“If I had felt then as I feel now, or as I felt a few years after I had married her, nothing could possibly have persuaded me to marry a woman who smoked. Dates, yes. Sexual adventures, yes. But to pin myself permanently inside closed quarters with a smoker? Never. Never. Never. Beauty wouldn't count, sweetness wouldn't count, suitability in every other respect wouldn't count.”

“One couple described the effects as being, “dated hard, married quick, and then ignored.” They got into church alright, but the church never got into them; they were let in easily enough, but they never felt they were counted on.”

“I felt absolutely nothing. It was like a door quickly opened, showing me what horrible feelings I had inside, and then slammed shut again so I wouldn't have to actually face them.”

“He grabbed the count's hand to check his pulse, and I held my breath. The count wouldn't have a pulse. Or a heartbeat. Or a breath.”

“I wouldn't want to marry anybody who was wicked, but I think I'd like it if he could be wicked and wouldn't.”

“I had never felt such happiness, not with one man or two or three, never felt this feeling before...this feeling of...completeness? Yes, that was it, completeness! I simply didn't need anyone else.”