“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.”
Quote by Henry James
Work
The Portrait of a Lady
Browse quotes and source details for this work. more
Author
You May Also Like
“Don’t fear making mistakes; fear not making any. It’s only through mistakes that we truly learn.”
“The act of respecting a girl is more beautiful than saying her beautiful. -Santosh Pyasa”
Source: Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs
Source: Stalking Jack the Ripper
“Authentic love must be founded on reciprocal recognition of two freedoms...”
Source: The Second Sex
Source: Composing a Life
“To learn etiquette, is actually learning how to see others, and respect them.”
Source: 而立·24
Source: The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit