10 Quotes by Barbara Comyns

Now I lay down on this tree and felt a lonely sadness coming over me in waves. Slow tears ran from my eyes and trickled into my ears. I thought, 'I even cry in a humble, common way, with tears flowing into my ears.' But the humble, common tears had relieved me[...]

When I left the kitchen the whole family were all gazing upwards at the dancing flies.

Her face worked in an odd way, like knitting coming undone.

It was Sunday morning, and old people passed me like sad grey waves on their way to church.

Everywhere in the house there were sad little reminders—a limp string shopping-bag hanging from the kitchen door; a fortune-telling book in the dresser-drawer; a fern in the dining-room window that had died from neglect since she had ceased to tend it; and one small black glove mixed up with the string she used to save—little things like that were everywhere.

I had a kind of idea if you controlled your mind and said, 'I won't have any babies' very hard, they most likely wouldn't come. I thought that was what was meant by birth-control, but by this time I knew that idea was quite wrong.

I think I would rather hear roundabout music than any symphony concert. I know Beatrix would be disgusted to hear me say so, but its so gladsad somehow and makes me feel brave, late at night long after we were in bed we could hear the music floating over the river, and see the reflected moving lights on our walls, it was beautiful to lie in bed like that.

I dreaded going to the farm, but when I arrived there, it was very much better than I expected. Things one dreads usually are: it’s only the things we look forward to that go all wrong.

Afterwards they went down the garden together to pick peas for supper, and to dream their dreams in the summer dusk.