How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
The Bishop remembered the scene in his chambers more than a decade ago….Yet he had been alone. He had told no one. Who was this Speaker, and how did he know so much about things he could not possibly have known? (15.137)
Ender knows, of course, because Orson Scott Card told him. Ender speaks true because Card lets him speak true… and oddly, the reverse is the case as well. Ender's miraculous powers of perception underline, or validate, Card's story. Card's story about Marcao and Novinha must be true, because Ender can see so much else that is true. Ender's perceptiveness becomes Card's perceptiveness, and vice versa.
Quote #8
"So she endured, even invited Marcao's punishment. It was her penance. It was never penance enough. No matter how much Marcao might hate her, she hated herself more." (15.165)
This is Ender telling Novinha's story. We're supposed to see that story as true—we're told over and over that Ender is revealing truth. But we know it's just a story, and even in the story it's not Novinha that tells it, but Ender. Ender says Marcao didn't want power over Novinha, but are we sure that's true? Doesn't Ender also assert power over her by telling her he knows her story better than she does?