How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
My father did not see her look, but I did. And I knew that Caleb had seen it too. Sarah was not smiling. Sarah was already lonely. (3.45)
Jacob seems oblivious, but Anna and Caleb are looking for signs of whether Sarah will stay or leave. Anna is horrified to see that Sarah already looks like she regrets her decision when she first arrives at their house.
Quote #2
She cried when we found a lamb that had died, and she shouted and shook her fist at the turkey buzzards that came from nowhere to eat it. She would not Caleb or me come near. and that night, Papa went with a shovel to bury the sheep and a lantern to bring Sarah back. She sat on the porch alone. (5.2)
When Sarah first arrives at their home, she's still rather shy and isolates herself from the family. She finds a dead lamb and chooses to grieve alone instead of letting them comfort her.
Quote #3
Our neighbors, Matthew and Maggie, came to help Papa plow up a new field for corn. Sarah stood with us on the porch, watching their wagon wind up the road, two horses pulling it and one tied in back. I remembered the last time we had stood here alone, Caleb and I, waiting for Sarah. (7.2)
Standing on the porch with Sarah and her family makes Anna remember the last time that she and Caleb were out here—and how alone and yet excited they were as they waited for Sarah to show up. She doesn't want Sarah to go away because it would leave the kids alone again, without a mother.
Quote #4
"You are lonely, yes?" asked Maggie in her soft voice.
Sarah's eyes filled with tears. Slowly I stirred the dough.
Maggie reached over and took Sarah's hand.
"I miss the hills of Tennessee sometimes," she said. (7.11-14)
Maggie shows up to meet Sarah, but she's also determined to make sure Sarah doesn't feel alone. She knows exactly how isolated and homesick Sarah probably feels and tells her that these feelings are normal.
Quote #5
"I miss my brother William," said Sarah. "But he is married. The house is hers now. Not mine any longer. There are three old aunts who squawk together like crows at dawn. I miss them, too." (7.19)
Although Sarah misses her old home, she knows that she no longer belongs there either. Ever since her brother got married and started his own family, Sarah doesn't have any place to call her own. She's completely on her own. Them's the breaks for women in this era.
Quote #6
I looked out and saw Papa and Matthew and Caleb working. Rose and Violet ran in the fields. I felt something brush my legs and looked down at Nick, wagging his tail.
"I would miss you, Nick," I whispered. "I would." I knelt down and scratched his ears. "I miss Mama." (7.21-22)
Anna does understand how Sarah must feel, since she'd miss her family and pets terribly if she moved far away. But still, she wants Sarah to feel at home and stay with them. She doesn't want her to feel like she doesn't belong here.
Quote #7
"We are glad you are here," said Matthew to Sarah. "A new friend. Maggie misses her friends sometimes." (7.43)
Even though Maggie's been around for a while, she still struggles with being so far away from her hometown. That's why she's glad when Sarah shows up: She'll have a friend who understands what she's going through.
Quote #8
Sarah walked slowly behind the wagon for a long time, waving, watching it disappear. Caleb and I ran to bring her back, the chickens running wildly behind us. (7.46)
When Maggie and her family leave, Sarah totally misses them. Even though they've just met, Sarah feels a connection to Maggie; she's the only person here who gets what it's like to be from a different place.
Quote #9
"Too quick," Caleb complained to me as we watched from the fence. He thought a moment. "Maybe she'll fall off and have to stay here. Why?" he asked, turning to me. "Why doe she have to go away alone?" (9.5)
Caleb sure is paranoid. He doesn't like the idea of Sarah ever being alone because he thinks that she'll leave them when she has the chance. The idea of her learning how to drive a wagon absolutely terrifies him.
Quote #10
Caleb and I watched Sarah from the porch. Caleb took my hand, and the dogs lay down beside us. It was sunny, and I remembered another time when a wagon had taken Mama away. It had been a day just like this day. And Mama had never come back. (9.23)
Anna might be older and stronger than Caleb, but she also remembers the pain of losing their birth mother. This makes it way harder for her to watch Sarah drive away, unsure of whether she's coming back.