How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The ashes of the original British pyre which blazed from the summit lay fresh and undisturbed in the barrow beneath their tread. (1.3.7)
The word choice here is really descriptive and cool. An interesting contrast is set up between ashes, which implies something old and spent, and words like "fresh," which implies that the ashes are somehow still new even after all this time.
Quote #2
Her presence brought memories of such things as Bourbon roses, rubies, and tropical midnights [...]. (1.7.6)
Eustacia is styled as a sort of walking vessel of the past here, which connects her to the heath – a sort of historical repository, or storage space.
Quote #3
Since the arrival of that letter on a certain autumn morning long ago, the reddleman and Thomasin had not met till today. During the interval he had shifted his position even farther from hers [...]. (1.9.8)
We love how two quick sentences can tell us practically all we need to know about Thomasin and Diggory's relationship. These sentences give us a strong sense of time passing, with words like "since" and "long ago," and a feeling of distance between the two and between the past and the present moment.
Quote #4
But the bird, like many other philosophers, seemed as he looked at the reddleman to think that a present moment of comfortable reality was worth a decade of memories. (1.10.3)
That is one wise bird – maybe it's the owl from Winnie the Pooh. At any rate, we're intrigued by the word "worth" here. It seems to imply that any sort of memories are a burden that only present moments of happiness can alleviate, or make better. The word "reality" is also notable since it seems to imply that memories border on the unreal.
Quote #5
The sun, where it could catch it, made a mirror of Thomasin's hair, which she always wore braided. It was braided according to a calendric system: the more important the day the more numerous the strands in the braid. [...] Years ago she had said that when she married she would braid it in sevens. She had braided it in sevens today. (2.8.33)
The detail here about Thomasin's braids over the years manages to tell a story in and of themselves. And the short final sentence is highlighted by the lengthier ones that precede it.
Quote #6
He had been a lad of whom something was expected. Beyond this all had been chaos. (3.1.4)
These short sentences emphasize the point Hardy is making about Clym here. It's notable that Clym's future, beyond vague "expectations" for success, is chaotic. Pretty much all time – past, present, and future – is chaotic in this novel, though.
Quote #7
The dance had come like an irresistible attack upon whatever sense of social order there was in their minds, to drive them back into old paths which were now doubly irregular. (4.3.42)
The diction manages to cast a dance, a fun activity, as a battle or a warrior – the dance launches an "attack" and "drives" Eustacia and Damon into the past, like a Hot Tub Time Machine.
Quote #8
Eustacia stared up. This was a well-known signal in old times when Wildeve had used to come secretly wooing to Mistover. (4.4.9)
The idea of "signals" flaring up and reminding people of the past appears a lot in this book, usually in connection to fire. You can read more about Fire in the "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory" section. We also find the reference to "old times" pretty funny, given that, at this point in story, Eustacia had only broken up with Damon less than a year ago.
Quote #9
Nobody could have imagined from her bearing now that here stood the woman who had joined with him in the impassioned dance of the week before, unless indeed he could have penetrated below the surface and gauged the real depth of that still stream. (4.6.3)
The imagery used to describe Eustacia helps to set up a strong contrast between past and present and also demonstrates how quickly things can change – the dance was only a "week before" after all. We also like the comparison of Eustacia to water – she's usually linked to night so this comparison stands out.
Quote #10
"I married him because I loved him, but I won't say that I didn't love him partly because I thought I saw a promise of that life in him." (4.6.35)
The layers of time in Eustacia's statement are interesting, and lead to some cool use of tenses. Eustacia recalls a past where she was imagining a future that is now her (unexpected) present. The Lost writers seem to have hijacked the novel here.
Quote #11
At that moment the chasm in their lives which his love for Eustacia had caused was not remembered by Yeobright, and to him that present joined continuously with that friendly past that had been their experience before the division. (4.7.31)
The power of selective memory appears here, and contrasting words helps to emphasize that idea. We begin with a reference to a "chasm," which has a negative connotations. But then we jump to words like "continuously" and "friendly," which show us how Clym's selective memory operates.
Quote #12
It brought before her eyes the spectre of a worn-out woman knocking at a door which she would not open; and she shrank from contemplating it. (5.1.27)
This brief sentence uses very powerful imagery and conveys the sense that Eustacia is being haunted. But the word that really does a lot of the work in establishing meaning is "shrank." That one word tells us all we need to know about Eustacia's emotional state: she's afraid.
Quote #13
The expression of the place, the tone of the hour, were precisely those of many such occasions in days gone by; and these antecedent similarities fostered the illusion that she, who was there no longer, would come out to welcome him. (5.2.37)
This is a very poignant sentence about the power of the past and the pain of loss. The initial descriptions are all ones that could apply to a person as well, which suggests that Mrs. Yeobright is on Clym's mind even as he's supposedly thinking about place and time and events.
Quote #14
He frequently walked the heath alone, when the past seized upon him with its shadowy hand, and held him there to listen to its tale. His imagination would then people the spot with its ancient inhabitants. (6.1.10)
This description of Clym shows us a lonely wanderer who pretty much lives in the past, so it makes sense that he spends his time wandering the heath, which is strongly tied to the past.