Europeans condemned Chinese foot binding, but any society that had invented the corset had a lot to answer for.
You don’t have to be crazy to be a writer, but it certainly does help.
If death is inevitable, one should try to die well.
But gratitude would not have me love you as I do. Love was inspired by what you are – the good, the bad, and even the foolish, which is what you’re being right now.
But why, she thought wryly, did a man seem more attractive as he became less available? How humbling to think one had so much in common with a cow stretching its neck through a gate for better grass.
Life is a good deal more comfortable if one doesn’t expect it to be fair.
If I have an ambition, it’s to leave the world a little better than I found it.
I don’t usually look back. When I make foolish decisions, I file the consequences under lessons learned and tell myself not to be stupid in the same way again.
She always imagined the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and Blessed Mother as points of light in the center of her heart, and as she prayed, the light expanded, flowing through her body and soul, smoothing away knots of guilt and sorrow and fear until her whole being glowed with harmony.
Michael is easier to understand – he had to believe in Caroline. To betray a friend was despicable – to acknowledge that he had done so for a woman who was utterly unworthy.
I think that marriage is always the triumph of hope over fear.
Disdain for authority is the bedrock of my character.
What a pity that men couldn’t find such satisfactions without killing so many of their fellows.
There was deep truth in the fact that men spoke of Holy Mother Church, for the Church was the force of civilization and compassion among nations, just as women brought mercy and gentleness to men.
Gentlemen do not work. Since I do not work, therefore I must be a gentleman.
Small pleasures are the best because they’re everywhere. Anyone who needs grand spectacles is destined to be disappointed much of the time.
I love you,” he gasped. “For always.” “And I love you,” she whispered as tears filled her eyes. He rolled on his side and drew her close, his arms sheltering against the storm that pounded on London. The sky itself wept because they loved each other, and it wasn’t enough. As.
Isn’t a mistress supposed to care about her lover?” she asked softly. Their glances met, and Nicholas felt something shift deep inside him, creating a moment of strange vulnerability. This woman could hurt him badly if he wasn’t careful.
Your precocity delighted everyone who met you even when you were behaving like a limb of Satan.
Samuel Johnson said a second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience,” Kirkland said.