Rachel

“I could only get on at all by taking “nature” into my confidence and my account, by treating my monstrous ordeal as a push in a direction unusual, of course, and unpleasant, but demanding after all, for a fair front, only another turn of the screw of ordinary human virtue.”
― Henry James, The Turn of the Screw and Other Short Fiction

“She needs air,” she said. “Her corset is probably tormenting her. Has anyone a knife?”
― Cassandra Clare, Chain of Gold

“I may die; but first you, my tyrant and tormentor, shall curse the sun that gazes on your misery. Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”
― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein: The 1818 Text

“I barely noticed loneliness anymore; it was my normal condition, by necessity if not by nature. After today’s stresses, though, it weighed on me more than usual. Orma knew everything about me, but he was a dragon. On a good day, he was friend enough. On a bad day, running into his inadequacy was like tripping up the stairs. It hurt, but it felt like my own fault. Still, he was all I had.”
― Rachel Hartman, Seraphina