Time that had not come yet–an anomaly in itself–had the fiercest reality for her. It was a hard wind in her face; if she had made the world, every tree would be bent, every stone weathered, every bough stripped by that steady and contrary wind. Lucille saw in everything its potential for invidious change. Marilynne Robinson
About This Quote

Lucille's father is telling her about time. He says that time has not yet come to be, but the day will come when it has come. This starts off with a long sentence, which takes several lines to complete. The first line addresses time itself.

Time was an anomaly for Lucille because she believes that it has never existed before. To Lucille, time is something that people don't notice all the time. She believes that everything in the world is moving toward future days, but not all things are getting there at the same pace or at all.

The world is too complex for people to notice this because it seems as if the world is always changing. As she looks at busy streets, she sees people rushing by without bending down to pick up sewing needles or anything else they might step on. Everything is moving forward and nothing seems to be slowing down or stopping.

Source: Housekeeping

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