Make (the reader) think the evil, make him think it for himself, and you are released from weak specifications. My values are positively all blanks, … - Henry James

Whatever life you lead you must put your soul in it — to make any sort of success in it; and from the moment you do that it ceases to be romance, I assure you: it becomes grim reality! And you can't always please yourself; you must sometimes please other people. That, I admit, you're very ready to do; but there's another thing that's still more important — you must often displease others. You must always be ready for that — you must never shrink from it. That doesn't suit you at all — you're too fond of admiration, you like to be thought well of. You think we can escape disagreeable duties by taking romantic views — that's your great illusion, my dear. But we can't. You must be prepared on many occasions in life to please no one at all — not even yourself.

I never did anything in life to anyone's imagination.

Everything about Florence seems to be coloured with a mild violet, like diluted wine.