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21 " Words are power. "
― Joy McCullough , Blood Water Paint
22 " Why should a little corner of the garden be so important to a woman like Susanna? A woman with a palatial home, and the finest garments. Because imagine it – if you live as she does, surrounded by endless people and their expectations, ones you cannot possibly live up to, you do not even want to live up to – that refuge might be the only place you are safe. "
23 " The disconnect of mento women's bodiesstands to reason.They'd have to care enoughto see the other as a subjectworthy of their earnest study.My own oblivion horrifies me more.I've been here all alongbut somehow not. "
24 " These women who dareto judgeyour heartby your bodywill never havean ounce of your worth "
25 " I can survive, a solitary creature. I have thus far. But just the thought that someone else might care what fate befalls me- it changes everything. "
26 " But that day's not now. And even if this horrorbecomes an accent color -a smudge of lead whiteto highlight a cheekbone,a bit of yellow ochrethe glint on a sword -sometimes those are the pigmentsthat change one's perecptionof an entire work of art. "
27 " They're not monsters, either. Not men you'd shrink away from on the street. On the contrary. They're men you'd see at Mass, who'd give you a polite nod while they greet your husband. "
28 " I was no soldier, only girlwithout a mother or the sense to understand this world without her. "
29 " Listen to me, Artemisia.Your hands are not your life.Your gift does not flowfrom these bones and tendons.They could slice off your handsand you would stillfind a way to paint.You may have to let the bonesgrow back together,to let the wounds close.But the body is its ownamazing piece of art.It will heal, in time. "
30 " I do not regret the days of make-believe,but for every time I played at brideI should have played at goddessriverwarrior queen. "
31 " Because sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you thought it would. Sometimes what you imagine in your head isn’t what comes out of the paintbrush. And then you start to realize something has gone horribly horribly wrong, and there’ll never be a way to put it back the way it was. "
32 " But there are many things a woman never sees until she’s joined unto a man. "
33 " I suppose it isn’t fair to fault my father, though he’s the one who used it, moved it, claimed it as his own because of course, he did. That’s just the way of things, I beg and fight and scrape for scraps while he just has to glance upon a thing to make it his. "
34 " And you should realize, love, that even the simple act of a bath is potentially world-altering. But then, you never see the beast until he is upon you. "
35 " There will come a day,when this horror is not theonly color on your palette.But that day's not now.And even if this horrorbecomes an accent color-a smudge of lead whiteto highlight a cheekbone,a bit of yellow ochrethe glint on a sword-sometimes those are the pigmentsthat change one's perceptionof an entire work of art. "
36 " Judith pulls the cloth from my handand spreads it on the ground.Not a bridal veil. A canvas. "
37 " (If you remember nothing else of Susanna, remember how she speaks her truth. She knows it will cost her something. She’s not aware yet quite how steep the cost will be, but still, she speaks her truth.) "
38 " But I’m the witch, a girl transforming one thing to another without an explanation for the wonders that appear upon her canvas. It must be sorcery. "
39 " Rebecca: Those two lechers will be stoned because of what you did!Susanna: They'll be stones because of what they did. "
40 " Would you like a list of my sins before you hurl those rocks at my head?’ Rebecca cannot understand why her sister would give the crowd further ammunition. Why she would ever concede a single fault. A woman accused has no room for fault. "