Words of Wisdom Vol.1

For those that don't know, I have a pocket book, which I carry everywhere, but I don't show to anyone. No, I don't write there the names of the men I have slept with with some notes along (as in all of the cheesy movies we've seen). I'm a bit nerdy, so I write quotes. Obviously, quotes from novels I have read or quotes I have found inspirationalY. So far, I have accumulated quite a few of them and I decided it was time to share a bit of my so-called wisdom. Before closing the window with the idea that these are trivial quotes we all know and we all have read a million of times, I have to warn you, this is not the case. Indeed, some of them you might have heard, but I tend to like more unpopular ones, which meaning hasn't been lost because of endless repetition. In fact, I intend to make this a regular section of the blog, so here come Words of Wisdom Volume 1.

As a matter of fact, I tend to re-read them every time I feel the urge or need to do so. After careful investigation, I discovered I have a quote for almost every problem/issue/situation in life. I don't even have to think about what to say to my friends and relatives when they are having a hard time. I just open the pocket book and read them something. Unfortunately, most of them take it quite harsh, usually with the words "This is fiction. I am talking about real life problems here." I already expressed my opinion in a recent argument that literature as an art is NOT meaningless and pointless. I won't try to prove anything here. I will let you enjoy some of these quotes I have gathered and then think whether literature indeed can help you in some practical and tangible way.

"Time is the longest distance between two places."

"Prime numbers is what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you can never work out the rules even if you spend all of your time thinking about them."
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon

"Money is only a too. It will take you wherever you wish but it will not replace you as the driver."
Ayn Rand

"You must never give yourself a chance to fall apart because when you do, it becomes a tendency and it happens over and over again. You must practice staying strong instead."

"We need to make books cool again. If you go home with somebody and they don't have books, don't fuck them."
John Waters

"Our words are giants when they do us injury and dwarfs when they do us service."
The Woman in White - Willkie Collins.

"Women can resist a man's love, a man's fame, a man's personal appearance, and a man's money but they cannot resist a man's tongue, when he knows how to talk to them."
The Woman in White - Willkie Collins.

"In most of these universes, the conditions would not be right for the development of complicated organisms; only in the few universes that are like ours would intelligent beings develop and ask the question:'Why is the universe the way we see it?' The answer is then simple: if it had been different, we would not be there."
A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking

"If you loved someone, you loved him. And when you had nothing else to give, you still gave him love."
1984 - George Orwell

"All men fear death. It is a natural fear that consumes us all. We fear death because we feel we haven't loved well enough or loved at all, which ultimately are one and the same. However, when you make love with a truly great woman, one that deserves the utmost respect in this world and one that makes you feel truly powerful, that fear of death completely disappears. Because when you are sharing your body and heart with a great woman, the world fades away. You two are the only ones in the entire universe. You conquer what most lesser men have never conquered before you, you have conquered a great woman's heart, the most vulnerable thing she can offer to another. Death no longer lingers in the mind. Fear no longer clouds your heart. Only passion for living and loving becomes your sole reality. This is not easy task for it takes insurmountable courage. But remember this, for that moment when you are making love with a woman of true greatness, you will feel immortal."
Ernest Hemingway.

"No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time fr reading or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance."
Confucius

“My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.”
Ain Rand

"Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your value."
Ayn Rand

"I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."
Ayn Rand

"The only regret I will have in dying is if it is not for love."
Love in the Times of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Enough for now. Take whatever you need from this but don't get overexcited. To end with a quote, as Oscar Wilde said it: Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."

The Woman in White By Wilkie Collins

The Woman in White is young, beautiful, but mentally disabled. She has been living a life of fear and deprivation being sent by her mother and her accomplice to an Asylum at a very early age. Anne Catherick learnt to fear all people with the exception of Mrs Fairlie, who became her mentor and her only supporter. The mentally slow girl thus devotes her life to the memory of her patron. When the daughter of the late Mrs Fairlie is threatened to make the biggest mistake in her life, Anne appears as the woman in white to try and warn her.

Walter Hartright is a poor man, who earns his living by being a drawer master. He secures a job in the Fairlie mansion, where he meets Laura Fairlie and immediately falls in love with her. Laura, however, is to marry Sir Percival Glyde, the very man responsible for Anne Catherick's unfortunate life. Walter leaves his beloved upon learning of her marriage. Despite Anne's virtuous attempts, Laura is bound by a promise maid to her father to marry Glyde.

Ms Marian Halcombe is most probably the greatest character in the novel. She is the half-syster of Laura and spends her life protecting her and taking care of her interests. Witty, intelligent, and resourceful, Marian somewhat reminds me of Jane Austen's Elizabeth Benet. The two of them are most probably the finest creatures in the Victorian Age. Strong and independent, they the role of the woman is not merely to be a part of her husband, but to have her own opinion and character. Throughout the story I got to admire Marian, her clever judgment, her strength, and her mind. Thanks to her great love, Laura and Walter manage to overcome all the obstacles in front of them.

Sir Percival Glyde appears to have it all - name, title, money, fine character, and good education. Upon marrying Laura, however, his secrets begin to appear on the surface. His dark past and his problematic future explain the marriage with Laura, based not on love or admiration but on poor need of money. Still, Sir Percival is quick-tempered and passionate and his judgement is often misguided by his emotions.

Fortunately for him, his best friend Count Frisco is there to guide him. The Italian is the second best character in the novel, even though he plays the villain. Smart, intelligent, and menacing, he matches Marian's intellect and becomes fond of her. Fondness, which later costs him the collapse of his plan to take Laura's money through deceit. Upon realizing the astonishing similarity between Anne Catherick and Laura Fairlie the two villains form a vicious plan to rob Laura from her fortunes and to get rid of Anne, thereby securing Sir Glyde's secret. Thanks to Walter Hartright, however, and his immense love for Laura, the story is unravelled and the guilty receive their punishment.

These and many more characters form one of the first mystery novels in world literature. Wilkie Collins uses multiple narratives (as it is done in court) to solve the secret of Sir Percival Glyde's and Count Frisco's past. The story is told from the point-of-view of more than one character as the offense against law is told by more than one witness. Collins's experience in legal training helps him produce this incredible novel, where the reader is presented with controverse point-of-views and is left to form his/her own opinion.

I haven't enjoyed a novel about 19th century England as much since my most favorite Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Definitely worth reading as it will keep you wondering until the end and the resolution, I promise you, is nothing you have expected it to be.