising that he would be interested in medicine, having been raised in a hospital by doctors, but the use of the word "purpose" gives his chosen profession a nobler aura, as though he were called by a supernatural power to develop medical skills.
Quote #2
I chose the specialty of surgery because of Matron, that steady presence during my boyhood and adolescence. "What is the hardest thing you can possibly do?" she said when I went to her for advice on the darkest day of the first half of my life. (P.15)
Can you identify with Marion's desire to do the most difficult thing possible? Some people might cruise along, taking the path of least resistance or just letting the universe show them the way. Marion seems to believe that he is purifying himself by choosing a difficult career path.
Quote #3
"Because, Marion, you are an instrument of God. Don't leave the instrument sitting in its case, my son. Play! Leave no part of your instrument unexplored. Why settle for 'Three Blind Mice' when you can play the 'Gloria'?" (P.17)
Matron compares the art of surgery to the art of music. The "instrument" she talks about is Marion himself at first: "you are an instrument of God." But then the metaphor shifts, and she seems to be referring to Marion's potential: he should practice and work to improve so that instead of just being mediocre, he can be a great doctor.
Quote #4
Surgery was the most difficult thing I could imagine.
And so I became a surgeon.
Thirty years later, I am not known for speed, or daring, or technical genius. (P.21-23)
When Marion comes back to Ethiopia after his exile in the United States, he has received an education in surgery and passed the very difficult board exams. But all of that comes after this moment of resolution, where he imagines something difficult and then chooses to accomplish it.
Quote #5
The apparition was painfully thin, swaying, but resolute, and it seemed a miracle that it was capable of speech, when it said in a voice heavy with fatigue and sadness: "I desire to begin the time of discernment, the time of listening to God as He speaks in and through the Community. I ask for your prayers that I may spend the rest of my life in His Eucharistic Presence and prepare my soul for the great day of union between bride and Bridegroom." (1.1.77)
While everyone in Missing is dedicated to the practice of medicine, Sister Mary Joseph Praise first shows up begging to have the chance to improve her skills as a nun. Of course, part of her service as a nun is to be a nurse, but at this moment, when she appears before Matron for the first time, she is asking for the time to study, contemplate, and really focus on the skill required to be a follower of God.
Quote #6
As a surgeon, Stone was famous for his speed, his courage, his daring, his boldness, his inventiveness, the economy of his movements, and his calmness under duress. […] But when Sister Mary Joseph Praise, his assistant for seven years, went into labor, all these qualities vanished. (1.2.2)
Remember when Marion said that he is not known for his speed, daring, or technical genius? Well, now we know why he chose to include that information: his father is known just for those things. But there's a catch. Marion may not be a show-off doctor, but he is steady. Dr. Stone, on the other hand, was a superstar, but he choked when it really mattered.
Quote #7
Stone didn't believe in glorifying surgeons or operations. "Surgery is surgery is surgery," he liked to say, and on principle he would no more look up to a neurosurgeon than down on a podiatrist. (1.4.15)
It's funny, after our discussion of the differences between Marion's and Stone's skills, that here Marion claims that Stone didn't differentiate between the medical specialties. Stone might not think surgeons are any better than podiatrists, but Marion's decision to choose surgery because it's difficult might hint that he thinks differently.
Quote #8
A Cesarean section was technically not beyond Stone's abilities. But on that fateful day, the thought of taking scalpel to Sister Mary Joseph Praise—his surgical assistant, his closest confidante, his typist, his muse, and the woman he realized he loved—terrified him. (1.4.16)
For Dr. Stone, surgery has always been his wheelhouse. He knows what he's doing; he even wrote a book on it. But this time, the act of operating isn't just part of his job—it has become personal. Maybe the reason Stone is such a good doctor is that he doesn't see his patients as people and can therefore focus on the task at hand.
Quote #9
Hema's hands were like extensions of her eyes as she explored the space that she thought of as the portal to her work; fingers inside took their soundings, helped by the hand on the outside. (1.7.41)
We don't get to see much of Hema in action, but here's a rare peek. Whereas Stone is pretty showy with his skills, Hema is more organic. She feels rather than looks, and, funnily enough, she's able to separate the fact that the person on the table is her dear friend, even though you'd think this is a more intimate approach.
Quote #10
[The newborns] were obstetric miracles for surviving [Stone's] assault. Hema decided to name the first twin to breathe Marion. Marion Sims, she would tell me later, was a simple practitioner in Alabama, USA, who had revolutionized women's surgery. He was considered the father of obstetrics and gynecology, the patron saint; in naming me for him, she was both honoring him and giving thanks. (1.10.77)
The assault that this quote is talking about is the procedure that Stone attempted. He wanted to get the baby out of the birth canal, where it was stuck, because it was killing Sister Mary Joseph Praise. And so, well, the plan Stone came up with was to crush the baby's head and just pull it out. This brutal attack is stopped by Hema, and she names the untouched baby after the father of her field, the person who developed the skills that helped her save the twins.