How we cite our quotes: (Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
All country and small town people have seen such old women, but no one knows much about them (1.1)
It's funny: no one cares about the old woman when she's alive, but she becomes the talk of the town once she's dead. What does that say?
Quote #2
You see, the farmer was up to something with the girl—she was, I think, a bound girl and his wife had her suspicions (1.9)
A "bound girl" is someone forced into indentured servitude—in this case, Mrs. Grimes became a bound girl after being orphaned. As a result, the farmer sees her as his property, to do with how he pleases.
Quote #3
He got her pretty easy himself, the first time he was out with her. He wouldn't have married her if the German farmer hadn't tried to tell him where to get off (1.10)
Does this seem like the best way to start off a marriage? Survey says: Heck no! In a way, Jake marries her out of some misguided competition with the German farmer, not out of love or anything silly like that.