“One is a great deal less anxious if one feels perfectly free to be anxious, and the same may be said of guilt.”

“It's something to be anxious about," Manley said, "if you want to be anxious about something.”

“Petunia only ever went to the doctor reluctantly, and her motive in doing so was always the same: she did it in order to feel less anxious about things. The doctor was supposed to make the worry go away; she did quite enough worrying without actually having something to worry about. When she came out feeling no less anxious, as this time, something had gone wrong. The basic contract had been broken.”

“His sins seemed to be so few that he was alarmed and groped anxiously for more, knowing he could not be without guilt.”

“The desire to annoy no one, to harm no one, can equally well be the sign of a just as of an anxious disposition.”

“Opposites are attracted when each one is anxious about its own character.”