Mary Frances Quotes & Sayings

More than anything, I began to hate women writers. Frances Burney, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Browning, Mary Shelley, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf. Bronte, Bronte, and Bronte. I began to resent Emily, Anne, and Charlotte - my old friends - with a terrifying passion. They were not only talented; they were brave, a trait I admired more than anything but couldn't seem to possess. The world that raised these women hadn't allowed them to write, yet they had spun fiery novels in spite of all the odds. Meanwhile, I was failing with all the odds tipped in my favor. Here I was, living out Virginia Woolf's wildest feminist fantasy. I was in a room of my own. The world was no longer saying, "Write? What's the good of your writing?" but was instead saying "Write if you choose; it makes no difference to me. — Catherine Lowell

Mistress Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With Silver Bells, and Cockle Shells,
And marigolds all in a row. — Frances Hodgson Burnett

It sounded like something in a book and it did not make Mary feel cheerful. A house with a hundred rooms, nearly all shut up and with their doors locked - a house on the edge of a moor - whatsoever a moor was - sounded dreary. A man with a crooked back who shut himself up also! She stared out of the window with her lips pinched together, and it seemed quite natural that the rain should have begun to pour down in gray — Frances Hodgson Burnett

One out of every four. I have repeated this statistic over and over and still cannot fathom the depth of what it really means. One out of every four girls is sexually abused before the age of eighteen. For boys, the number is one out of six.9 This means one out of every four women at the grocery store, at the bank, at the mall, in the pew at church, and everywhere in "normal" life have had this traumatic experience. For me as a teacher, this means that one out of every four of my precious eighth grade girls will, before they graduate from high school, become one of those victims. — Mary Frances Bowley

There should be different words for giving birth than the ones we have. 'Giving' should at least be 'undertaking' or 'undergoing'. I remember in church how the priest said, 'Mary bore Jesus', and I always thought of it as 'bored'. But now that I know what 'bore' means, and now that I've seen what Jenny went through, it's a much better word than the passive 'the baby was born', like it's as easy as growing fingernails — Frances Greenslade

When it comes to the cause of justice, I take no prisoners and I don't believe in compromise. — Mary Frances Berry

Listen to th' wind wutherin' round the house," she said. "You could bare stand up on the moor if you was out on it tonight."
Mary did not know what "wutherin'" meant until she listened, and then she understood. It must mean that hollow shuddering sort of roar which rushed round and round the house, as if the giant no one could see were buffeting it and beating at the walls and windows to try to break in. But one knew he could not get in, and somehow it made one feel very safe and warm inside a room with a red coal fire. — Frances Hodgson Burnett

When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. It was true too ... she was as tyrannical and selfish a little pig as ever lived. — Frances Hodgson Burnett

You want to be French, Mary Frances, that's your problem, but instead you're just another American."
I went to the window for that one an saw a marriage disintegrate before my eyes. Poor Mary Frances in her beige beret ...
"Americans," he repeated. "We don't live in in France, we live in Virginia. Vienna, Virginia. Got it?"
I looked at this guy and knew for certain that if we'd met at a party he'd claim to live in Washington, D.C. Ask for a street address, and he'd look away, mumbling, "Well, just outside D.C. — David Sedaris

If Mary Lennox had been a child who was ready to be amused she would perhaps have laughed at Martha's readiness to talk, but Mary only listened to her coldly and wondered at her freedom of manner. — Frances Hodgson Burnett

Once in royal David's city Stood a lowly cattle shed, Where a Mother laid her Baby In a manger for His bed: Mary was that Mother mild Jesus Christ her little Child ... With the poor, and mean, and lowly, Lived on earth our Savior Holy. — Cecil Frances Alexander

