If he had been a man with strength of purpose to face those troubles and fight them, he might have broken the net that held him, or broken his heart; but being what he was, he languidly slipped into this smooth descent, and never more took one step upward. ~ Little Dorrit
Little Dorrit Quotes
The Marshalsea debtors’ prison plays a large part in Little Dorrit. Few people knew that Dickens’s father had been sent to Marshalsea for three months. We hope you enjoy this collection of 51 quotes from Little Dorrit.
It was evident from the
It was evident from the general tone of the whole party, that they had come to regard insolvency as the normal state of mankind, and the payment of debts as a disease that occasionally broke out. ~ Little Dorrit
Thirty years ago, Marseilles lay
Thirty years ago, Marseilles lay burning in the sun, one day. ~ Little Dorrit
While the flowers, pale and
While the flowers, pale and unreal in the moonlight, floated away upon the river; and thus do greater things that once were in our breasts, and near our hearts, flow from us to the eternal seas. ~ Little Dorrit
If her eyes had no
If her eyes had no expression, it was probably because they had nothing to express. If she had few wrinkles, it was because her mind had never traced its name or any other inscription on her face. ~ Little Dorrit
Mr. Arthur Clennam took up
Mr. Arthur Clennam took up his hat and buttoned his coat, and walked out. In the country, the rain would have developed a thousand fresh scents, and every drop would have had its bright association with some beautiful form of growth or life. In the city, it developed only foul stale smells, and was a sickly, lukewarm, dirt-stained, wretched addition to the gutters. ~ Little Dorrit
It was an instinctive testimony
It was an instinctive testimony to Little Dorrit’s worth and difference from all the rest, that the poor young fellow honoured and loved her for being simply what she was. ~ Little Dorrit
And from that hour his
And from that hour his poor maimed spirit, only remembering the place where it had broken its wings, cancelled the dream through which it had since groped, and knew of nothing beyond the Marshalsea. ~ Little Dorrit
“It’s not put into his
“It’s not put into his head to be buried. It’s put into his head to be made useful. You hold your life on the condition that to the last you shall struggle hard for it. Every man holds a discovery on the same terms.” ~ Little Dorrit
Flora, always tall, had grown
Flora, always tall, had grown to be very broad too, and short of breath; but that was not much. Flora, whom he had left a lily, had become a peony; but that was not much. Flora, who had seemed enchanting in all she said and thought, was diffuse and silly. That was much. Flora, who had been spoiled and artless long ago, was determined to be spoiled and artless now. That was a fatal blow. ~ Little Dorrit
