Quote by Melanie Benjamin

““There had been so many of them, so pale and thin and dirty, but Mamma had said we weren’t to feel sorry for them. They knew their place.””

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Why were there so many barriers between us, always? Barriers of clothing, of etiquette, of time and age and reason.

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“my breath sour against my fist, which I still held to my mouth as if this was a sorrow that could be stifled.”

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“ashamed of it even as I craved it. “Oh, she does! There’s a party tomorrow,”

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“For I can think of no fate drearier than sitting at home...for the rest of my life, watching all of you go off one…

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“And this—instead of happiness—would be only what the two of us deserved, after all.”

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“...all his smiles were just a little sad around the edges, as if he knew happiness never could last very long”

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“And I did not speak German well; I found the language harsh and guttural, my ear simply couldn’t find it pleasing, and so my…

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