Misfortune had made Lily supple instead of hardening her, and a pliable substance is less easy to break than a stiff one.

I don't know if I should care for a man who made life easy; I should want someone who made it interesting.

He had to deal all at once with the packed regrets and stifled memories of an inarticulate lifetime.

I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.

Everything about her was both vigorous and exquisite.

True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision.