Jane Doe Quotes

“People cause pain. Even good people hurt those they love. We all do it because we can’t help it. Most of us aren’t evil; we’re just stupid and flawed and not careful with others.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“Maybe I should get a cat. The thought invades my head fully formed and utterly obvious. A cat. Another little sociopath to curl up beside me at night and keep me warm.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“Frankly, fictional people appeal far more to me than real people do. In fiction, the choices have to make sense. The timeline proceeds rationally. Emotions are explained to me. Characters feel the way they are supposed to feel in response to the actions of others. Nobody stays in a bad situation because of inertia or low self-esteem. That would make for a truly shitty story. But in real life . . . God, in real life people so rarely behave in ways that improve their circumstances.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“After all, everyone knows that women are responsible for how men behave. If we’re not careful, they might decide to take what they want. They can’t help it. But somehow I’m the one with the psychological impairment.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“They like a woman with no shame. We’re rare, you see, because we’re told to be ashamed of everything every day by everyone. Ashamed to give them what they want, ashamed not to want to give it to them. Ashamed to show our average bodies, ashamed not to have a perfect one. I have no idea how normal women date. The world seems like it’d be an unbearable place for people with real feelings.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“only read nonfiction.” He wants me to feel self-conscious, but the truth is that a man like Steven doesn’t want to immerse himself in someone else’s world. It gives the author too much power. It makes Steven feel small.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“Love. It’s weakness. Vulnerability. It’s waiting for an inevitable wound and then praying it will someday heal.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“My cat appears and rubs her cheek against me in approval. She understands exactly. The kill is fun, but toying with your prey is really the best part.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“Where I grew up, everyone believed in God. Everyone worshipped Jesus. And they were all poor and miserable and suffering. They lost jobs and children and dignity, but that only made them pray harder. I recognize a con when I see one.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“If someone wants to leave, the only thing to do is move on. Find someone else. Have some pride.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“He understands women in that very simple way so many men never grasp. He knows we are raised in danger. He views our respect as a gift.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“I don’t hate them; I just don’t understand why people feel the need to try over and over with toxic family members.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“All I know is books are better.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“was fascinated by the way Meg interacted with men. She always made herself smaller, and they always loved it. At first I admired it as manipulation, but I later realized that once she’d established herself as small, she couldn’t make herself bigger again.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“We’re rare, you see, because we’re told to be ashamed of everything every day by everyone.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“Why get married if you want to sleep with other people? Why stay if you suspect he’s cheating and that hurts your feelings? Why fight and bicker and scream if the other person decides they’re ready to go? If someone wants to leave, the only thing to do is move on. Find someone else. Have some pride.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“All those jokes about the clitoris being hard to find? Come on. It’s right there near the top of the vulva every time. There’s maybe one square inch of possibility, and they still can’t work it out. The sheer incompetence astounds me.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“No matter how old he gets, he’ll still want a woman my age, but he resents that I don’t want him. Does he notice his own shitty hypocrisy? No. I’m a selfish bitch. It will always be my fault.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“Did I lose her? It’s more like she made herself disappear. I know exactly where she is. She’s not here. And that was what she wanted.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“Frankly, fictional people appeal far more to me than real people do. In fiction, the choices have to make sense. The timeline proceeds rationally. Emotions are explained to me. Characters feel the way they are supposed to feel in response to the actions of others. Nobody stays in a bad situation because of inertia or low self-esteem. That would make for a truly shitty story. But in real life . . .”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“Erections and guilt can’t exist in the same plane. One makes way for the other.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“When other people are suffering, it’s because they’re not righteous. But when our people suffer, it’s only a test of faith.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“With me she was larger-than-life and bursting with goodness. I never understood this other side of her. She would shrug and say she felt shy with men she liked, but that wasn’t it. It wasn’t shyness. It was fading. She dimmed her light to make a certain kind of man feel vibrant.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“My parents are still alive, still together, and they love me, I suppose. But they love me the way a careless child loves a pet. Too much attention one day, absolute neglect the next. The changes in current were too much for me to survive when I was young, so my brain learned to ride above them. It’s not something I think about now. It’s natural. I observe people’s emotions, but I rarely participate.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“in real life people so rarely behave in ways that improve their circumstances.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“reminds me of myself, all hollow and cool.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“Fall is my favorite season. It reminds me of myself, all hollow and cool. And despite the dying crispness of it, people still find it beautiful. Maybe they could feel that way about me too.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“It had been a struggle to understand Meg’s problems, yes, but I’d tried. I swear I had. Still, patience is not my virtue. Nor is sympathy. Maybe I was her weakest link.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“He points without once looking up at me. He’s being rude, so I steal a tiny metal dog figurine from the edge of his tall desk. I don’t want it; I just don’t like his attitude.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe

“The tiniest weak link will bring everything tumbling down, yet we all walk around like we’re unbreakable.”
― Victoria Helen Stone, Jane Doe