Upton Sinclair

“ I'll ask nothing, I'll never stand in your way; I'll work for ye, I'll cook and wash and do everything for ye, I'll wear my fingers to the bone! Or I'll go out and work at some job, and earn my share. ”

“ When finally she spoke, it was still in a whisper, and there was a note of humility he had never heard from her before. "Ye'll not be wantin' to speak to me, Joe, after what I've said."
"Oh, Mary!" he exclaimed, and caught her hand, "don't say I've made you more unhappy! I want to help you! Won't you let me be your friend--your real, true friend? Let me help you to get out of this trap; you'll have a chance to look about, you'll find a way to be happy--the whole world will seem different to you then, and you'll laugh at the idea that you ever wanted me!" ”

“ I mean it!"
"There's no woman lives who can be happy on such terms, Mary. She wants her man, and she wants him to herself, and she wants him always; she's only deluding herself if she believes anything else. ”