It must be a survival skill left over from the old Viking days, when long silences were required to prevent unnecessary homicides during the long, dark winters when quarters were close and supplies were dwindling.”
-- Hope Jahren (Part One: Roots and Leaves, Chapter 1 paragraph 16)

Importance: Jahren is talking about the silences that stretched for long periods in her home and within the homes of other Norwegian families she knew. This lack of communication is part of a bigger theme related to the relationship between Jahren and members of her family. The fact that she was not close with any of them made her fear that she would not be a good mother to her son, but that fear turned out to be unfounded.

Well into the night and deeper in my brain, it came to me that as hospital workers, we were being paid to trail along behind Death as he escorted frail, wasted bodies over difficult miles, dragging their...
-- Hope Jahren (Part One: Roots and Leaves, Chapter 4 paragraph 10)