Margaret Drabble

“What is the point of it all? Not leaving the world a better place, not making a lasting contribution, but simply passing the time as comfortably as possible.”

“Perhaps it is the fate of all good men to be misunderstood.”

“Education is a great shield.”

“There is nothing so mortifying as to fall in love with someone who does not share one's sentiments.”

“Our desire to conform is greater than our desire to be right.”

“A woman's passion is not the measure of a man's love.”

“So much of what we are is history.”

“One can't be a parent and a superhero.”

“Parenthood can be a very lonely experience.”

“The law of the nursery is the law of the jungle.”

“One can be very happy without demanding that others should agree with them.”

“When there is nothing left to say, lift your head up high, smile, and walk away.”

“There is no reply, in clear terrain, to an ambush.”

“Most of us are looking for a quiet life. And we are not looking in the right place.”

“Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it, but a tree, which requires to grow and develop itself on all sides, according to the tendency of the inward forces which make it a living thing.”