"All in one day: Addie said there were people who ate the earth and other people who stood around and watched them do it."
Alexandra says this to her mother in the final scene of the play, after realizing the horrible things that her mother and uncles have done. She takes the advice of Addie, her nurse, and realizes that it is just as bad to sit idly by while people do selfish and horrible things. This line is Alexandra finally speaking up for herself and deciding that she can no longer abide the horrible deeds of her family members.
"What's the talk?"
Horace has just arrived home from Baltimore where he's been at Johns Hopkins attempting to heal from a grave illness. He doesn't go to his wife and her brothers straight away, instead asking Addie what has been going on. He knows he will get the truth from her, not from his own wife, and so tries to learn about the nefarious dealings before meeting his wife and brothers-in-law.
"I should like to have Lionnet back. I know you own it now, but I'd like to see it fixed up again, the way Mama and Papa had it. Every year it used to get a nice coat of paint—Papa was very particular about the paint—and the lawn was so smooth all the way down to the river, with the trims of zinnias and red-feather plush. And the figs and blue little plums and the scuppernongs—"
Birdie says this to Oscar, Ben, and Regina once she knows that the negotiations with Mr. Marshall have been set. She reminisces about her family's plantation, dreaming of the happy life that she enjoyed there and painting a picture of her idyllic past.
"The first holiday I've had since I was a little kid."
Horace refers to his time at the hospital as a kind of vacation. This shows that he was refreshed by being away from his wife and her brothers, highlighting the fact that they have a strained relationship.
"Are you afraid, Mama?"
When Alexandra tells her mother that she isn't going to Chicago with her, Regina pretends to be unfazed. However, right before she goes to bed, she asks Alexandra if she wants to sleep in her room with her. Alexandra senses that perhaps her mother is not happy about the fact that she's going to be alone and asks her this question, the final line of the play.
"You know what I've always said when people told me we were rich? I said I think you should either be a nigger or a millionaire."
Regina says this to Birdie early in the play, when they are talking about the business deal with Mr. Marshall. Regina outlines her philosophy of life, saying that there is only rich and poor, and that anything in between in less desirable. This line highlights Regina's greed and desire to have more, even though she is already very well off.
"In 22 years I haven't had a whole day of happiness. Oh, a little, like today with you all. But never a single, whole day."
Birdie, tipsy towards the end of the play, warns Alexandra that she is going to end up like her, unfulfilled and trapped in a horrible marriage. For the first time, Birdie tells some of the characters about her pain, about the fact that her life has never been as good as when she was young and living on her family's plantation.
"I've made you money in the past. I'm going to make you more money now. You'll be a very rich man."
Ben says this to Oscar to convince him to go along with Regina's plan to get a larger cut of the business they are all going in on together. He discusses the fact that they have always taken care of each other. The line shows that, in addition to being family members, the Hubbards are in business with one another.
"I won't let you pass up chances like this. I won't let you pass up this one just because you've gone crazy!"
Regina yells this at Horace in a fight after he has refused to invest his money in the cotton mill. She feels held back by the fact that Horace is a more modest businessman, less greedy and ambitious than she is. Here she scolds and threatens him, telling him that she will not let him hold her back again.
"But I couldn't have known that you would get heart trouble so early and so bad. I'm lucky, Horace. I've always been lucky."
Regina says this right before Horace has a heart attack. This represents a climactically evil moment for Regina. She tells her deathly ill husband that her favorite thing about him is the fact that he is going to die soon, calling his illness evidence that she is "lucky."
