109 quotes
I possess the faculty of enjoying the company of those I — of my friends as well in silence as in conversation.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
Forgetfulness is not to be purchased with a wish; and I cannot bestow my esteem on all who desire it, unless they deserve it too.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
If we can only speak to slander our betters, let us hold our tongues.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
I will not allow myself to be worse than my fellows.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
Revenge! No — what good would that do? — it would make him no better, and me no happier.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
If you would have a boy to despise his mother, let her keep him at home, and spend her life in petting him up, and slaving to indulge his follies and caprices.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
If your wife gives you her heart, you must take it, thankfully, and use it well, and not pull it in pieces, and laugh in her face, because she cannot snatch it away.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
Beauty is that quality which, next to money, is generally the most attractive to the worst kinds of men; and, therefore, it is likely to entail a great deal of trouble on the possessor.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
Adoration isn’t love. I adore Annabella, but I don’t love her; and I love thee, Milicent, but I don’t adore thee.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
It’s well to have such a comfortable assurance regarding the worth of those we love. I only wish you may not find your confidence misplaced.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
And, when you, looking on your fellow men
Behold them doomed to endless misery,
How can you talk of joy and rapture then?
May God withhold such cruel joy from me!
Whatever my husband's faults may be, it can only aggravate the evil for me to hear them from a stranger's lips.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
Where hope rises fear must lurk behind.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
Life and hope must cease together.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
Don't you know that every time we meet the thoughts of the final parting will become more painful? Don't you feel that every interview makes us dearer to each other than the last?
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
You're at that game of threatening me with the loss of your affection again, are you? I think it couldn't have been very genuine stuff to begin with, if it's so easily demolished.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
The brightest attractions to the lover too often prove the husband's greatest torments
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
She, however, attentively watched my looks, and her artist's pride was gratified, no doubt, to read my heartfelt admiration in my eyes.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
There is perfect love in heaven!
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)
Smiles and tears are so alike with me, they are neither of them confined to any particular feelings: I often cry when I am happy, and smile when I am sad.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848)