Isola Quotes

“I myself was now an island. Solitary. Brambles and five-petalled flowers were my garden. Rocks my furniture. Ocean waves my lessons. Sadness overwhelmed me and sank back. Then, like the tide, joy crept in on me again.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“I never knew my mother. She died the night that I was born, and so we passed each other in the dark…”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“As I have said, my daughter, no matter what virtue and goodness you see in yourself or others, know that in this world, not one in a thousand escapes without some deception or attack on her honor, no matter how good or perfect.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“My guardian served as my protector, but I had no one to protect me from him.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“I wept for joy because I could escape, and for sorrow I must leave alone.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“I walked down to the shore, and the waves were shining. The sun was bright, but I was hollow. I thought, How will I live without another soul? And then I thought, What will I live for?”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“am sure Damienne prayed for protection, and Claire prayed for our safe journey, but I prayed for nothing. All I wanted was what I could not have, which was to stay.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Filling these packets and wood boxes, I felt a joy I had not known before. It was not love, and it was not comfort, nor was it mastery or beauty, but it was usefulness.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Like the birds, Auguste and I slept in open air. Gratefully we rested without enemies, and looking up at the dark sky, we counted ourselves rich in stars.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“because, as you have seen, many honest beginnings come to a bad end.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Not if it’s wrong.” “Most fun things are,” she told me.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Like any animal, I would starve if I went lame.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“A beast will behave in beastly ways.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“I dreamed my son became a prince. He had the isle to himself, and he lived in a stone tower. Oceans played at his feet, and birds swore to him allegiance, though he was but a child. My boy rode a horse upon the shore, and birds parted before him. When my son lifted his hand, our blue-eyed birds flew into the sky, ten thousand arrows, all for him.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Gulls were calling as we stepped over wooden planks. Waves slapped against posts crusted with black barnacles. Here my guardian’s men waited in a little boat, and we embarked, descending salty stairs. I stepped in first, and Damienne followed, half-falling as she clutched my arm.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Ocean waves my lessons. Sadness overwhelmed me and sank back. Then”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Vanity, vanity, taught Madame D’Artois. Everything we treasure has a price. And everything we have will slip away. She told us we were dust and our lives brief as grass. We might understand this if we were truly wise—but I lacked wisdom.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“This time when my guardian summoned me, I knew to be afraid, for I understood that he would determine when I should be wed, whether or not I was fifteen.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“so”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“It is not disapproval of what you said,” she told me earnestly, “but sorrow for what you have endured.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“The first point above all others, is that earnestly and with all your faith and power, you guard against doing, saying, or thinking anything that would anger God. Never allow the sudden temptations of the world, the flesh, or the devil, to seize you, so that you live more chastity and guard yourself from sin. Remember, as Augustin says, that you cannot be sure of a single hour. Your wretched body will die, decay, and be eaten by worms, leaving your poor soul alone to face the consequences. -Anna France, Lessons for My Daughter, Chapter 2, circa 1517”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“This œwas œmy prayer. œNot œfor rescue œor escape, œbut œfor my œsoul, œwhich œhad been œsick. œI œgazed at œwaves rising œand shattering, œand œthis was œmy resolve—to remember œmyself as œGod remembered œme.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Now I œam refreshed,” said œDamienne when œwe had œdone. œAnd œlooking at œher, œI œthought, œPraying œis refreshment œwhen you œtoil. œKneeling œfeels better œafter long œhours on œyour œfeet.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“He would destroy us by leaving us alone.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“time; he gave us eternity. We craved space and privacy; he gave us both.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“as”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“know that in this world, not one in a thousand escapes without some deception or attack on her honor, no matter how good or perfect.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“You who sold my lands?” “They were mine by right.” “In trust!”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Those who know their faults are truly wise,” the Queen said. “And those who have endured the worst have most to teach. Do not say, then, that your story does not deserve retelling. Tell me, rather, how I might reward you for offering what you have learned.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola