Quote 7
“Now it is all dark. Now Beauty and Passion seem never to have existed. I know. But remember the mountains over Florence and the view. Ah, dear, if I were George, and gave you one kiss, it would make you brave. You have to go cold into a battle that needs warmth, out into the muddle that you have made yourself; and your mother and all your friends will despise you, oh, my darling, and rightly, if it is ever right to despise. George still dark, all the tussle and the misery without a word from him. Am I justified?” Into his own eyes tears came. “Yes, for we fight for more than Love or Pleasure; there is Truth. Truth counts, Truth does count” (19.52).
Here, almost at the close of the novel, Mr. Emerson tells Lucy what she’s needed to hear all along – Truth really matters. We can’t go around deceiving ourselves and others and still hope to have everything come out right; furthermore, we have to take responsibility for our actions and the “muddles” we make.
Quote 8
"My dear," said the old man gently, "I think that you are repeating what you have heard older people say. You are pretending to be touchy; but you are not really. Stop being so tiresome, and tell me instead what part of the church you want to see. To take you to it will be a real pleasure" (2.29).
Mr. Emerson flatly (but “gently”) refuses to accept any of the “delicate” and politically correct nonsense that Lucy regurgitates. He sees that she’s just adopting the stance of other women (notably Charlotte) who behave properly – and he highlights the fact that this is totally unnatural for her.