How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
"All the folk jumped up, and then we found that Susan Nunsuch had pricked Miss Vye with a long stocking-needle, as she had threatened to do as soon as ever she could get the young lady to church [...] so as to draw blood and put an end to the bewitching of Susan's children [...]." (2.3.29)
This scene epitomizes the themes of tradition, custom, and superstition more than any other in the book. The idea that Eustacia is a "witch" runs throughout the novel and it helps to both make Eustacia sympathetic and reveal just how superstitious the folks on the heath actually are.
Quote #11
"Yes; 'No moon, no man,' 'Tis one of the truest sayings ever spit out. The boy never comes to anything that's born at new moon. A bad job for thee, Christian, that you should have showed your nose then of all days in the month." (1.3.95)
We hear a lot of "folksy" sayings and beliefs from the heath residents, the chorus of the novel, though this is definitely one of the funnier ones. Scenes like this help to lend a realism and a richness to the culture that Hardy portrays.