Penelope Fitzgerald Quotes

“A serious thinking adult had no defence against innocence because he was obliged to respect it, whereas the innocent scarcely knows what respect is, or seriousness either.”

Penelope Fitzgerald book Innocence

Innocence (1986)
Context: He struggled to keep his temper. It struck him that both Marta and Chiara took advantage of him by attacking him with their ignorance, or call it innocence. A serious thinking adult had no defence against innocence because he was obliged to respect it, whereas the innocent scarcely knows what respect is, or seriousness either.

“There are dilettantes in human relationships just as there are, let's say, in politics.”

Penelope Fitzgerald book Innocence

Innocence (1986)

“The frame of mind, however, is everything. Given that, one can have a very satisfactory party all by oneself.”

Penelope Fitzgerald book The Bookshop

The Bookshop (1978)

“Helping other people is a drug so dangerous that there is no cure, short of total abstention.”

Penelope Fitzgerald book Human Voices

Human Voices (1980)