How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Greed had brought him; only Faith would save them. (5.25)
Isn't it interesting that these two concepts are connected? We can't help but wonder whose faith saves them—Maria's faith in God, or Einar's faith in the gun? We'll let you be the judge.
Quote #2
"What is it?" Anna repeated. "Is it food? Is it for when the food runs out?"
"No," Einar muttered. "It's something else. For when the faith runs out." (9.13-14)
We know Maria's faith doesn't run out, so when does Einar's? Perhaps it's when he goes to the bar, knowing he can't feed his family any more, or when Wolff figures out his scheme. It could be when he has to move again and again. But we might even say Einar never gives up. He seems to always think of something to get his family out of a jam—without using the gun.
Quote #3
"God teaches us many virtues. Above all, he teaches us faith, hope, and love. It was our faith that kept God with us through the darkest times. It was our hope that brought Mr. Salisbury to your father and gave him the job, but both of these would not have been possible without God's love. The Bible teaches us that faith, hope, and love abide. These three, and the greatest of these is love." (13.1)
Maria is constantly telling her kids stuff like this from the Bible. It's clear she believes what the Bible says, but we're not sure anyone else does around her.
Quote #4
The preacher had taught abstinence from alcohol, from meat, and most of all from sex, but it turned out that he didn't seem to believe those laws applied to him. Nadya had left soon afterward, coming down from the Finnish border and ending up working at a hotel in Giron, which was where she'd met Einar. (16.10)
Even though the book tells us how great religion is from Nadya and Maria's perspectives, it also shares how hypocritical it can be too. It looks like not everyone follows the rules found in the book.
Quote #5
The inhabitants of Nome had no church as yet, and the joke started to spread that Maria was the church. You only had to spend half an hour in her company to get a year's worth of preaching— that was what they said. And though Einar was a God-fearing man, Anna more than once heard her father question Maria's faith, though it was little Sig who really said something bad. (23.9)
We gotta hand it to Maria—she knows what she believes and she doesn't mind telling everyone all about it. In fact, she's so caught up in her religious beliefs, that she becomes the go-to person for anything to do with the Bible.
Quote #6
She swallowed her fear, and suddenly feeling the need for some kind of help, wondered where her mother's little black book was. Without knowing it she longed for the faith it contained, for the hope it might give, where there was none. (29.53)
When Anna is in trouble, she turns to the Bible, just like her mom. We'd like to point out that she's not religious in any way before, but when times get tough, she tries to think about what might comfort her, and the Bible does the trick.
Quote #7
"It wasn't Satan who tortured Job. It was God. God and Satan made a bet, to test him, to see if he would crumble. Lose his faith. And then, without mercy, they piled misery on him, again and again and again. So, if there is a God up there, you can bet your worthless little life he's not coming to help you." (29.59)
It turns out even scary sauce villains know the Bible, and Anna is surprised to learn that Wolff knows about the story of Job just as well as she does. Just knowing the story doesn't mean as much as believing it though.
Quote #8
The Bible. Why the Bible? It lay on its open front, the edge of a few pages twitching in the slight breeze from the head of the lake, and Sig understood what his father had been trying to do. Those thin pages, thin, thin like wafers, would have been the easiest to catch alight, and with those burning, Einar might just have had the chance of staying alive. (33.33)
Out on the ice, Sig feels a sudden connection to the Bible, mainly because it belonged to his mom. Still, it's clear that the stories and faith it contains are important to Sig as well, in his own way. We're never sure if he buys into it, though.
Quote #9
Does God turn his eyes away when bad things happen? Or does he watch, wondering at how his creation unfolds? Does he shake his head in sorrow? Or does he smile? (35.1)
This is one of life's big questions, and it seems like everyone in the novel has their own answer to it. If you already have it figured out, let us know.
Quote #10
In some move of the hand of fate, or maybe of God, Nadya had entered their lives to finish that teaching, but still, these are lessons for which you have to provide your own answers. (37.3)
After Maria dies, Nadya picks up the teachings she started about religion with her children. We know this would make his mom happy, but we also think it's because Einar needs more balance in his life. He goes for the hyper-religious gals as a way of bringing more stability to his life.