“To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.”
“You know it s never fifty-fifty in a marriage. It s always seventy-thirty, or sixty-forty. Someone falls in love first. Someone puts someone else up on a pedestal. Someone works very hard to keep things rolling smoothly; someone else sails along for the ride.”
“There is no such thing as a broken family. Family is family, and is not determined by marriage certificates, divorce papers, and adoption documents. Families are made in the heart. The only time family becomes null is when those ties in the heart are cut. If you cut those ties, those people are not your family. If you make those ties, those people are your family. And if you hate those ties, those people will still be your family because whatever you hate will always be with you.”
“I m about to make a wild, extreme and severe relationship rule: the word busy is a load of crap and is most often used by assholes. The word busy is the relationship Weapon of Mass Destruction. It seems like a good excuse, but in fact in every silo you uncover, all you re going to find is a man who didn t care enough to call. Remember men are never to busy to get what they want.”
“Marriage can wait, education cannot.”
“And she s got brains enough for two, which is the exact quantity the girl who marries you will need.”
“I don t want to be married just to be married. I can t think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can t talk to, or worse, someone I can t be silent with.”
“When love beckons to you follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth...... But if in your fear you would seek only love s peace and love s pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love s threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears. Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love. And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself. But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To know the pain of too much tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed willingly and joyfully.”
“People always fall in love with the most perfect aspects of each other’s personalities. Who wouldn’t? Anybody can love the most wonderful parts of another person. But that’s not the clever trick. The really clever trick is this: Can you accept the flaws? Can you look at your partner’s faults honestly and say, ‘I can work around that. I can make something out of it.’? Because the good stuff is always going to be there, and it’s always going to pretty and sparkly, but the crap underneath can ruin you.”
“Ye are Blood of my Blood, and Bone of my Bone, I give ye my Body, that we Two might be One. I give ye my Spirit, til our Life shall be Done.”
“Aim high, but do not aim so high that you totally miss the target. What really matters is that he will love you, that he will respect you, that he will honor you, that he will be absolutely true to you, that he will give you the freedom of expression and let you fly in the development of your own talents. He is not going to be perfect, but if he is kind and thoughtful, if he knows how to work and earn a living, if he is honest and full of faith, the chances are you will not go wrong, that you will be immensely happy.”
“Someone told me the delightful story of the crusader who put a chastity belt on his wife and gave the key to his best friend for safekeeping, in case of his death. He had ridden only a few miles away when his friend, riding hard, caught up with him, saying You gave me the wrong key!”
“An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.”
“He could totally be your boyfriend, [Angel] went on with annoying persistance. You guys could get married. I could be like a junior bridesmaid. Total could be your flower dog. I m only a kid! I shrieked. I can t get married! You could in New Hampshire. My mouth dropped open. How does she know this stuff? Forget it! No one s getting married! I hissed. Not in New Hampshire or anywhere else! Not in a box, not with a fox! Now go to sleep, before I kill you!”
“By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.”
“When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part.”
“Some people claim that marriage interferes with romance. There s no doubt about it. Anytime you have a romance, your wife is bound to interfere.”