Writers cannot choose their own mood: with them it is not al... - Charlotte Bronte

"But this I know; the writer who possesses the creative gift owns something of which he is not always master--something that at times strangely wills and works for itself. He may lay down rules and devise principles, and to rules and principles it will perhaps for years lie in subjection; and then, haply without any warning of revolt, there comes a time when it will no longer consent."

"To you I am neither man nor woman. I come before you as an author only. It is the sole standard by which you have a right to judge me--the sole ground on which I accept your judgment."

"I don't call you handsome, sir, though I love you most dearly: far too dearly to flatter you. Don't flatter me."

"The trouble is not that I am single and likely to stay single, but that I am lonely and likely to stay lonely."

"Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness; it has no taste."