Petra Durst-Benning > Quotes

“We’ve a saying that you should always expect pleasant surprises. The unpleasant surprises will come anyway.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“A woman who didn’t respect herself would never find a man to respect her.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“All that glitters is not gold. Scratch the shiny surface and underneath there will be bumps and scrapes or even great gaping holes.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“Often enough we allow a sense of obligation to force us to do things we have no desire to do on our own.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“All you have to do is wait for the right moment and then grab your happiness with both hands and never let go.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“Your purpose in life is not to serve others. Your purpose is to lead. You should not run around after your sisters all the time—rather they should run after you! Just look at yourself: you are a strong woman. But if you jump to attention every time Ruth or Marie or anyone else whistles for your help, you simply make yourself ridiculous.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“Sometimes people say things you can only understand in hindsight,” Ruth remarked thoughtfully. “You think you know what you want from life, and then in the end it turns out to be quite the opposite.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“startled”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Paradise of Glass

“Only a fool plays with fire in his own house!”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“True love is much stronger than us mortals. It stops us from being scared of what tomorrow may bring.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“Where there’s wealth, there’s poverty too. And”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The American Lady

“put a finger to his lips and frowned irritably.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“You think you know what you want from life, and then in the end it turns out to be quite the opposite. Just”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“bibliophiles”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Paradise of Glass

“When I think about it, we haven’t had much”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“And”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Flower Shop

“You don’t have to always do everything differently. Many things can simply be left as they have always been.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Flower Shop

“Johanna sometimes wondered whether there wasn’t a touch of obsession in Marie’s dedication. When she mentioned this to Peter, he replied dryly, 'Is there even any such thing as dedication without obsession?”
― Petra Durst-Benning

“Johanna was beginning to understand why those who had suffered a death in the family always hated Christmas so much; the hole that their loved one left behind seemed bigger in the light of the Christmas candles.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“And Gerhard destroyed what little confidence I had, bit by bit. It felt like I was dissolving more each day, like an old rag with threads that get more and more fragile. At some point, there wouldn’t have been much left of me at all.” She laughed sadly.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Queen of Beauty

“The darkest hours of her life were behind her now, and she had survived them. There had been nights when she thought that the morning would never come. But life went on, whether she liked it or not. The clocks kept ticking. And that was as it should have been. Wanda”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Paradise of Glass

“was a large W— the letter was from Mr. Woolworth. Strobel”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“question—only fools made the same mistake twice.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“Self-important idiot!”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Paradise of Glass

“When things look nice, everyone is happier, aren’t they?”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Flower Shop

“Ruth caught”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“That’s the whole trick of it, you see. Knowing when enough is enough.” He”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The American Lady

“And when the night became day and the day became a dream, all my questions fell into glittering dust.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The American Lady

“any subject—with the exception of love—that has been written about more extensively than art?”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Glassblower

“There’s a difference between working hard and being a know-all.”
― Petra Durst-Benning, The Flower Shop