How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The road led southwest, toward the streak of pale watery light that glimmered in the leaden sky. The light fell upon the two sad young faces that were turned mutely toward it: upon the eyes of the girl, who seemed to be looking with such anguished perplexity into the future, upon the somber eyes of the boy, who seemed already to looking into the past." (1.1.18)
"Pale" and "watery" aren't exactly words we'd use to describe a romantic sunset. But hey, this is a somber moment between young Carl and Alexandra. It sums up their different attitudes toward life on the Divide; Alexandra is looking with "anguished perplexity" toward what's to come, while Carl is already dwelling bitterly on the past.
Quote #2
Alexandra drove off alone. The rattle of her wagon was lost in the howling of the wind, but her lantern, held firmly between her feet, made a moving point of light along the highway, going deeper and deeper into the dark country. (1.1.33)
We get the sense, here, that Alexandra herself is like her lantern's "moving point of light," travelling forward into a darkness that strikes fear in the hearts of everyone else. She has hope for the future—and that sets her apart.
Quote #3
Like most of their neighbors, they were meant to follow in paths already marked out for them, not to break trails in a new country. A steady job, a few holidays, nothing to think about, and they would have been very happy. It was no fault of theirs that they had been dragged into the wilderness when they were little boys. A pioneer should have imagination, should be able to enjoy the idea of things more than the things themselves. (1.4.1)
Let's face it: not everyone on the Divide chose to live there. Some people there don't really have any dreams, hopes or plans for the future, unless they include moving away—though it's usually too late for that. Such is definitely the case with Lou and Oscar Bergson, as this passage tells us. They just aren't true pioneers. So, who is?
Quote #4
Things away from home often look better than they are. […] Anyway, I've heard so much about the river farms, I won't be satisfied till I've seen for myself." (1.4.43)
Alexandra isn't exactly what we'd call a "dreamer." The narrator explicitly says that she doesn't have "much imagination" (3.2.1). Well, something similar comes across in this statement. Alexandra's not easily misled to believe that things must be better beyond the Divide—she needs to see it to believe it. That kind of practical, down-to-earth attitude is what her character is all about.
Quote #5
For the first time, perhaps, since that land emerged from the waters of geologic ages, a human face was set toward it with love and yearning. It seemed beautiful to her, rich and strong and glorious. Her eyes drank in the breadth of it, until her tears blinded her. Then the Genius of the Divide, the great, free spirit which breathes across it, must have bent lower than it ever bent to a human will before. The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman. (1.5.3)
Alexandra might not be the romantic type. But when it comes to her relationship to the Divide, things get a little complicated. In this passage, in which the Divide seems to come alive as a personified "Genius," we might very well be gaining access to Alexandra's unconscious dreams and desires—her "heart."
Quote #6
"We hadn't any of us much to do with it, Carl. The land did it. It had its little joke. It pretended to be poor because nobody knew how to work it right; and then, all at once, it worked itself. It woke up out of its sleep and stretched itself, and it was so big, so rich, that we suddenly found we were rich, just from sitting still." (2.4.4)
Even in the things she says, as in this statement, Alexandra reveals the way the Divide comes to life in her fantasies. Not only in the Divide alive, and like a human being, but it also has a will of its own. But really? Alexandra didn't have "much to do with it"?
Quote #7
"He shall do whatever he wants to," Alexandra declared warmly. "He is going to have a chance, a whole chance; that's what I've worked for." (2.4.8)
In the same way Alexandra tries to erase her own efforts to create a successful farm, claiming that "the land did it" (2.4.4), she also claims that she's working for the benefit of others. In this case, it almost sounds like she's trying to live through Emil, passing all the benefits of her hard work onto him.
Quote #8
Marie's face fell under his brooding gaze. She looked down at his wet leggings. "I'm sure Alexandra hopes you will stay on here," she murmured.
"Then Alexandra will be disappointed," the young man said roughly. "What do I want to hang around here for? Alexandra can run the farm all right, without me. I don't want to stand around and look on. I want to be doing something on my own account." (2.8.28-29)
Alexandra might have grand plans for her little brother, Emil, but he's got a mind all his own, thank-you-very-much. He's not content to be part of her dream. He wants to go out and do something on his "own account." Well, that's what he'll do, all right…
Quote #9
When everything is done and over for one at twenty-three, it is pleasant to let the mind wander forth and follow a young adventurer who has life before him. (3.1.40)
In commenting on Marie like this, the narrator tries to convince us of her hopeless position. After marrying Frank and settling down to a frontier life on the Divide, Marie's future is all but closed off. But the there's Emil, whose freedom and adventurous spirit are so tempting…
Quote #10
Out of her father's children there was one who was fit to cope with the world, who had not been tied to the plow, and who had a personality apart from the soil. And that, she reflected, was what she had worked for. She felt well satisfied with her life. (4.1.4)
The narrator repeats what Alexandra herself has said before. In her mind, she has been working all this time for the benefit of others—Emil, specifically. Now that's able to study at the university, she's "well satisfied with her life." Well, only a tragedy like Emil's murder can shake her out of that mindset.