““New and strange emotions arose in the mind of Gertrude. … She replied, that no one could oblige her to take the veil, without her own consent; that she could also marry, inhabit a palace, and enjoy the world; that she could if she wished it; that she would wish it, and did wish it. The necessity of her own consent, hitherto little considered, became henceforth the ruling thought of her mind; she called it to her aid, at all times, when she desired to luxuriate in the pleasing images of future felicity.””
![“She was very fond of thinking and getting at the truth of things, but was so far from being pedantic, so full of youthful ways that from the first moment one began to love all these originalities in her, and to accept them. [...] This naive combination in her of the child and the thinking woman…” quote by Feodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/302/feodor-dostoevsky-44924_beauty_she-was-very-fond-of-thinking-and-gettin_3039156.jpg)
![“The world lay before her—she could do whatever she chose. There was a deep thrill in it all, but for the present her choice was tolerably discreet […].” quote by Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/082/henry-james-417_adventure_the-world-lay-before-her-she-could-do-wh_616393.jpg)
