The Trumpet-Major, Vol. 1 of 2 Quotes

“Any woman who has ever tried will know without explanation what an unpalatable task it is to dismiss, even when she does not love him, a man who has all the natural and moral qualities she would desire, and only fails in the social. Would-be lovers are not so numerous, even with the best women, that the sacrifice of one can be felt as other than a good thing wasted, in a world where there are few good things.”
― Thomas Hardy, The Trumpet-Major, Vol. 1 of 2: A Tale