"She wondered if the unrest and strife that had lately come to the little village of Cottonwoods was to involve her. And then she sighed, remembering that her father had founded this remotest border settlement of southern Utah and that he had left it to her. She owned all the ground and many of the cottages. Withersteen House was hers, and the great ranch, with its thousands of cattle, and the swiftest horses of the sage. To her belonged Amber Spring, the water which gave verdure and beauty to the village and made living possible on that wild purple upland waste. She could not escape being involved by whatever befell Cottonwoods."
In this quote we can see Jane Withersteen pondering about all the problems and issues that seemed to be arising in and around her hometown. The first thing this quote does is set the background of the book and the theme; it introduces the town and the conflicts that will be central to the novel's plot. Jane's backstory is revealed and she is portrayed as the heart of the town. By showing her utmost devotion to the town of Cottonwoods and the issues it faces, the narrator shows the reader that Jane is here to stay and that she will be the main protagonist in the novel, fighting against the evils that befall the only place she has ever called home.
"Trouble between the Mormons and the Gentiles of the community would make her unhappy. She was Mormon-born, and she was a friend to poor and unfortunate Gentiles. She wished only to go on doing good and being happy."
This quote is extremely important and provides a base overview of the biggest conflict in the book: the fight between the Mormons and the non-Mormons, who are known as Gentiles. As more and more people shift to the west, there has been a rising sentiment of xenophobia in Cottonwoods, and the Mormon elders have led this push against anyone who does not follow their faith. Gentiles are harassed and persecuted, as well as anyone who helps them or befriends them. As the narrator shows in this quote, Jane Withersteen is the opposite of the malicious Mormon elders, and she simply seeks to help out any fellow humans who would require her aid. This startling difference drives the plot of the novel.
"In her extremity she found herself murmuring, “Whence cometh my help!” It was a prayer, as if forth from those lonely purple reaches and walls of red and clefts of blue might ride a fearless man, neither creed-bound nor creed-mad, who would hold up a restraining hand in the faces of her ruthless people."
This is the quote that introduces to us the character of justice, a new face in this harsh land. At this point in the novel, a Gentile named Bern Venters is about to be whipped to death by the Mormon elders, simply because he befriended Jane Withersteen. The cruel Mormon elders and their Mormon laws dictate that this is the required punishment, leaving Jane begging for mercy. After analyzing the quote it is clear that Jane wants someone not bound by religion or race or creed but only by justice, to help stop the cruel events about to take place. This quote directly leads to Lassister's embodiment as a symbol of justice and a main character who will take part in the conflict against the elders.
"Then might come her ruin. Then might come her fall into black storm. Yet she would rise again, and to the light. God would be merciful to a driven woman who had lost her way."
In this quote the narrator is describing the internal mental processes that are happening within Jane. She is amidst a serious conflict within herself. On one hand she is scared of her failure to stay faithful to her religion. She has fought and opposed the Mormon elders who lead the church in her town as well as skipping Sunday church for the first time in many years. She fears that what she is doing is wrong and that God will punish her. However, on the other hand, she knows she is doing the right thing. She is a hard-working woman who is fighting for what she believes is right and she hopes God wil see this and allow her to reach His light. This moment represents a central issue in the book as Jane struggles with who she is and where her loyalties lie.
"So bitter certainty claimed her at last, and trust fled Withersteen House and fled forever. The women who owed much to Jane Withersteen changed not in love for her, nor in devotion to their household work, but they poisoned both by a thousand acts of stealth and cunning and duplicity. Jane broke out once and caught them in strange, stone-faced, unhesitating falsehood. Thereafter she broke out no more. She forgave them because they were driven. Poor, fettered, and sealed Hagars, how she pitied them! What terrible thing bound them and locked their lips, when they showed neither consciousness of guilt toward their benefactress nor distress at the slow wearing apart of long-established and dear ties?"
This is the point in the book when Jane realizes all the evils that are taking place in her community against her simply because she has went against the wishes of the corrupt and malicious Mormon elders. Despite working under Jane for years and years, building strong bonds and relationships, earning their wages, and growing to care for and love each other, the ideas of the Mormon elders have overrode all those things. They spy on Jane and steal from her, destroying all the compassion and love that had been built up in the years past. This moment is when Jane realizes she can no longer trust the Mormon church and its hierarchy of elders. Their actions are rooted in evil and they will not change their beliefs or what they do. A turning point in the book, Jane's conflict of loyalty to the church is resolved and she knows she must break free and do what is right.
