“She had, she realized gradually, simply traded one domestic prison for another.” 

Alice marries Bennett with the expectation that she will be free of a lackluster life in England. Once she reaches Kentucky, she soon learns that she’s expected to remain in the house and be a quiet, subservient wife.

“She had once been told by her favorite aunt that the best way to get through life was not to dwell on things so she packed those events into a suitcase, and shoved it to the back of a mental cupboard, just as she had done with numerous suitcases before.” 

Alice attempts to use a faulty coping mechanism to get through life. Shoving her desires into a mental cupboard doesn’t change the fact that she’s unhappy—it only makes it worse.

“A certain kind of man looked at God’s own land, she thought, as she drew closer, and instead of beauty and wonder, all he saw was dollar signs.” 

While Margery looks at nature and sees beauty not profit, Mr. Van Cleve views the land only as a means to a profitable end. This quote highlights their view not only of nature but also of people.