How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
One point was evident in this; that she had been existing in a suppressed state, and not in one of languor, or stagnation. (1.6.9)
Hardy may have been brushing up for a vocabulary test here, and the distinction between the three adjectives he uses is really important. "Languor" implies that Eustacia is lazy and "stagnation" implies that she is stuck. But "suppressed" suggests that there actually is a lot going on with Eustacia, and that she is tamping it all down. So suppression makes us think that Eustacia may change at some point and unleash all of that emotion she's currently reigning in.
Quote #2
[S]he yielded herself up to the pull, and stood passively still. When she began to extricate herself it was by turning round and round, and so unwinding the prickly switch. She was in a desponding reverie. (1.6.18)
Hardy creates a really powerful image here of an emo girl twirling herself round and round, or something. But seriously, this imagery gives us great insight into Eustacia's state of mind – actions really do speak louder than words (or dialogue, really) here.
Quote #3
She went indoors in that peculiar state of misery which is not exactly grief, and which especially attends the dawnings of reason in the latter days of an ill-judged, transient love. To be conscious that the end of the dream is approaching, and yet has not absolutely come, is one of the most wearisome as well as the most curious stages along the course between the beginning of a passion and its end. (2.11.86)
The word choice here really helps emphasize how sad Eustacia's current state is – words like "transient," which means short-lived, and "wearisome" emphasize not just Eustacia's emotional state but also the slow progression of her feelings. This definitely isn't a sudden realization for her.
Quote #4
As for his look, it was a natural cheerfulness striving against depression from without, and not quite succeeding. (2.6.8)
We love how this description neatly contrasts Eustacia and Clym – they are really opposites here since Clym is inwardly cheerful and Eustacia is inwardly, well, not.
Quote #5
"What depressed you?"
"Life."
"That's a cause of depression a good many have to put up with." (2.6.61-63)
Usually the narrator hogs all the humorous asides and pithy quotes, but Clym gets a good one in here as he makes fun of the ever-depressed Eustacia. She's like Eeyore.
Quote #6
"Well, as my views changed my course became very depressing. I found that I was trying to be like people who had hardly anything in common with myself. I was endeavoring to put off one sort of life for another sort of life, which was not better than the life I had known before. It was simply different." (3.1.23)
Clym raises an interesting thematic idea – that of changing out lives. Themes of trying to find a new life or trying to escape the one you currently have run throughout this book. It's also very interesting that, structurally, we never get to actually see Clym's quarter-life crisis in Paris – we just hear about it second-hand.
Quote #7
There was in his face that hopelessness of being understood which comes when the objector is constitutionally beyond the reach of a logic that [...] is almost too coarse a vehicle for the subtlety of the argument. (3.2.16)
This sentence can take a few readings to really understand, so let's break it down. First, we establish that Clym isn't hopeful of being understood. Next, Hardy lets us know that the "objector," or Mrs. Yeobright, is "constitutionally" beyond logic. Constitution here doesn't refer to a governmental document, but rather to her mind and body. So she's naturally beyond a sort of logic, or Clym's argument regarding his hopes and dreams. But the catch here is that Clym's hopes are coming across in a bad way – he has a good point, but Mrs. Yeobright is not taking it well. So what's the "coarse vehicle" here? Clym's style of speaking and Mrs. Yeobright's interpretation of it. Phew.
Quote #8
More than ever he longed to be in some world where personal ambition was not the only recognized form of progress. (3.4.4)
This might be the most directly stated social theme in the entire novel, and this sentence also ties into a running theme of dream worlds and the longing for a better world. It's interesting and enlightening to contrast the various dream worlds of different characters.
Quote #9
"Pleasure not known beforehand is half wasted; to anticipate it is to double it." (3.5.39)
This could either be a fortune cookie or something from Eustacia. We can really see here how Eustacia is very fond of saying witty, clever-sounding things that she may or may not mean. And we also see how Eustacia enjoys exaggeration. The idea of pleasure being "half wasted" is a bit of a stretch. What's interesting is that this exaggeration also deflects from Eustacia's real reason for being a bit upset here – Clym's mother.
Quote #10
Eustacia was now no longer the goddess but the woman to him, a being to fight for, support, help, be maligned for. Now that he had reached a cooler moment he would have preferred a less hasty marriage, but the card was laid, and he was determined to abide by the game. (3.5.70)
Once again, Hardy chooses his words very carefully and lets them do a lot of work for him in terms of setting the tone and demonstrating themes. Here we have a great shift from "goddess" to terms like "fight" and "maligned." Clym has tumbled down to harsh reality and Eustacia is no longer on a pedestal. The sentence structure is worth noting here as well. Hardy sets up multiple sentences that hinge on the word "but" in order to emphasize Clym's transition.
Quote #11
"But do I desire unreasonably much in wanting what is called life – music, poetry, passion, war and all the beating and pulsing that is going on in the great arteries of the world?" (4.6.33)
Eustacia's definition of life is really fascinating here. She basically equates life with material culture. Also, the imagery of the "arteries" of the world is pretty cool – good job with that extended metaphor, Eustacia.