How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The road to Ivar's homestead was a very poor one. He had settled in the rough country across the county line, where no one lived but some Russians—half a dozen families who dwelt together in one long house, divided off like barracks. Ivar had explained his choice by saying that the fewer neighbors he had, the fewer temptations. (1.3.16)
The Divide is already a pretty isolated place. So, Ivar's self-imposed isolation is the first sign that he's "crazy"—a social outcast. Because the Divide is so isolated, community is that much more important; living off the grid, like Ivar, is a big no-no. Maybe that's why Alexandra later moves Ivar in with her, when she decides to take him under her wing.
Quote #2
He always put on a clean shirt when Sunday morning came round, though he never went to church. He had a peculiar religion all of his own and could not get on with any of the denominations. Often he did not see anybody from one week's end to another. (1.3.23)
In an isolated place like the Divide, religious communities are a big deal. Ivar's inability to "get on" with any of these communities is one of the reasons why he's out in the woods (so to speak). Though he seems to have chosen his isolated life, it's possible he's also a victim of social exclusion. Of course, as the novel progresses, we learn how true that is.
Quote #3
Ivar found contentment in the solitude he sought out for himself. He disliked the litter of human dwellings: the broken food, the bits of broken china, the old wash-boilers and tea-kettles thrown into the sunflower patch. He preferred the cleanliness and tidiness of the wild sod. (1.3.24)
The narrator tries hard to give us the sense that Ivar has actually chosen his hermit life-style. He's not "crazy," the narrator implies—it's just that his preferences differ from those of other people. In his case, he's drawn by a connection to the natural world, the "cleanliness" of the "wild sod."
Quote #4
He best expressed his preference for his wild homestead by saying that his Bible seemed truer to him there. If one stood in the doorway of his cave, and looked off at the rough land, the smiling sky, the curly grass white in the hot sunlight; if one listened to the rapturous song of the lark, the drumming of the quail, the burr of the locust against that vast silence, one understood what Ivar meant. (1.3.24)
This narrator definitely feels for Ivar and his off-beat religious views. Though a social outcast, Ivar enjoys his isolated existence away from humanity. It brings him closer to nature, which also makes him feel closer to God. So, he's not all that alone after all, right?
Quote #5
"Since you have been here, ten years now, I have never really been lonely. But I can remember what it was like before. Now I shall have nobody but Emil. But he is my boy, and he is tender-hearted." (1.4.17)
Ivar's isolated lifestyle might sound charming, but from Alexandra's perspective, it's clear that loneliness is a big danger of living on the Divide. When Carl leaves, she has to shift her attachment to Emil, who will continue to be the center of emotional universe until his murder, which then pushes her into the deep end for a while.
Quote #6
"But don't you sort of hate to have people see him around here, Alexandra?" she went on with persuasive smoothness. "He is a disgraceful object, and you're fixed up so nice now. It sort of makes people distant with you, when they never know when they'll hear him scratching about." (2.3.11)
Alexandra thinks she's doing a good thing by moving Ivar onto her homestead. But, as Annie's comment suggests, it means some of what makes Ivar a social outcast starts to rub off on her. You definitely don't want to be "distant" from other people in this community—they might start thinking you're straight up nuts.
Quote #7
"But they are different, and now that they have farms of their own I do not see so much of them. We divided the land equally when Lou married. They have their own way of doing things, and they do not altogether like my way, I am afraid. Perhaps they think me too independent. But I have had to think for myself a good many years and am not likely to change." (2.4.10)
Alexandra becomes isolated—literally and figuratively—within her own family. She might not be an outcast like Ivar, but we definitely can understand why she sympathizes with him so much.
Quote #8
Carl shook his head mournfully. "Freedom so often means that one isn't needed anywhere. Here you are an individual, you have a background of your own, you would be missed. But off there in the cities there are thousands of rolling stones like me. We are all alike; we have no ties, we know nobody, we own nothing. When one of us dies, they scarcely know where to bury him." (2.4.23)
So, you think moving to a city will help with the frontier blues? Think again, Carl says. This is a Really Important passage in O Pioneers!: Carl implies that freedom is relative, and that independence from the communal life of the Divide doesn't necessarily liberate you to be yourself. In fact, it might just make you more miserable.
Quote #9
Alexandra sighed. "I had hoped you might understand, a little, why I do want to. But I suppose that's too much to expect. I've had a pretty lonely life, Emil. Besides Marie, Carl is the only friend I have ever had." (2.11.22)
We don't often have the sense that Alexandra is a lonely person. But passages like this one plainly let us know how she's feeling. Could all her hard work and determination be helping her to numb the pain of isolation? Maybehaps.
Quote #10
As the weeks went by and she heard nothing from him, it seemed to Alexandra that her heart grew hard against Carl. She began to wonder whether she would not do better to finish her life alone. What was left of life seemed unimportant. (5.1.33)
Here, we really start to see what sets Alexandra apart from a hermit, like Ivar. While Ivar finds meaning in an individual (and lonely) relationship to nature and faith, Alexandra doesn't see much point to living with her loved ones.