Quote 13
The rusted embroidery hoops left an unsightly orange ring on the linen that may have damaged my prospects for good. (2.5.28)
As a young teenager, Leah totally buys into her father's idea that women are pretty much worthless if they're not married. With that in mind, her "skills" don't include anything useful like hunting or intelligence. Instead, they include embroidery, which she isn't even very good at.
Quote 14
We were married [...] in a ceremony that was neither quite Christian nor Bantu. (5.6.19)
Leah decides to get married for love. Not because her faith tells her to, but because her heart tells her to. How novel!
Quote 15
How can this be, a castle with spires and a moat? Why doesn't the world just open its jaws like a whale and swallow this brazenness in one gulp? (5.8.8)
Er … has it ever? Mobutu's crimes against the people of Congo are reprehensible. He's the 1% with 99% of the people's money—but the people are so oppressed that they can't even imagine revolting.