"Through the years these roles would reverse, then reverse again, until we came to accept our dual natures."

As friends and lovers, Smith and Mapplethorpe provide needed balance to each other. Smith has a more outwardly rebellious nature that she tries to temper, while Mapplethorpe has an outwardly decorous nature that he tries to corrupt. They modulate their behavior according to the needs of the other, proving light to each other in dark times. 

"I had no proof that I had the stuff to be an artist, though I hungered to be one."

After Smith's first exposure to art in the real world, she knows that all she wants to do is become an artist. Though she has no discernable talent for art at the time, she orients her life towards cultivating the gifts that she will bring her artistic acclaim as an adult.

"He was an artist and he knew it. It was not a childish notion. He merely acknowledged what was his."

While Smith feels drawn to art but can't discern her relationship to it, Mapplethorpe knows from a young age that he’s an artist. His talents then manifest in his drawing abilities and his skill with making jewelry. Mapplethorpe's absolute dedication to making a life for himself as an artist, with no second thoughts, reflects this early self-knowledge.