“ The wretched self is always there, always making one somehow a fresh anxiety. ”
Henry James, The Ambassadors (1903). copy citation
| Author | Henry James |
|---|---|
| Source | The Ambassadors |
| Topic | anxiety self-knowledge |
| Date | 1903 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/432/432-h/432-h.htm |
Context
““What I hate is myself—when I think that one has to take so much, to be happy, out of the lives of others, and that one isn’t happy even then. One does it to cheat one’s self and to stop one’s mouth—but that’s only at the best for a little. The wretched self is always there, always making one somehow a fresh anxiety. What it comes to is that it’s not, that it’s never, a happiness, any happiness at all, to take. The only safe thing is to give. It’s what plays you least false.” Interesting, touching, strikingly sincere as she let these things come from her, she yet puzzled and troubled him—so fine was the quaver of her quietness.”
source
