Quotessence
Home / Authors / Catherynne M. Valente
Catherynne M. Valente

Catherynne M. Valente Quotes

Novelist

Filter quotes by topic

AllIfsKnowsHeartSeptemberWorldWayStoriesWantGirlGrowing UpThinkingChildrenLoveSaidWellsBlackStillsGirlsLongLooks

Famous Catherynne M. Valente Quotes

“Marya Morevna! Don't you know anything? Girls must be very, very careful to care only for ribbons and magazines and wedding rings. They must sweep their hearts clean of anything but kisses and theater and dancing. They must never read Pushkin; they must never say clever things; they must never have sly eyes or wear their hair loose and wander around barefoot, or they will draw his attention!”

KnowsHeartEyeCareGirlAttentionHairKissingDrawsTheaterDancingCleanCarefulRingsCleverMagazinesWanderRibbonsSlyBarefootWedding RingPushkin
Book:Deathless
Create image

“All children are heartless. They have not grown a heart yet, which is why they can climb tall trees and say shocking things and leap so very high that grown-up hearts flutter in terror. Hearts weigh quite a lot. That is why it takes so long to grow one. But, as in their reading and arithmetic and drawing, different children proceed at different speeds. (It is well known that reading quickens the growth of a heart like nothing else.) Some small ones are terrible and fey, Utterly Heartless. Some are dear and sweet and Hardly Heartless at all.”

WellsHeartChildrenLongDifferentReadingGrowsGrowthKnownTreeSweetTerribleDearTerrorSpeedDrawingClimbsLeapTallWell KnownShockingHeartlessArithmeticFeyTall TreesShocking Things
Author:Catherynne M. Valente
Create image

“I think that one morning, the Papess woke in her tower, and her blankets were so warm, and the sun was so golden, she could not bear it. I think she woke, and dressed, and washed her face in cold water, and rubbed her shaven head. I think she walked among her sisters, and for the first time saw that they were so beautiful, and she loved them. I think she woke up one morning of all her mornings, and found that her heart was as white as a silkworm, and the sun was clear as glass on her brow, and she believed then that she could live, and hold peace in her hand like a pearl.”

ThinkingFirstsHeartHandsBeautifulFacesFoundWaterWhiteMorningSunClearSawsColdBearsFirst TimeGlassesWarmGoldenTowersPearlsBlanketBrowsCold Water
Author:Catherynne M. Valente
Create image

“You and I, being grown-up and having lost our hearts at least twice or thrice along the way, might shut our eyes and cry out: Not that way, child! But as we have said, September was Somewhat Heartless, and felt herself reasonably safe on that road. Children always do.”

WayHeartChildrenSaidMightEyeLostFeltCrySafeSeptemberHeartlessThrice
Book:The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Create image

“I'm sure you've heard people talk about their Heart's Desire—well that's a load of rot. Hearts are idiots. They're big and squishy and full of daft dreams. They flounce off to write poetry and moon at folk who aren't worth the mooning. Bones are the ones that have to make the journey, fight the monster, kneel before whomever is big on kneeling these days. Bones do the work for the heart's grand plans. Bones know what you need. Hearts only know want.”

PeopleKnowsWantNeedsWritingWellsHeartDreamBigsDesireFightingPlansHeardJourneyMoonFolksBonesMonstersIdiotThese DaysLoadKneelingDaft
Book:The Fairyland Series
Create image

“For there are two kinds of forgiveness in the world: the one you practice because everything really is all right, and what went before is mended. The other kind of forgiveness you practice because someone needs desperately to be forgiven, or because you need just as badly to forgive them, for a heart can grab hold of old wounds and go sour as milk over them.”

WorldNeedsHeartKindTwoPracticeForgivingWoundsMilkForgivenSourOld Wounds
Book:The Fairyland Series
Create image

“Her heart was bruised by the kiss, smashed and surprised and unsettled by it. September thought kisses were all nice, sweet things asked for gently and given gladly. It had happened so fast and sharp it had taken her breath. Perhaps she had done it wrong, somehow. She put the kiss away firmly to think about later. Instead, she smiled at him and pulled a carefree mask over her face.”

ThinkingHeartDoneFacesGivenTakenNiceHappenedSweetKissingBreathsMaskSeptemberBruisedCarefreeSweet ThingsNice Sweet
Author:Catherynne M. Valente
Create image

“Marya Morevna, we are better at this than you are. We can hold two terrible ideas at once in our hearts. Never have your folk delighted us more, been more like family. For a devil, hypocrisy is a parlour game, like charades. Such fun, and when the evening is done we shall be holding our bellies to keep from dying of laughter.”

HeartTwoIdeasDoneGamesFunDyingTerribleLaughterDevilFolksEveningHypocrisyBellyDelightedLike FamilyCharades
Author:Catherynne M. Valente
Create image

“This is what it means to be a woman in this world. Every step is a bargain with pain. Make your black deals in the black wood and decide what you’ll trade for power. For the opposite of weakness, which is not strength but hardness. I am a trap, but so is everything. Pick your price. I am a huckster with a hand in your pocket. I am freedom and I will eat your heart.”

WorldHeartMeanHandsPainBlackDealsStepsThis WorldPicksWeaknessOppositesTradeWoodsPocketsTrapsBargainsEvery StepHardnessEat Your Heart
Author:Catherynne M. Valente
Create image

“It's saying no. That's your first hint that something's alive. It says no. That's how you know a baby is starting to turn into a person. They run around saying no all day, throwing their aliveness at everything to see what it'll stick to. You can't say no if you don't have desires and opinions and wants of your own. You wouldn't even want to. No is the heart of thinking.”

IfsThinkingKnowsWantFirstsHeartPersonsRunningDesireTurnsOpinionAliveBabySticksStartingThrowingHintsSaying No
Author:Catherynne M. Valente
Create image