Marriage Quotes in The Poisonwood Bible

How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #7

"You make it sound like she's an accessory he needs to go with his outfit." (3.9.31)

Orleanna cannot comprehend that this is almost the exact motive for Tata Ndu wanting to marry Rachel, but it shouldn't be so surprising. The whole accessorizing-with-people thing isn't exclusive to the Congo, either. Ever heard the term "trophy wife"?

Quote #8

To resist occupation, whether you're a nation or merely a woman, you must understand the language of your enemy. Conquest and liberation and democracy and divorce are words that mean squat, basically, when you have hungry children and clothes to get out on the line. (5.Prologue.8)

Once again the conquest vs. marriage idea raises its head. At this point, Orleanna is so soured on marriage that she considers a husband an "occupier" and an "enemy." Is there any truth to this sentiment?

Quote #9

We Christians have our own system of marriage, and it is called Monotony. (6.2.10)

This is another one of Rachel's surprisingly accurate malapropisms... especially for her, to whom her endless successions of marriages are just one monotonous, monogamous event after the other.