How we cite our quotes: (Volume.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"I shall never see Helstone again […] While I was there, I was for ever wanting to leave it. Every place seemed pleasanter. And now I shall die far away from it. I am rightly punished." (1.16.38)
Mrs. Hale is the first to admit that you just don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. (Cue the Joni Mitchell.) Mrs. Hale has spent nearly her whole married life complaining about Helstone. But now the place feels like paradise compared to her new home in Milton.
Quote #5
[Letters] had come, making her dwell on the thoughts of home with all the longing of love. Helstone, itself, was in the dim past. (1.21.36)
Since moving to Milton, Margaret can't get past her fond memories of Helstone. She yearns to get back there someday, although it's unlikely that she'll ever call the place home again. She doesn't realize it yet, but this is all an important part of growing up for her.
Quote #6
"I remember eating sloes and crabs with a relish. Do you remember the matted-up currant bushes, Margaret, at the corner of the west-wall in the garden at home?" (2.2.27)
Margaret is doing her best to move on and make a new home in Milton. But even her dad can't stop reminiscing about how great their life used to be when they lived in Helstone village. It's like he can taste the apples and berries that used to grow around their old home.