Quote 4
"And for the few couples who get disappointed, the rest will never put it to the test anyway. It's something for them to dream about, a little fantasy. What harm is there? But for the two of you, I can see this doesn't apply. You are serious. You've thought carefully. You've hoped carefully." (22.6)
Miss Emily has seen a handful of couples like Kathy and Tommy who are looking to get a deferral. She's probably had to turn a few away before, too. But Kathy and Tommy are different. They haven't been hoping willy-nilly, and that makes Miss Emily's revelation that there are no deferrals that much worse.
Quote 5
"But this dream of yours, this dream of being able to defer. Such a thing would always have been beyond us to grant, even at the height of our influence. I'm sorry, I can see what I'm saying won't be welcome to you. But you mustn't be dejected." (22.24)
Seriously, Miss Emily, did you really think they wouldn't be sad? Miss Emily has just dashed Kathy and Tommy's hopes of spending more time together. Of course the lovebirds are going to be bummed that their dream of a deferral has come tumbling down.
Quote 6
"You said it was because your art would reveal what you were like. What you were like inside. That's what you said, wasn't it? Well, you weren't far wrong about that. We took away your art because we thought it would reveal your souls. Or to put it more finely, we did it to prove you had souls at all." (22.19)
Wow, this is a hefty role for art to play. Does this mean that if the students are bad artists, then they have lesser souls? That doesn't seem quite fair. Unfortunately, Miss Emily doesn't explain her theory in detail. Just like she doesn't explain, oh, anything.