10 Quotes & Sayings By Nella Larsen

Nella Larsen, first published in 1923, is often heralded as one of the most important and groundbreaking American novels of the twentieth century. It tells the story of a young woman, Emma, whose identity is fluid and who experiences great oppression and violence. But Emma is not defined by her circumstances; she is defined by her dreams of success and happiness. The book's impact has been akin to that of Harriet Jacobs' "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl" (1861).

1
But there was, she knew, something else. Happiness, she supposed. Whatever that might be. What, exactly, she wondered, was happiness. Very positively she wanted it. Nella Larsen
2
Well, what of it? If sex isn’t a joke, what is it Nella Larsen
3
Children aren't everything. There are other things in the world, thought I admit some people don't seem to suspect it. Nella Larsen
4
What are friends for, if not to help bear our sins? Nella Larsen
5
It hurt. It hurt like hell. But it didn’t matter, if no one knew. Nella Larsen
6
I think being a mother is the cruelest thing in the world. Nella Larsen
7
It was only that she wanted him to be happy, resenting, however, his inability to be so with things as they were, and never acknowledging that though she did want him to be happy, it was only in her own way and by some plan of hers for him that she truly desired him to be so. Nella Larsen
8
The trouble with Clare was, not only that she wanted to have her cake and eat it too, but that she wanted to nibble at the cakes of other folk as well. Nella Larsen
9
Everything can't be explained by some general biological phrase. Nella Larsen