ferns

“He believed me, and I was overwhelmed by bitterness when I saw that he did. My tears stopped; I told myself that it was quite easy to deceive those whose interest lay elsewhere.”
― Claire de Duras, Ourika

“I was ungrateful to Providence by not being happy; and, yet, does happiness always result from the gifts of intelligence? I tend to believe the contrary: one must pay for the gift of knowledge by wishing not to know...”
― Claire de Duras, Ourika: An English Translation

“...there is something about understanding that comforts me, even if I don't like what I understand.”
― Wendy Walker, Emma in the Night

“Her focus had always been on how his actions affected her feelings, as if his role was to do things for her, to her, and all that mattered was her emotional response to him, as if a "man" were a product or a service, and she'd finally chosen the right brand to get the right response.”
― Liane Moriarty, Truly Madly Guilty