How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
For the first time, perhaps, since that land emerged from the waters of geologic ages, a human face was set toward it with love and yearning. It seemed beautiful to her, rich and strong and glorious. Her eyes drank in the breadth of it, until her tears blinded her. Then the Genius of the Divide, the great, free spirit which breathes across it, must have bent lower than it ever bent to a human will before. The history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman. (1.5.3)
Alexandra might have occasional doubts about her decision to stay on the Divide, but there's no question she's got a fire burning inside. In fact, it's almost like the Divide itself, the great "Genius," has bestowed a special form of perseverance upon her.
Quote #5
"We hadn't any of us much to do with it, Carl. The land did it. It had its little joke. It pretended to be poor because nobody knew how to work it right; and then, all at once, it worked itself. It woke up out of its sleep and stretched itself, and it was so big, so rich, that we suddenly found we were rich, just from sitting still." (2.4.4)
While the rest of us might attribute Alexandra's success to her own perseverance and hard work, she's much more modest. She gives all the credit to the Divide, as if the Divide had a will of its own and was able to bring about its own transformation.
Quote #6
"And now the old story had begun to write itself over there," said Carl softly. "Isn't it queer: there are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before; like the larks in this country, they have been singing the same five notes over for thousands of years." (2.4.13)
Well, how's that for perseverance? Carl's fascinated by the way human relationships pretty much repeat the same dramas, over and over. In fact, humans are so persistent in repeating these dramas, that their stories have almost become part of nature itself. Hm. Guess that's why they call it "human" nature…