How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Here was the endless prairie, so rich in its blessings of fertility, but also full of a great loneliness—a form of freedom which curiously affected the minds of strangers, especially those to whom the Lord had given a sad heart. (2.3.3.12)
O.E. Rölvaag gives us a hint to why the prairies affect Beret more deeply than anyone else. It sounds like Beret has always had a heart that leaned toward sadness. In other words, things need to go pretty well for her to be happy. But when she's exposed to the isolation of the prairies, it doesn't take long for her to become severely depressed.
Quote #8
But more to be dreaded than this tribulation was the strange spell of sadness which the unbroken solitude cast upon the minds of stone. (2.4.1.2)
It's nice to think about the American frontier as a place of excitement and adventure. But people don't always realize how harsh and depressing life on the frontier was for many people. We don't always talk about the high rate of suicide among these folks, which was no doubt cause by the isolation and vastness of the place they were living in.
Quote #9
And so had been the Spirit since the day the first settlers landed on the eastern shores; it would rise and fall at intervals, would swell and surge on again with every new wave of settlers that rolled westward into the unbroken solitude. (2.4.1.7)
The settler's life has its ups and downs. But one thing that doesn't change is the "unbroken solitude" of life on the prairies. It takes a certain kind of person to thrive in this atmosphere, and unfortunately, this type of person often came to the New World with a family in tow. Even though a guy like Per Hansa might love the prairies, that doesn't mean the rest of his family will.