How do they know what to do?" Mary Frances said. "To just rip into a building like that and expect it to stay standing."
"For the parts you want to stay standing," Tim said.
"Exactly."
"Practice," Al said. "And of course, one of them is in charge."
Mary Frances studied the tangle of men, all dressed alike, movingly easily together. "I can't tell them apart."
"Well, it's like war, I guess," Al said. "If you knew whom to blame, it'd be too easy to shoot him. — Ashley Warlick

She stopped and listened to him and somehow his cheerful, friendly little whistle gave her a pleased feeling
even a disagreeable little girl may be lonely, and the big closed house and big bare moor and big bare gardens had made this one feel as if there was no one left in the world but herself. If she had been an affectionate child, who had been used to being loved, she would have broken her heart, but even though she was "Mistress Mary Quite Contrary" she was desolate, and the bright-breasted little bird brought a look into her sour little face which was almost a smile. She listened to him until he flew away. He was not like an Indian bird and she liked him and wondered if she should ever see him again. Perhaps he lived in the mysterious garden and knew all about it. — Frances Hodgson Burnett

Public disinterest in punishing illegal vote buying means that local prosecutors rarely pursue charges against their fellow elected colleagues....Yet the inclination no matter how small, to blame the most vulnerable citizens for fraud is misdirected.....Any outrage over fraud should be reserved for the candidates who buy their votes, neglect the issues that concern the poor, and studiously refuse to implement policies that could help them. — Mary Frances Berry

Was yellow because she had been born in India and had always been ill in one way or another. Her father had held a position under the English Government and had always been busy and ill himself, and her mother had been a great beauty who cared only to go to parties and amuse herself with gay people. She had not wanted a little girl at all, and when Mary was born she handed her — Frances Hodgson Burnett

Without Al, Mary Frances discovered what she did alone. She liked to cook for herself, to assemble a meal of things he would never consider worth a mealtime - shad roe and toast, soft-set eggs, hearts of celery and palm with a quick yellow mayonnaise, a glass of wine, an open book in her lap and the radio on. The elements that mattered most were the simple ones: butter, salt, a thick plate of white chine and a delicate glass, the music faint, the feel of paper in her hand, and the knowledge that there was more, always more book to read, more wine if she liked it, some cold fruit in the refrigerator when she was hungry again... — Ashley Warlick

The Secret Garden was what Mary called it when she was thinking of it. She liked the name, and she liked still more the feeling that when its beautiful old walls shut her in no one knew where she was. It seemed almost like being shut out of the world in some fairy place. The few books she had read and liked had been fairy-story books, and she had read of secret gardens in some of the stories. Sometimes people went to sleep in them for a hundred years, which she had thought must be rather stupid. She had no intention of going to sleep, and, in fact, she was becoming wider awake every day which passed at Misselthwaite. — Frances Hodgson Burnett

As they clean the walls with wet cloths and sponges, they uncover the earlier paints, most prevalent a stark blue that must have been inspired by Mary's blue robes. Renaissance painters could get that rare color only from ground lapis lazuli brought from quarries in what is now Afghanistan. — Frances Mayes

Himself, and her mother had been a great beauty who cared only to go to parties and amuse herself with gay people. She had not wanted a little girl at all, and when Mary was born she handed her over to the care of an Ayah, who was made to understand that if she wished to please the Mem Sahib she must keep the child out of sight as much as possible. So when — Frances Hodgson Burnett

Mistress Mary Quite Contrary — Frances Hodgson Burnett

However many years she lived, Mary always felt that 'she should never forget that first morning when her garden began to grow'. — Frances Hodgson Burnett

If you are in danger, if your hearts are confused, turn to Mary; she is our comfort, our help; turn towards her and you will be saved. — Frances Xavier Cabrini

Civil Rights opened the windows. When you open the windows, it does not mean that everybody will get through. We must create our own opportunities. — Mary Frances Berry

