The House of the Scorpion

“Have I done you a favor? thought Eduardo as he watched the baby turn its head toward the bustling nurses in their starched, white uniforms. Will you thank me for it later?”

Eduardo, the scientist, wonders if he has done the only surviving clone a favor by keeping its intelligence intact. The question itself foreshadows the ethical questions about the existence of clones that the novel concerns itself with. His thoughts embody the story’s core theme and question—as it is the start of the protagonist’s life.

“Celia said it was a song to the Virgin. It occurred to Matt that this dove had come from the Virgin and that the feather meant She would watch over him here as She had done in the little house.”

When Matt is trapped in the servant’s quarters, he clings to any hope that the Virgin is watching over him and he is not alone. His reliance on the pure Virgin is in stark contrast with society’s accusations that clones are soulless, vile creatures worse than animals.

“Matt wasn’t trying to upset her. He couldn’t talk. When he tried to make the words, he was overcome with terror. To speak was to open a door into his carefully built fortress, and anything might rush inside.” 

After being saved from his isolation and cruel imprisonment in the servant’s quarters, Matt is so deeply scarred that he is unable to speak. He has built and maintained a carefully built fortress around his mind and heart to protect himself from cruel treatment and harm and is still unable to open up despite being safe with Celia.