How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
He was easily the buck of the beer-gardens, and on Sunday he was a sight to see, with his silk hat and tucked shirt and blue frock-coat, wearing gloves and carrying a little wisp of a yellow cane. He was tall and fair, with splendid teeth and close-cropped yellow curls, and he wore a slightly disdainful expression, proper for a young man with high connections, whose mother had a big farm in the Elbe valley. (2.7.1)
All this backstory about Frank gives us some good insights into his character, and of course, into his crimes. Before Frank got together with Marie, he was the big man out on the town. But once he got married—well, he became just like anyone else. His is also a story about the effects a sudden change in social position can have on someone's outlook and behavior.
Quote #8
Frank was always reading about the doings of rich people and feeling outraged. He had an inexhaustible stock of stories about their crimes and follies, how they bribed the courts and shot down their butlers with impunity whenever they chose. (2.8.3)
Here, we get a taste for the way Frank's rage can easily get out of hand, whenever he imagines the crimes of those in power. Check out the way the narrator makes sure to inform us that these are rich people he's reading about—are we supposed to think he resents the power of the upper classes?
Quote #9
"All that doesn't concern anybody but Carl and me. Go to town and ask your lawyers what you can do to restrain me from disposing of my own property. And I advise you to do what they tell you; for the authority you can exert by law is the only influence you will ever have over me again." (2.10.38)
When Lou and Oscar try to convince Alexandra that they're the rightful owners of her property, because they're the men of the family, she doesn't necessarily disagree with them on principle. She responds by appealing to the law that protects her claim to ownership. Though Alexandra might not be the most political person, she certainly puts a lot of faith in the legal system to ensure her right to social mobility.