Thursday, August 19, 2010

Little Dorrit quotes

I thought I'd share a few wonderful quotes (well, I like them!) that I've found as I've been reading Little Dorrit. . .

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Little Dorrit

[Flintwinch speaking to Mrs. Clennam] "The peculiarity of my temper is, ma'am, that I won't be swallowed up alive." (Chap. XV)

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Little Dorrit

It is not easy to walk alone in the country without musing on something. (Chap. XVI)

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Little Dorrit

Mr Henry Gowan, inheriting from his father, the Commissioner, that very questionable help in life, a very small independence, had been difficult to settle; the rather, as public appointments chanced to be scarce, and his genius, during his earlier manhood, was of that exclusively agricultural character which applies itself to the cultivation of wild oats. (Chap. XVII)

Who says Dickens isn't funny? He had a wicked sense of humour.

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Little Dorrit

[At Pet Meagles' and Henry Gowan's wedding] Then Lord Decimus, who was a wonder on his own Parliamentary pedestal, turned out to be the windiest creature here: proposing happiness to the bride and bridegroom in a series of platitudes that would have made the hair of any sincere disciple and believer stand on end; and trotting, with the complacency of an idiotic elephant, among howling labyrinths of sentences which he seemed to take for high roads, and never so much as wanted to get out of. (Chap. XXXIV)

I love Dickens! The complacency of an idiotic elephant. . . kind of like myself just after I get out of bed in the morning. :P

~All pictures from Sharona Lee

7 comments:

Gina said...

"Who says Dickens isn't funny? He had a wicked sense of humour."

You nailed it! :-)

Hydra said...

I love Dickens movies (particularly Bleak House and Little Dorrit), but I confess I find his books painful. I read Great Expectations - and was in agony for the first half of the book. So depressing and drawn out! Then I tried Little Dorrit, but quit soon after Dickens spent pages and pages describing the heat. Not really up my alley! :)
~Hydra
From Books to Movies and Back Again
(hydrabooksandmovies.blogspot.com)

Miss Laurie said...

Thanks for posting these quotes, Dickens is so good! I think some of these are going into my book of quotes! :)

Susannah said...

Dickens is brilliant and absolutely hilarious! His humor is very dry and I love it. :-)

Anna Olivia said...

Dickens is amazing! I'd love to see this movie someday. =)

Alexandra said...

It's why he's my favorite author. So, so brilliant. And so, so witty. You put it so well...such a wicked sense of humor.

Amy Dashwood said...

Ooh, I love Dickens' humor! Subtle, but witty. When I read Little Dorrit for the first time, I laughed out loud at the part about Henry Gowan and his wild oats--and I said something very similar to my mom, something along the lines of "You don't necessarily think of Dickens being funny, but then you come to a passage like this and you change your mind."
I didn't remember the passage from Pet's wedding--thanks for sharing it! Love your blog!