How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Love, being an extremely exacting usurer (a sense of exorbitant profit spiritually, as that of exorbitant profit bodily or materially is at the bottom of those of lower atmosphere) every morning Oak's feelings were as sensitive as the Money Market in calculations upon his chances. (4.3)
In a long and confusing metaphor, Hardy tells us that Gabriel Oak tends to wake up each day thinking about his chances with Bathsheba in the same way a stock trader thinks about his chances of making a lot of money on a given day.
Quote #2
Love is a possible strength in an actual weakness. Marriage transforms a distraction into a support the power of which should be, and happily often is, in direct proportion to the degree of imbecility it supplants. (4.5)
In short, love can sometimes turns people's weaknesses into strengths. For example, if you're a greedy person might turn into a super generous one and buy lots of nice things for your sweetheart. A greedy person would take their distraction (an appreciation of the value of money and nice things) and turn it into a support (sharing money and nice things with your beloved). Love makes horrible people into awesome people.
Quote #3
It may have been observed that there is no regular path for getting out of love as there is for getting in. Some people look upon marriage as a short cut that way, but it has been known to fail. (5.2)
No doubt about it. It's a lot easier to fall in love than it is to get out of love once you've been rejected. Some people—cynically people, really—think that the easiest way to kill your love for someone is to marry that person. Hardy har har, Thomas Hardy. Good one.