City of Girls QUOTES

121 " He was a nice man,” I said lamely. “Good for him. Give him a trophy for it, but don’t marry a man just because he’s nice. And try not to make a habit of getting engaged in the first place, Vivvie. It can lead to marriage if you’re not careful. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

122 " I promise that I will try my best in these pages not to go on and on about how much better everything was back in my day. I always hated hearing old people yammering on like this when I was young. (Nobody cares! Nobody cares about your Golden Age, you blathering goat!) And I do want to assure you: I’m aware that many things were not better in the 1940s. Underarm deodorants and air-conditioning were woefully inadequate, for instance, so everybody stank like crazy, especially in the summer, and also we had Hitler. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

123 " I never could act, Edna. And I detest Hamlet. Have you ever seen a production of Hamlet that didn't make you want to go home and put your head in the oven? I haven't."
"Oh, I thought our Hamlet was quite nice," said Edna.
"Because it was abridged," said Peg. "Which is the only thing Shakespear should ever be. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

124 " I’m damn sure not going to rent a place—what am I, an immigrant? "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

125 " This is what I've found about life, as I've gotten older: you start to lose people. It's not that there is ever a shortage of people--oh, heavens no. It is merely that--as the years pass--there comes to be a terrible shortage of YOUR people. The ones YOU loved. The ones who knew the people that you BOTH loved. The ones who know your whole history. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

126 " That's right, you never cared about money, Billy," Olive said. "Certainly not to the extent that those of us who forgot to be born into wealthy families care about it. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

127 " History has a pulse, they say - but mostly I have never been able to hear it, not even when it is drumming right in my goddamn ears. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

128 " ...I'm not sure anybody out there really knows what they're doing."
"Apparently not, "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

129 " Aperson only gets to move to New York City for the first time in her life once, Angela, and it’s a pretty big deal. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

130 " – Он был хорошим парнем, – пробормотала я.
– Похвально. Ну так пусть получит приз за моральные качества, но “хороший” – не причина выходить замуж. И аккуратнее с помолвками, Вивви. Не вздумай завести привычку обручаться с первым встречным. Помолвка может привести к свадьбе, не успеешь оглянуться. Зачем ты вообще согласилась?
– Не знала, куда себя деть. И он был добр ко мне.
– Многие девушки именно поэтому и выскакивают замуж. Неужели так сложно найти себе другое применение? Господи, девчонки, лучше хобби себе заведите!

- Мир не черно-белый. Нас всех воспитывают определенным образом. Внушают, что есть правила, которые нужно соблюдать; что жить нужно только так, а не иначе. Что жить нужно правильно. Но миру плеватъ на правила, плевать на наши убеждения. Нет правил, которые распространяются всех, Вивиан. И никогда не будет. Наши убеждения ничего не значат. Мир с нами попросту случается, вот что я думаю. И мы можем только принять это и жить дальше.
- Мне мир никогда не казался черно-белым, заметила я.
-А мне казался. И я ошибся.

Счастлив тот, чьи беды обусловлены лишь его собственной глупостью.

A happily married woman is the most solid friend a man could ever have.

В жизни каждой женщины наступает момент, когда ей просто надоедает постоянно стыдиться себя. Только тогда женщина обретает свободу и может наконец стать собой.

Жизнь не так проста, моя дорогая. В ней масса тонкостей. Вот станешь постарше и поймешь, что практически жизнь и состоит из сплошных тонкостей. Не хочу тебя пугать, но лучше уясни прямо сейчас: большинство браков - не рай и не ад, а скорее чистилище. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

131 " when I was nineteen years old and an idiot, "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

132 " Good morning, Mr. Herbert,” I said. “I stand ready to review any evidence of it,” he replied, without lifting his forehead from the table. “How are you feeling today?” I asked. “Blithesome. Glorious. Exalted. I’m a sultan in his palace.” He still hadn’t lifted his head. “How’s the script coming along?” “Be a humanitarian, Vivian, and stop asking questions. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

133 " The only thing that matters now is what you leave 'em with. If you drop this thing in the middle of the second act, they'll forget that they ever loved you. You've gotta earn it all over again now. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

134 " The world ain't straight, Vivian. Never will be. Our rules, the don't mean a thing. The world just happens to you sometimes, is what I think. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

135 " Nor did it occur to me that I couldn't keep a showgirl in my bedroom as a pet, just because I felt like it. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

136 " People will tell you not to waste your youth having too much fun, but they’re wrong. Youth is an irreplaceable treasure, and the only respectable thing to do with irreplaceable treasure is to waste it. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

137 " sins of the flesh will not get you punished in the afterlife. They will only get you punished in this life. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

138 " Never buy inexpensive or poorly made gloves,” Edna instructed us. “That’s not the place to save your money. Whenever you are faced with the prospect of purchasing gloves, you must ask yourself if you would be bereft to lose one of them in the back of a taxicab. If not, then don’t buy them. You should only buy gloves so beautiful that to lose one of them would break your heart. "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

139 " I’d clung to her like a tragic little koala "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls

140 " Good morning, Mr. Herbert!” I would say. “The point is debatable,” he might respond. Or, on another day: “Good morning, Mr. Herbert!” “I will half allow it.” Or: “Good morning, Mr. Herbert!” “I fail to see your argument.” Or: “Good morning, Mr. Herbert!” “I find myself unequal to the occasion.” Or, my favorite ever: “Good morning, Mr. Herbert!” “Oh, you’re a satirist now, are you? "

― Elizabeth Gilbert , City of Girls