“Vesper felt herself turning red with humiliation. Then she looked at Allegrareally looked at her. Maybe shed had such a problem with people not seeing her because she wasnt seeing them. Did Allegra...”

“To him, she was one of the few girls who was nice to him, the stodgy son of a poor alcoholic shoemaker with such little status that he seemed unlikely to even get one wife, let alone the three or m...”

“Nim looked aghast. Of course not. Do you think my future wife would be a servant? Noits Number Seven of the wives. Her name is Begonia.Oh, no, Nim, Vesper said. You cant fall for one of the wives! ...”

“For everything about him fitting her fantasy image of what she wanted, she still didnt feel seen by himand that made her all the more aware that maybe her fantasy wasnt what she wanted at all.”

“Happily-ever-after monogamy has been reinforced so steadily in literature that we tend to feel like failures when we dont achieve that in reality.”

“Shed never spoken to anyone before of this business of being seen, loved for who she was; to have it voiced by this man shed just met sent chills down her spine.”

“Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy - in fact, they are almost inc...”

“And yes, Ill admit, I am jealous. Im jealous of every minute you spend with him, of every concerned expression you send his way, of every tear shed, of every glance, every touch, and every thought....”

“Jealousy is that pain which a man feels from the apprehension that he is not equally beloved by the person whom he entirely loves.”