<i>I</i> care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man… - Charlotte Brontë

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I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold the principles received by me when I was sane, not mad — as I am now. Laws and principles are not for times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth — so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane — quite insane, with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations are all I have at this hour to stand; there I plant my foot.

laws steadfastness principles morality
English
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About Charlotte Brontë

Charlotte Brontë (21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855) was an English novelist, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters, who first published her work under the pseudonym Currer Bell.

Biography information from Wikiquote

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Tree • Florian Wellesley • Lord Charles Albert • Captain Tree • Charles Wellesley • Charlotte Bronte • Currer Bell • Karlotta Bronte • Douro • Mrs. A. B. Nicholls • Charlotte Nicholls • Sharlotta Bronte • Mrs. Arthur Bell NichollsMrs. Arthur Bell Nicholls
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Shorter versions of this quote

I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.
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independence self-trust self-reliance self-sufficiency self-awareness empowerment self-determination self-respect solitude ataraxy defiance individuality self-assurance self-containment self-esteem
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Originators like Charlotte Brontë:
Charles Dickens Mary Wollstonecraft Anne Brontë Vita Sackville-West Thomas Hardy

Additional quotes by Charlotte Brontë

To women who please me only by their faces, I am the very devil when I find out they have neither souls nor hearts — when they open to me a perspective of flatness, triviality, and perhaps imbecility, coarseness, and ill-temper: but to the clear eye and eloquent tongue, to the soul made of fire, and the character that bends but does not break — at once supple and stable, tractable and consistent — I am ever tender and true. (Mr Rochester to Jane)
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