Now, instead of asking if God is good for women, I'm asking a new question. I stole it from Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel, "The Secret Garden." When the orphaned heroine, Mary Lennox, stumbled over a piece of untended, overgrown land needing to be ruled and subdued, she asked her uncle, "Might I have a bit of earth?"
[ ... ] May God bless every woman's life with men like Boaz. But even if there is no Boaz, God is a mighty advocate. God is good for women, and women who know this are strong for his kingdom. God wants to hear his daughters ask, "Might I have a bit of earth?" This is the Gospel of Ruth. — Carolyn Custis James

If Rosa Parks had taken a poll before she sat down in the bus in Montgomery, she'd still be standing. — Mary Frances Berry

When you have police officers who abuse citizens, you erode public confidence in law enforcement. That makes the job of good police officers unsafe. — Mary Frances Berry

Defining child care primarily as women's sphere reinforces the devaluing of women and prevents their equal access to power. — Mary Frances Berry

Al shook his head. "Honestly," he said. "How can you use such things?"
Mary Frances finished her thought. Use was an interesting word, the word for tools, talents, whores. She wanted to say, At least I'm using something, but she looked at his face, and she couldn't. — Ashley Warlick

Analysis can tell us what is required, but it cannot make us act. — Mary Frances Berry

Tainting the tea party movement with the charge of racism is proving to be an effective strategy for Democrats. There is no evidence that tea party adherents are any more racist than other Republicans, and indeed many other Americans. But getting them to spend their time purging their ranks and having candidates distance themselves should help Democrats win in November. Having one's opponent rebut charges of racism is far better than discussing joblessness. — Mary Frances Berry

We need to insist on fathers and mothers sharing the care of their offspring as well as the opportunity to enjoy the fulfillment of individual rights. — Mary Frances Berry

I loved Frances Hodgson Burnett, who wrote 'The Little Princess' and 'The Secret Garden.' And I loved the 'Little House on the Prairie' books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. — Mary Pope Osborne

He sat down in his chair by the fire and began to chat, as was his habit before he and his wife parted to dress for dinner. When he was out during the day he often looked forward to these chats, and made notes of things he would like to tell his Mary. During her day, which was given to feminine duties and pleasures, she frequently did the same thing. Between seven and eight in the evening they had delightful conversational opportunities. He picked up her book and glanced it over, he asked her a few questions and answered a few ... — Frances Hodgson Burnett

Civil rights laws were not passed to protect the rights of white men and do not apply to them. — Mary Frances Berry

Might I," quavered Mary, "might I have a bit of earth? — Frances Hodgson Burnett

Mrs. Craven was a very lovely young lady," he had gone on rather hesitatingly. "An' mother she thinks maybe she's about Misselthwaite many a time lookin' after Mester Colin, same as all mothers do when they're took out o' th' world. They have to come back, tha' sees. Happen she's been in the garden an' happen it was her set us to work, an' told us to bring him here." Mary — Frances Hodgson Burnett

Don't let us make it tidy," said Mary anxiously. "It wouldn't seem like a secret garden if it was tidy. — Frances Hodgson Burnett

Mary is the Mysterious Book of Predestination to glory. — Frances Xavier Cabrini

The adoring crowds and overwhelming Democratic support in the 2008 election was based largely on joy at jettisoning Bush and the appeal of electing a superbly qualified charismatic African American leader. — Mary Frances Berry

If there had been a little less home dissension, there would have been a great deal less foreign oppression. — Mary Frances Cusack

I'm growing fatter," said Mary, — Frances Hodgson Burnett

Advocating women's rights and greater opportunity for women in the workplace and in every avenue of public life is inconsistent with an insistence on mother taking care of children and housework. — Mary Frances Berry

The time when you need to do something is when no one else is willing to do it, when people are saying it can't be done. — Mary Frances Berry

Poor little thin, sallow, ugly Mary - she actually looked almost pretty for a moment. — Frances Hodgson Burnett

For as long as she could remember, Frances's parents has told her stories about England. But when she got there, the real England wasn't like the stories at all. — Mary Losure