Quotes From "The Portrait Of A Lady" By Henry James

It has made me better loving you.. it has made me wiser, and easier, and brighter. I used to want a great many things before, and to be angry that I did not have them. Theoretically, I was satisfied. I flattered myself that I had limited my wants. But I was subject to irritation; I used to have morbid sterile hateful fits of hunger, of desire. Now I really am satisfied, because I can’t think of anything better. It’s just as when one has been trying to spell out a book in the twilight, and suddenly the lamp comes in. I had been putting out my eyes over the book of life, and finding nothing to reward me for my pains; but now that I can read it properly I see that it’s a delightful story. Henry James

There's no more usual basis of union than mutual misunderstanding. Henry James

I should think that to hear such lovely music as that would really make him feel better." The lady gave a discriminating smile. “ I am afraid there are moments in life when even Beethoven has nothing to say to us. We must admit, however, that they are our worst moments. Henry James

I don't need the aid of a clever man to teach me how to live. I can find it out for myself. Henry James

I never did anything in life to anyone's imagination. Henry James

Still, who could say what men ever were looking for? They looked for what they found; they knew what pleased them only when they saw it. Henry James

The finer natures were those that shone at the larger times. Henry James

I am not afraid, ” she said; which seemed quite presumptuous enough.“ You are not afraid of suffering?”“ Yes, I am afraid of suffering. But I am not afraid of ghosts. And I think people suffer too easily, ” she added.“ I don’t believe you do, ” said Ralph, looking at her with his hands in his pockets.“ I don’t think that’s a fault, ” she answered. “It is not absolutely necessary to suffer; we were not made for that.”“ You were not, certainly.”“ I am not speaking of myself.” And she turned away a little.“ No, it isn’t a fault, ” said her cousin. “It’s a merit to be strong.”“ Only, if you don’t suffer, they call you hard, ” Isabel remarked. They passed out of the smaller drawing-room, into which they had returned from the gallery, and paused in the hall, at the foot of the staircase. Here Ralph presented his companion with her bed-room candle, which he had taken from a niche. “Never mind what they call you, ” he said. “When you do suffer, they call you an idiot. The great point is to be as happy as possible. . Henry James

It's not my fate to give up-- I know it can't be. Henry James

She had an immense curiosity about life, and was constantly staring and wondering. Henry James

She couldn't have told you whether it was because she was afraid, or because such a voice in the darkness seemed of necessity a boon; but she listened to him as she had never listened before; his words dropped deep into her soul. Henry James

One never said the things one wanted – one remembered them all an hour afterwards. On the other hand one usually said a lot of things one shouldn't, simply from a sense that one had to say something. Henry James