The trouble with England, he thinks, is that it's so poor in gesture. We shall have to develop a hand signal for ‘Back off, our prince is fucking this man's daughter.’ He is surprised that the Italians have not done it. Though perhaps they have, and he just never caught on.Hilary Mantel
About This Quote
In the movie The Talented Mr. Ripley, Tom Ripley said that the trouble with England is that it lacks a good gesture, a good excuse to give a friend, a good way to say “back off.” We may not have a readymade gesture for this, but we do have the capacity to create one when we need it. Like most Italians, he’s probably very sensitive to any slight in his friendliness, and understands that if they’re friends in Italy you can certainly be rude to them.
Source: Wolf Hall
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