Elizabeth Gaskell Quotes

“Jemima was not pretty, the flatness and shortness of her face made her almost plain; yet most people looked twice at her expressive countenance, at the eyes which flamed or melted at every trifle, at the rich colour which came at every expressed emotion into her usually sallow face, at the faultless teeth which made her smile like a sunbeam.”

“Marriage Asian-style is practical, contractual and, to the western mind, deeply unromantic.”

“In my experience, being busy and working hard is the key to sanity/happiness.”

“There's a theory about fame: the moment it strikes, it arrests development. Michael Jackson remained suspended in childhood, enjoying sleepovers and funfairs; Winona Ryder, an errant teen who dabbled in shoplifting and experimented with pills; George Clooney, a 30-year-old commitment-phobe, never quite ready yet to settle down.”

“I think Damien Hirst is hilarious. And I think he's a true artist. He's not hilarious first; I think he is a real artist, and I also think he's got an amazing sense of humor.”

“Follow your star, it's never too late, even if it doesn't quite happen as you expect.”

“Trying is something we do when we think we can’t do something. Even if your doing is not as perfect as you would like, decide to do it, and you will. -- Lady Nimrod of Buckmore in The Princelings and the Lost City”

“The temptation is too strong for me. Oh, Lord! where is Thy peace that I believed in, in my childhood? – that I hear people speaking of now, as if it hushed up the troubles of life, and had not to be sought for – sought for, as with tears of blood! [-Jemima, chapter 26, pg. 275]”

“God bless Dad, he came to every one of my shows. I was bad, and I had horrible stage fright. My dad was so relieved - he'd say, 'You were terrible; this kid is not going to be an actor.' Finally, I did a play and he said, 'Son - you were really good.'”

“In any society that is governed by the rule of law, some form of morality is always imposed. It's inescapable.”