He had been violently confused by her real presence in the opposite inaccessible corner. For months he had been possessed by the imagination of her. She had been distant and closed away, a princess in a tower, and his imaginations work had been all to make her present, all of her, to his mind and senses, the quickness of her and the mystery, the whiteness of her, which was part of her extreme magnetism, and the green look of those piercing or occluded eyes. Her presence had been unimaginable, or more strictly, only to be imagined. Yet here she was, and he was engaged in observing the ways in which she resembled, or differed from, the woman he dreamed, or reached for in sleep, or would fight for.

About This Quote

About A.S. Byatt

A.S. Byatt was a 20th-century British writer. Dame Antonia Susan Duffy, known professionally by her former married name, A. S. Byatt, was an English critic, novelist, poet and short-story writer. Read more on Wikipedia →

Themes

  • Imagination — The creative power of the mind and visionary thinking
  • Love — Quotes exploring romantic love, compassion, and human connection

More quotes by A.S. Byatt

Related Quotes