It does good to no woman to be flattered [by a man] who does not intend to marry her; and it is madness in all women to let a secret love kindle within them, which, if unreturned and unknown, must devour the life that feeds it; and, if discovered and responded to, must lead, ignis-fatuus-like, into miry wilds whence there is no extrication.
Charlotte BronteI have not broken your heart - you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine.
Charlotte BronteFor I too liked reading, thought of a frivolous and childish kind; I could not digest or comprehend the serious or substantial.
Charlotte BronteHuman beings never enjoy complete happiness in this world. I was not born for a different destiny to the rest of my species: to imagine such a lot befalling me is a fairy tale -- a daydream." "Which I can and will realise. I shall begin today.
Charlotte Bronte