Charlotte Brontë
- Jane Eyre — on the reserved people
I saw even that to be thus frankly addressed on a subject he had deemed unapproachable - to hear it thus freely handled - was beginning to be felt by him as a new pleasure - an unhoped - for relief. Reserved people often really need the frank discussion of their sentiments and griefs more than the expansive. The sternest - seeming stoic is human after all; and to "burst" with boldness and good-will into "the silent sea" of their souls is often to confer on them the first of obligations.
Charlotte Brontë
- Jane Eyre — her first day at Thornfield Hall, contemplating her appearance
It was not my habit to be disregardful of appearance, or careless of the impression I made; on the contrary, I ever wished to look as well as I could, and to please as much as my want of beauty would permit. I sometimes regretted that I was not handsomer; I sometimes wished to have rosy cheeks, a straight nose, and small cherry mouth.