How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Title.Paragraph)
Quote #1
He would smile at her, and then she was running down the path to him, crying because she was so glad he was home with his hands and feet and arms and legs all still attached. He'd hold her face in his hands, keeping her at arm's length, and wipe her tears away with his dirty thumbs. (2.fractious.97)
Mattie knows that her parents loved each other and had a happy marriage despite their difficulties and disagreements—it's part of what makes it so difficult when Mattie's mother dies. Pa takes it so hard. Not only has he lost a mother for his children and a helper, he's lost the woman he loves. It's this love that Mattie uses as a measuring stick to figure out if Royal loves her.
Quote #2
He looked at me closely, his head on an angle, and for a second I had the funniest feeling that he was going to open my jaws and look at my teeth or pick up my foot and rap the bottom of it. (5.misnomer.46)
Royal's just starting to think of Mattie as a potential wife, and here, we see how men have the luxury of shopping around. Take a look at how Mattie thinks of his actions: she compares herself to livestock with the phrases "look at my teeth" and "pick up my foot," which are both common ways to assess the health and age of cattle. Royal isn't just choosing his wife based on love; nope, he's figuring out how to get the most bang for his buck.
Quote #3
I did not laugh. "I am never going to marry," I said. "Never."
"Oh no?"
"No. Never."
"Well, we'll see about that," Mrs. Crego said. Her face softened. "The pain stops, you know, Mattie. And the memory of it fades. Minnie will forget all about this one day."
"Maybe she will, but I surely won't," I said. (9.wan.61-65)
Mattie has just seen a pretty awful natural childbirth, and her response is a loud and clear no thank you. If she stays and marries, though, there's no question that having and raising children will be in her future. The experience of witnessing Minnie's birth, as well as Minnie's loving reaction to her husband after the twins are born, drastically influence Mattie's view of what motherhood is really like.