Fallen Chapter 11 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
(Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 1
Daniel had carried her? As in…his arms around her body? The dream rushed back and the sensation of flying—no, of floating—overwhelmed her. She felt to tethered down to her bed…Her face grew hot, first with desire, then with the agonizing impossibility of any of that ever happening while she was awake. Those glorious, blinding wings were the only fantastical things about that dream. The real-life Daniel would only carry her to the nurse's station. He would never want her, never take her in his arms, not like that. (11.90)
Luce is an expert at throwing pity parties, and here is one of her best ones. The dream of flying with Daniel the night before, of seeing him with wings, of having him kiss her, is nothing more than a fantastical image her mind created for her. Or is it? Dun, dun, dun
Quote 2
[Randy] had a bouquet of wild white peonies in her hand. Strange. They were Luce's favorites. And it was so hard to find them in bloom around here. (11.103)
A small detail here, but context clues tell us that Randy has collected these flowers from Daniel, who was standing outside the hospital door while he waited to find out if Luce was okay. Remembering her favorite flower is definitely a sign that he cares about her—and that he knows this detail not from present-day Luce, but from a past Luce.
Quote 3
There was only a little light left in the day. Luce felt a stabbing regret at wasting the sunset, as if there were anything she could do to stop it. Somehow she knew these final rays of light were as precious as the last drops of honey in a jar. (11.3)
Not only does this moment count as a nod to the scene at the library, but it also suggests that something about Luce is changing. If Daniel really is producing this bioluminescent glow behind him and is not a comet or a radioactive spider, then there's totally something supernatural going on with him.
Quote 4
After Trevor died, not a week had gone by without a hate letter finding its way to Luce. Her parents started trying to vet the mail before she could read the poisonous stuff, but too much of it still reached her…She thought she'd done so much to move on from that nightmare: leaving her past behind when she came to Sword & Cross, focusing on her classes, making friends…Soon, surely the same types of people who'd come for Trevor's death would come to her again…Just like before, she'd be expected to have the whole story pieced together, to remember every single detail. But of course, just like before, she wouldn't be able to." (11.60-64)
Sometimes, no matter how much you want redemption, there are going to be other people who solely want to mete out punishment for the wrongs they feel need to be righted. Part of Luce's fear over Todd's death is that she is again going to be accused for something she had no idea happened and had no part in.
Quote 5
"I told them you were innocent," Miss Sophia said, turning to remind the officers. "Eerie similarities be damned." (11.120)
In an act of (fake) kindness, Miss Sophia stands up for Luce's innocence even in the face of the condemning evidence. If she weren't such a terrible person, this might make us like Miss Sophia a little bit more.
Quote 6
Her parents seemed almost eager to leave her. They had a way of not really wanting deal with the realities of having a reform school daughter. They were so normal. She couldn't really blame them. (11.175)
Here Luce's fear of being ostracized even skews her perception of her own parents. In part, this is why her redemption arc takes far longer than it would otherwise: she won't forgive herself. In fact, perhaps her self-estrangement from her parents is the very thing that strains their relationship; they genuinely seem just to want a nice Parents' Day with her, after all.