How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Long enough for me to decide in calmness of mind that love cannot be love without risk. It seemed obvious to me, though I do not know how or when I had learned it, that love that is real is always dangerous. And more dangerous to the one who gives it than to the one who receives it. (15.34)
They say all is fair in love and war, but we're not so sure—for a while it seems like everything is perfect between these lovebirds, but war gets in the way. This leads us to think about whether you can ever really have love without risk. It certainly doesn't seem possible in wartime.
Quote #8
New love is like a star, it radiates energy. Young love shared is a firmament. Doubt is not available. And shut away on the farm we were living in a kind of cocoon, isolated from other people. In ordinary times we would have mixed with friends and family, telling our closest confidants of our love, of our hopes and plans, and they would have encouraged or dissuaded us, reminding us of everyday realities and helping keep our feet on the ground. (17.17)
This is such a pretty idea of love, giving off light and energy wherever it goes. And to think this is the description Geertrui gives her love fifty some years after it took place.
Quote #9
"Right. Yes. Love is not finite. It is not that we each have a limited supply of it that we can only give to one person at a time. Or that we have one kind of love that can only be given to one person in the whole of our lives. It's a ridiculous thing to think so." (21.58)
Daan's idea of love is different from his mom's and his grandma's. Here he explains what he thinks about love being something that is infinite, that comes and goes and ebbs and flows. Jacob isn't so sure he buys this definition of love though, and wants to create his own idea of it.