Erica

“How many better prisoners have worn their noble hearts out so; no man thinking of it; not even the beloved of their souls realizing it; great kings and governors, who had made them captive, careering in the sunlight jauntily, and men cheering them on. Even the said great personages dying in bed, making exemplary ends and sounding speeches; and polite history, more servile than their instruments, embalming them!”
― Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit

“A man ain't nothing but a man. But a son? Well, now, that's somebody.”
― Toni Morrison, Beloved

“What wild imaginations one forms where dear self is concerned! How sure to be
mistaken!”
― Jane Austen, Persuasion

“The beauties of the sunset had not faded from the long light films of cloud that lay at peace in the horizon. From a radiant centre, over the whole length and breadth of the tranquil firmament, great shoots of light streamed among the early stars, like signs of the blessed later covenant of peace and hope that changed the crown of thorns into a glory.”
― Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit