I could fight with the living but I could not fight the dead. If there was some woman in London that Maxim loved, someone he wrote to, visited, dined with, slept with, I could fight her. We would stand on common ground. I should not be afraid. Anger and jealousy were things that could be conquered. One day the woman would grow old or tired or different, and Maxim would not love her anymore. But Rebecca would never grow old. Rebecca would always be the same. And she and I could not fight. She was to strong for me.
Daphne du MaurierShe knew that this was happiness, this was living as she had always wished to live.
Daphne du MaurierThe point is, life has to be endured, and lived. But how to live it is the problem.
Daphne du MaurierThe trouble is, walking in Venice becomes compulsive once you start. Just over the next bridge, you say, and then the next one beckons.
Daphne du MaurierBut I have had enough melodrama in this life, and would willingly give my five senses if they could ensure us our present peace and security. Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind. Of course we have our moments of depression; but there are other moments too, when time, unmeasured by the clock, runs on into eternity and, catching his smile, I know we are together, we march in unison, no flash of thought or opinion makes a barrier between us.
Daphne du Maurier