I should have given it up long ago if it had not been for her.
-- Narrator (Pages 7 - 10)

Importance: At the start of the short story, the narrator claims that he and his wife purchased their farm outside the city with the same hopes and expectations. However, not long after beginning their new life, their different levels of investment in the business begin to materialize. In this moment, the narrator baldly confesses his detachment from the land and the projects associated with maintaining it. However, in the passages immediately following, he quickly exposes the truth of his hypocritical nature, asserting that he loves the farm, its beauty, and the escape it provides. The line contributes to the author's thematic explorations on hypocrisy and divisiveness.

Out in the country, even ten miles out, life is better than that.
-- Narrator (Pages 7 - 10)

Importance: After describing his and Lerice's guests' response to their new rural life, the narrator explains the cultural...