zosia

“Does such a thing as 'the fatal flaw,' that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn't. Now I think it does. And I think that mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs.”
― Donna Tartt, The Secret History

“I realize today that nothing in the world is more distasteful to a man than to take the path that leads to himself.”
― Hermann Hesse, Demian: Die Geschichte von Emil Sinclairs Jugend

“...
In her immaculate kitchen she said, 'Yes, I've changed. I realized I was being awfully sloppy and self-indulgent. It's no disgrace to be a good homemaker. I've decided to do my job conscientiously, the way Dave does his, and to be more careful about my appearance. Are you sure you don't want a sandwich?'
Joanna shook her head. 'Bobbie,' she said, 'I— Don't you see what's happened? Whatever's around here—it's got you, the way it got Charmaine!'
Bobbie smiled at her. 'Nothing's got me,' she said. 'There's nothing around. That was a lot of nonsense. Stepford's a fine healthful place to live.'
...”
― Ira Levin, The Stepford Wives

“There isn't a pebble on the beach of my inner history that she has left unturned. She knows where to find everything in me and I know where all her stuff is too. She is, in short, my best friend.”
― Dolly Alderton, Everything I Know About Love