How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"My father, he went much to school. He know a great deal; how to make the fine cloth like what you not got here. He play horn and violin, and he read so many books that the priests in Bohemia come to talk to him. You won't forget my father, Jim?" (1.17.16)
After Mr. Shimerda's death, we start to see that Jim is as important to Ántonia as Ántonia is to Jim. But, just as we are uncertain of the nature of Jim's feelings for Ántonia, we are similarly left in the dark as to Ántonia's feelings for Jim.
Quote #2
They were growing prettier every day, but as they passed us, I used to think with pride that Ántonia, like Snow-White in the fairy tale, was still 'fairest of them all.' (2.12.1-2)
This is an interesting reaction on Jim's part – notice that he's already taking a sort of ownership over Ántonia. He feels pride in thinking that she is the prettiest of the hired girls; not attraction or jealousy. It's almost like she's his sister or his daughter.
Quote #3
I used to wish I could have dreams like this about Ántonia, but I never did. (2.12.32)
It's as though Jim cannot reconcile his sexual attractions with his romantic attractions. So he uses Lena as the target of the former and reserves the latter for Ántonia. That he wishes he could feel the same way about Ántonia is telling of a deeper level of understanding on his part