Out of Africa The Home Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

On the Western wall of my house there was a stone seat and in front of a table made out of a mill-stone. This stone had a tragic history: it was the upper mill-stone of the mill of the two murdered Indians. After the murder nobody dared to take over the mill, it was empty and silent for a long time, and I had the stone brought up to my house to form a tabletop, to remind me of Denmark. (2.5.16)

So if you ever wanted to scare your friends at a slumber party, you should hold it at the Baroness' farm. Her creepy table is a source of power; it's where she sits to rule in the Kyamas. It's got a gory backstory, but also reminds her of her home country; you can psychoanalyze that if you want—it would take us too long to do it here!

Quote #5

I had remained sitting on my horse while I talked to him, to accentuate that he was not a guest in the house, for I did not want him in to dine with me. (3.5.5)

When Emmanuelson, the Swedish fugitive, shows up to ask for some help before his crazy desert crossing, the Baroness reveals a side of herself that she hasn't shown before when it comes to other Europeans. She's guarding her home jealously, even ignoring basic etiquette, to keep it safe from the outsider.

Quote #6

I had been on the farm longing to get away, and they came back to it longing for books and linen sheets and the cool atmosphere in a big shuttered room [...]. (3.6.4)

The home means different things to different people. For the Baroness, it's not-Europe. She's at home there because she feels she's gotten away from home. But to her wild and wooly friends, who lead safaris for a living, it's the closest thing they've got to Europe, and that's exactly what makes it feel like home to them.