The Surface Breaks Quotes

“I'm beginning to wonder that if, when we call a woman crazy, we should take a look at the man by her side, and guess at what he has done to drive her to insanity.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“It is your father who has insisted on calling me a 'witch'. That's is simply a term that men give women who are not afraid of them, women who refuse to do as they are told.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“We are women. And women are warriors, after all.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“I want you to remember always how powerful you are. Never allow anyone to take that away from you, or try and make you feel small.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“I don’t know how people pretend to be something they’re not; it takes so much effort. That was always my problem, ever since I was your age. I didn’t care about what people thought of me. I only wanted to be true to myself.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“The women always get blamed. Have you noticed that? The wives are nags. The mistress is a bitch for betraying the sisterhood. And the men just fall through the cracks in between. We expect so little from our boys, don’t we, Grace?”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“That which we take for granted can so easily be taken away from us, if we do not remain vigilant.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“I was born in the water and I was born of the water.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“No one ever calls her husband "unnatural" for abandonning his children; no, instead they whisper that Lorelai must have failed to satisfy him".”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“That voice… My voice, it was my voice. How did Flora have my voice? How could I have thrown it away? The only time I was ever happy under the sea was when I was singing, and I sewed my mouth shut in the hopes that a boy I barely knew could kiss it open again.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“They are fascinated by us, and terrified by us as well. Do not underestimate that fear, and what they might do with it. Some men are very afraid of women, my child. And those men long for us the most, and are the most dangerous when they do not get what they want.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“It didn’t matter what my father said – that Alex was lazy, that all he cared about was having fun. Well, I wanted to have fun, for once. Fun, I could appreciate. I’ve never cared for beauty. Beauty fades, there’s no loyalty in it. My mother told me it was better to cultivate my wit, my intelligence. If I’d had a daughter, I would have told her the same. I would have made her strong. A woman needs to be strong to survive.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“Why would I be offended? Being called fat is not an insult, little mermaid. It is as meaningless as being called thin. They are just descriptions. It is your father who has deemed it to be a negative word, and a negative state of being.” She looks down at herself with obvious pleasure. “I like my body. And while I value my own opinion over those of men, it might surprise you to know that some prefer a woman of more plentiful flesh. It is nothing to be ashamed of – we all have our preferences – but they have been forced to feel ashamed even so.” She sighs. “And I am a fallen woman because of that shame. It is their desire and yet I am cast out as a result.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“And then they blame us, as men have always blamed women, for prompting their lust, for fuelling their insatiable greed for something they cannot have.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“If I cannot speak, I suddenly realize, then I can change nothing.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“you are just girls. Your looks are the only thing that distinguishes you from one another, and I want the best”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“I shall be passed from one man to the next, ownership tranferred with ease of a handshake and I will be expected to smile as the deal is done”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“They always fall asleep afterwards; it’s pathetic how little stamina they have. You didn’t miss much with this one, I can assure you.”

Miss much? What is she talking about?

“He was adequate,” Flora amends. “Concerned with his own pleasure, and annoyed I didn’t seem to think it all a great honour. Male fragility can be exhausting at times, can it not?”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“He takes a glass from a passing waiter, but doesn’t thank him. He rarely thanks the staff, I’ve observed. All the little things that I have ignored about this man, in order to make the narrative of true love and destiny fit. I tried to make him as perfect as I needed him to be.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“My name is Ceto,” she snaps, pushing herself out of the chair until she towers above me. “It is your father who has insisted on calling me a ‘witch’. That is simply a term that men give women who are not afraid of them, women who refuse to do as they are told.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“We have been told since we were mer-children that extra-weight is revolting”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“Every maid in court has been told that we must maintain a certain weight for the aesthetic preference of the Sea King and his mer-men.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“All he is concerned with is that I am the most beautiful daughter of the Sea King. I am a prize to be won, and Zale likes the taste of victory".”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“I can' because the Sea King will be angry if we do not do as he wishes. He will not stand for female insubordination, today of all days”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“And this time, my sisters swim away from the Sea King, leaving him alone. That was his greatest fear, of course. For who would the king be if he had no one to dominate? How could he stand tall if he did not have his daughters to look down on?”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“There was no one there to hear them scream no. Or maybe there was; but that no wasn’t deemed worthy of being heard. Maybe they heard it and they didn’t care. A woman’s no can so easily be turned into a yes by men who do not want to listen.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“I was so stupid to come here, to give up everything that I have ever known, ever loved, in an attempt to seduce a human man. A man I didn’t know, a man that I had seen once and decided would be the answer to all of my problems.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“Somos mujeres. Y, después de todo, las mujeres son guerreras.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“No había nadie allí para escucharlas gritar «no». O tal vez sí lo había, pero ese «no» no se consideró digno de ser escuchado. Tal vez lo escucharon y no les importó. Los hombres que no quieren escuchar pueden transformar fácilmente el «no» de una una mujer en un «sí».”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks

“Somos mujeres. Y las mujeres somos guerreras, después de todo.”
― Louise O'Neill, The Surface Breaks