Quotes from Passing

Nella Larsen ·  122 pages

Rating: (14.1K votes)


“The trouble with Clare was, not only that she wanted to have her cake and eat it too, but that she wanted to nibble at the cakes of other folk as well.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing


“It hurt. It hurt like hell. But it didn’t matter, if no one knew.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing


“Everything can't be explained by some general biological phrase.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing


“I feel like the oldest person in the world with the longest stretch of life before me.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing


“Well, what of it? If sex isn’t a joke, what is it”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing



“And yet she hadn't the air of a woman whose life had been touched by uncertainty or suffering. Pain, fear, and grief were things that left their mark on people. Even love, that exquisite torturing emotion, left its subtle traces on the countenance.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing


“She isn't stupid. She's intelligent enough in a purely feminine way. Eighteenth-century France would have been a marvellous setting for her, or the old South if she hadn't made the mistake of being born a Negro.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing


“But she did not look the future in the face. She wanted to feel nothing, to think nothing; simply to believe that it was all silly invention on her part. Yet she could not. Not quite.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing


“She wished to find out about this hazardous business of “passing,” this breaking away from all that was familiar and friendly to take one’s chance in another environment, not entirely strange, perhaps, but certainly not entirely friendly.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing


“I'm not such an idiot that I don't realize that if a man calls me a nigger it's his fault the first time, but mine if he has the opportunity to do it again.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing



“The trouble with Clare was not only that she wanted to have her cake and eat it too but that she wanted to nibble at the cakes of other folk as well.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing


“Money's awfully nice to have. In
fact, all things considered, I think, 'Rene, that
it's even worth the price.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing


“she regarded with an astonishment that had in it a mild degree of amusement the violence of the feelings which it stirred in her.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing


“She laughed and the ringing bells in her laugh had a hard metallic sound.”
― Nella Larsen, quote from Passing


About the author

Nella Larsen
Born place: in Chicago, Illinois, The United States
Born date April 13, 1891
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“What is a Gallagher Girl?
She's a genius, a scientist, a heroine, a spy... a Gallagher Girl is whatever she wants to be.”
― Ally Carter, quote from United We Spy


“decade after the first edition of this book was published, Yan Wong and I met in the fitting surroundings of the Oxford Museum of Natural History to discuss the possibility of producing a new, tenth anniversary edition. Yan, once my undergraduate pupil, had been employed as my research assistant during the writing of the original edition, before he left for his lecturing position in Leeds and his career as a television presenter. He played an enormously important part in the conception and execution of the first edition, and he was credited as joint author of several of the chapters. During the course of our discussion ten years on, we realised that much new information had come in, especially from the molecular genetics laboratories of the world. Yan undertook the bulk of the revision and I proposed to the publisher that this time he should be properly credited as joint author of the whole book.”
― Richard Dawkins, quote from The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution


“The impetus of existing plans is always stronger than the impulse to change. The Kaiser could not change Moltke’s plan nor could Kitchener alter Henry Wilson’s nor Lanrezac alter Joffre’s.”
― Barbara W. Tuchman, quote from The Guns of August


“When you think of me," she said quietly "think of a food you love very much.”
― Lemony Snicket, quote from The Grim Grotto


“Always expect trouble in the desert. Then you usually won't meet it.”
― John Flanagan, quote from Erak's Ransom


Interesting books

The Thief's Daughter
(11K)
The Thief's Daughter
by Jeff Wheeler
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
(14.2K)
The Book of Joy: Las...
by Dalai Lama XIV
Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own
(6.9K)
Spinster: Making a L...
by Kate Bolick
Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions
(3.2K)
Outrageous Acts and...
by Gloria Steinem
The Last Mile
(42.4K)
The Last Mile
by David Baldacci
Notes from Underground & The Double
(4.8K)
Notes from Undergrou...
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.