At night, when the curtains are drawn and the fire flickers, my books attain a collective dignity.
E. M. ForsterI never could get on with representative individuals but people who existed on their own account and with whom it might therefore be possible to be friends.
E. M. ForsterShe only felt that the candle would burn better, the packing go easier, the world be happier, if she could give and receive some human love.
E. M. ForsterAmerica is rather like life. You can usually find in it what you look for It will probably be interesting, and it is sure to be large.
E. M. ForsterThe test of a round character is whether it is capable of surprising in a convincing way. If it never surprises it is flat. Flat characters ... in their purest form ... are constructed round a single idea or quality; when there is more than one factor to them, we get the beginning of the curve toward the round. The really flat character can be experessed in one sentence such as, "I will never desert Mr Micawber." There is Mrs Micawber - she says she won't desert Mr Micawber; she doesn't, and there she is.
E. M. Forster