Quote 1
"The stories Miss Wilcox sent to New York weren't about kings or musketeers," Weaver said. "That one about the hermit Alvah Dunning and his Christmas all by himself, that was the best story I ever read."
"And old Sam Dunnigan wrapping up his poor dead niece and keeping her in the icehouse all winter till she could be buried," Minnie added. (3.abecedarian.68-69)
Even early in A Northern Light, Mattie's drawn to the compelling nature of both her community and the reality of life within her community. And her friends realize that the reality of their lives is far more interesting to them than some of the more elusive topics of literature.
Quote 2
Weaver's eyes locked on mine. "It's not work that stops you, is it, Matt? Or time? You've always had plenty of one and none of the other. It's that promise. She shouldn't have made you do it. She had no right." (3.abecedarian.80)
As Mattie's complaining about the responsibilities that she feels to her family, Weaver pinpoints a hard truth that Mattie's not ready to admit: it's not just the physical labor that prevents Mattie from pursuing her dream. There's a psychological component to the duty that Mattie feels, and it's this mental obstacle that she must overcome if she is ever to leave her family and attend college.
Quote 3
"Go round cringing like a dog, Matt," he said, "and folks will treat you like one. Stand up like a man, and they'll treat you like a man." That was fine for Weaver, but I wondered sometimes, How exactly do you stand up like a man when you're a girl? (3.abecedarian.55)
Once again, Weaver says some wise words, implying that people's views of themselves and how they comport themselves is a pretty big social cue for how others can and should treat them. But Mattie, too, strikes at the heart of one of the social issues in the book: How do these rules change between men and women? Do you think it matters that Weaver is a black man?