“Something in her had been broken by that stone-throwing beast so many leagues behind her, that manlike monstrous thing; yet with the breaking, perhaps something else felt as though it were being returned by this place into a sort of harmony, a deep and humming noise within her that she hadn’t understood had fallen out of tune.”
This quote conveys a profound transformation and healing process within the young girl as she journeys through a challenging environment. The "stone-throwing beast" likely symbolizes a person or event that inflicted emotional or physical harm on her, causing her to feel broken. However, as she distances herself from this traumatic experience and immerses herself in the natural environment she's navigating through, there's a subtle but profound shift in her perception. This transformation is depicted as a restoration of inner harmony, described metaphorically as a "deep and humming noise within her." It implies that nature, with its quiet and serene beauty, is helping her heal and find peace within herself even though she may not fully articulate this transformation. This passage underscores the therapeutic power of nature and its ability to mend the human soul, offering hope and renewal to the girl as she leaves her troubled past behind.
“For, though he had all the rights to what she had made of her own hands, for she was a mere servant and in his employ and everything she touched belonged to him, including her own body,”
This quote reflects a deeply unjust situation where the servant girl despite having put in the effort and risk to obtain food for the household is not only denied the sustenance she desperately needs but is also subjected to the absolute authority of the minister who is portrayed as the head of the household. The phrase "he had all the rights to what she had made of her own hands" underscores the oppressive nature of this relationship, emphasizing that the girl's labor and actions are entirely at the mercy of the minister who views her as mere property. This quote illustrates the harsh social and economic disparities in the narrative where those with power and privilege exploit those who are vulnerable and marginalized even in the most dire circumstances.
“She, the least of human beings, the lowest, must now live, to remember, her fever told her. She must preserve the goodness that had been in that world.”
The young girl is grappling with a profound realization amid her fever-induced vision. She perceives herself as insignificant in the grand scheme of humanity. However, her fevered mind compels her to understand that she now carries a crucial responsibility. With the devastating plague having wiped out her civilization, she believes that she must continue to exist to remember the goodness that once existed in her world. This suggests that she views herself as a custodian of the memories and virtues of her people. Despite her perceived insignificance, she becomes the vessel through which the cultural and moral heritage of her civilization is preserved and potentially passed on to a newer world.
“For if god’s best-beloved jesuits could be driven from this place in massacre, could be taught that this was no place for them, then certainly no other christians could possibly be godly enough for the powhatan to allow them to set a single foot upon this land.”
This quote reflects the character's perception of the wilderness and the native Powhatan people who inhabit it. The character, who seems to have been raised by Jesuit missionaries and is deeply rooted in Christian beliefs considers the Jesuits to be "God's own best-beloved." However, the fact that these Jesuits were driven away from the land through violence referred to as a "massacre" suggests that the native Powhatan people did not welcome the Christian missionaries and saw them as unwelcome intruders. The character extrapolates from this historical event, concluding that if even the Jesuits who were deeply committed to their faith could not establish a foothold in this land due to the Powhatan's resistance then it's unlikely that any other Christians would be deemed "godly enough" by the Powhatan to settle in this area.
