Susan in NC’s Reviews > Begin Again > Status Update

“And-and—(the normal conclusion to this train of reflection was of course “And nobody is paying any attention to me,” but Sylvia was not always as honest with herself as she imagined. She thought instead, “And I shouldn’t wonder if my ankle isn’t pretty badly sprained,” and nearly believed herself.”

““Darling,” said Henry fervently, and meant by it “I’ll never love anybody as much as you, I’ll never be happier than I am now.”

“Darling,” said Jane, and meant “I’m so glad I haven’t said anything to hurt you yet, because when you look so happy I feel so terribly sorry for you.”

Poor clingy Henry-already over! “Well, anyway, thought Jane suddenly, whatever happens in the end and even when it’s all over and I’m in love with some one else—Henry will always be the nicest man I have ever known.”

“He extracted a certain grim humour from the picture of Sylvia, clad in expensive simplicity, well-nourished from the excellent meals prepared in her father’s household, standing in her pretty, unpractical highheeled shoes on the lawn before him and assuring him of the utter unimportance of property and money. But beneath his amusement his baffled generosity irked him. Silly, silly little girl!” -Sylvia’s poor dad!

“Heaven defend him from provoking his daughter to give him a fuller exposition of her views on marriage—he had, from time to time, heard enough of the “new morality” to be anxious to avoid at all costs further elucidation of this immoral rubbish. “I don’t think it would be fair to take your money under false pretences,” said Sylvia. There was no doubt that the idealism of youth could be extraordinarily irritating.”

By virtue of two daughters at home, Mrs. Perry, not unnaturally, considered herself daughter-bragging champion of the neighbourhood. (“But haven’t you ever wanted them to take up some work, Mrs. Perry?” “No, I can’t say I have. I don’t consider office-work a real life for a girl.”

“Sometimes one cried in one’s cubicle at night. For it is wrong to suppose that youth is carefree and gay and irresponsible. Florence knew that youth is anxious and intense and desperately conscientious—perhaps particularly in her case, because school had encouraged these natural traits of adolescence…Conscientious adolescents were more easily controlled than carefree gay irresponsibles.”

“Oh, dear! She was too tired to mend it tonight and tomorrow morning there wouldn’t be time. Time! There was never time for anything if you had a job in London. No time to darn stockings, no time to shop, no time to have your hair done, no time to write letters, worst of all no time to do nothing. Such an enormous amount of effort was needed to do the simplest thing.”

“It was funny, thought Leslie, how the conversation circled round and round the question of expense. Surely Jane and Florence used not to talk such a lot about money? At school and afterwards at home one took money more or less for granted.”