Inspirational Quotes 71

From Jane And Prudence by Barbara Pym

A husband was someone to tell one’s silly jokes to, to carry suitcases and do the tipping at hotels.

One’s married friends were too apt to assume that one had absolutely nothing to do when not at the office.

So this is Fabian Driver, thought Prudence, putting on a rather cool social manner.

‘He hasn’t asked me to marry him yet,’ said Prudence. ‘Why don’t you ask him?’ said Jane recklessly. ‘Women are not in the same position as they were in Victorian times.'

Jane also suggests that Prudence should ask Fabian for a walk in the twilight: ‘Well, why not? Why shouldn’t a woman take the initiative in a little thing like that?’ At the same time, Jane worries that Prudence has become Fabian’s “mistress” – she doesn’t know what terms to use, and feels unsure about what’s normal these days. To herself, she calls a sexual relationship between her friends as “the worst happening” or “something wrong between them”.

‘Well, the supply of suitable men isn’t inexhaustible when one reaches her age – not like it is at Oxford,’ Jane comments.

It’s called love/ I don’t know how it’s become unmentionable... (Thieves Like Us, New Order, 80s)

I want a job, I want a boyfriend, and most of all I want to make my nan happy. (Snog, Marry, Avoid)

Humans tend to care greatly about their status within a group. (The Guardian)

The creeping dread of doing something that will end up earning the disdain, contempt or, potentially worse, pity of those around us can lead to the intense anxiety we feel. (same article Guardian)

If a friend is always criticizing you, taking advantage of your kindness, or just not being reliable, then you have to cut them off. (lifehack.org)

If someone’s not paying you, you don’t have to do BJs, you don’t have to smile all the time, you can be yourself. (ex-prostitute)

[Height and size] will enable individuals to dominate in social situations. Dominance itself may open opportunities for affairs. (Expert quoted in Times Oct 2014)

More here, and links to the rest.