How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
House and barn under the same roof?... She said no more, but fell into deep and troubled thought… Man and beast in one building? How could one live that way? (1.2.8.13)
Beret is skeptical about Per Hansa's plan to build their stable and home under the same roof. While Per is just being practical, Beret still has certain standards of civilization she'd like to live by.
Quote #2
It seemed plain to her now that human life could not endure in this country. (1.3.11.5)
Beret takes one good look at the American prairie and figures that there's no way the land will support human life. For starters, they'll have no protection from storms because there are no trees anywhere. Second, how will they stay sane with nothing but flat, brown land in every direction?
Quote #3
Suppose [the children] were to grow up here, would they not come to be exactly like the red children of the wilderness—or perhaps something worse? (1.3.11.6)
Beret worries that the longer her family stays in Dakota, the more her children will grow up to be like Native American kids. She's totally showing off her racism here, but what she's thinking about deep down is what (if any) vestiges of their former lives her family will be able to keep if they stay on the prairies forever.
Quote #4
"Well […] yesterday morning Sörrina suspected that cow of ours of wanting male company!" (1.3.12.8)
When the cows all go missing, Tönseten relays the message that the female cows have probably run off to look for a bull. The humans think this is silly, but at the end of the day, nature still reigns supreme in the world of animal urges.
Quote #5
People had never dwelt here, people would never come; never could they find home in this vast, wind-swept void. (1.4.6.3)
Beret is pretty convinced that Dakota has nothing to offer them but a "wind-swept void." Or in other words, it's simply not a suitable place for human life to exist in. Even the Native Americans only come to this land when they're on their way somewhere else.
Quote #6
The explanation was plain; this desolation out here called forth all that was evil in human nature. (1.4.11.29)
Beret thinks that the vast abyss of the prairies ultimately brings out the worst in people. Without civilization, there's no way for people to stick to traditional morals.
Quote #7
The caravan headed for the sky; it steered straight onward. Now, at last, Per Hansa had time to look about him and rejoice in what he saw… All he saw was beautiful! (1.5.4.3)
Unlike Beret, Per Hansa looks at the Dakota prairies and sees nothing but beauty—a blank canvas that he can use to paint his masterpiece of a life. He plans on building an entirely new kingdom dedicated to his own glory and manliness.
Quote #8
The landscape showed a monotonous sameness… never the slightest change… Grey sky—damp, icy cold… Snow fell… snow flew… He could only guess where the huts of Hans Olsa lay. (1.6.3.8)
Despite his enthusiasm, Per Hansa has the occasional flicker of doubt about just how great the prairies are. He has two eyes, after all, and he can see just how much flat, brown land exists in every direction.
Quote #9
An endless plain. From Kansas—Illinois, it stretched, far into the Canadian North, God alone knows how far; from the Mississippi River to the western Rockies, miles without number…Endless…beginningless. (2.1.1.1)
Back in the days of European settlement, people didn't even know how far the prairies went in certain directions. For all they new, the prairies were infinite. And that's the sort of unknown that can really play tricks with your mind.
Quote #10
Everything he had planted that spring was blooming like a garden. Why, he could just hear the potatoes grow! (2.2.8.3)
There is nothing in life more beautiful to Per Hansa than watching his crops grow. He feels so intimately connected to his land that he feels like he can hear his potatoes growing. This reaction lies in pretty stark contrast to Beret's, which hears nothing but empty wind blowing in an empty place.