How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The Sound of Music.
Quote #1
MARIA: And the little ones just want to be loved. Oh please, Captain, love them, love them all.
When Maria first arrives in the von Trapp household, she finds that the captain keeps the children at arm's length. Maria pleads with him to let them in. You've got to feel for the poor kids. They've lost their mother and now they have a father who calls them with a ship's whistle.
Quote #2
BARONESS: There's nothing more irresistible to a man than a woman who's in love with him.
MARIA: In love with him?
BARONESS: Of course. What makes it so nice is . . . he thinks he's in love with you.
At the party the captain throws to introduce the baroness to his friends, the baroness realizes her boyfriend has feelings for Maria. Strategic lady that she is, she decides to drive Maria away by telling her about the captain's feelings—guessing (correctly) that the very pious Maria would be mortified. She's way more experienced in the arts of romance than Maria, who's probably never given it a thought before now.
Quote #3
REVEREND MOTHER: Are you in love with him?
MARIA: I don't know! I don't know. […] There were times we looked at each other, I could hardly breathe.
When Maria goes back to the abbey to escape the romantic sitch with the captain, the Reverend Mother doesn't take long to press her on what happened with the von Trapps. She's wise and perceptive, and guesses what the problem is right away. She says it in a way that's totally non-judgmental. As a nun, she's taken a vow of celibacy but she knows that life in the abbey's not for everyone. Maria's so inexperienced that she knows she has strange feelings for the captain but can't identify them as love.