How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
We all knew of Dirk's feelings for me, he had made them plain enough to his parents as well as myself weeks before. His mind was set on marrying me. In this I had given him no encouragement. Not because I did not like him. No no. He was a handsome young man and one of the kindest, most considerate of people I have known. But I did not love him in the way, I thought then, you ought to love someone if you married him. (10.20)
Poor Dirk—he hearts Geertrui, but she doesn't heart him back. Before you go feeling sorry for Dirk, we should point out that he gets the girl in the end. For Geertrui, sometimes it's not just about love when it comes to marriage.
Quote #5
Never before had anyone held me like this, never before had I felt the intimate shape of a man's body against my own. This itself would have been enough to startle me. Not that I disliked it, not at all. Indeed, while before my heart was beating with dreadful fear, now it beat with excitement. But then something else occurred, something even more startling. I felt Jacob's sex swelling between my thighs. As if it were being inflated by a bicycle pump. (13.26)
Hiding from the German officer, Geertrui tries to relax, but she's taken by surprise when she remembers she's lying on top of Jacob. At this point, she's naïve and innocent, but it's not long before she too can acknowledge her passionate feelings for the English patient.
Quote #6
I propose no explanation, make no excuse. Nor do I offer the slightest regret. Quite the opposite. I cling to this moment, this decision. And endure its consequences. Of nothing in my life am I as certain as I am of my love for Jacob. (15.11)
Oh no she didn't… We tried to imagine what Jacob's wife, Sarah would say if she read this, but really, the book asks us to think about the love that Geertrui and Jacob share. They don't try to make excuses or justify their love for one another, which makes it seem as though it's such a strong force, they can't deny it.