“Phoebe Marks was a person who never lost her individuality. Silent and self-contained, she seemed to hold herself within herself, and take no colour from the outer world.”
In this quote, Mary Elizabeth Braddon describes Phoebe Marks as someone who remains true to herself and does not conform to the influences of the outside world. The author uses imagery to illustrate Phoebe's self-containment and ability to maintain her individuality despite external pressures. This quote highlights the strength and independence of Phoebe's character.
In today's world, where social media and societal pressures often dictate how people should act or look, the words of Mary Elizabeth Braddon regarding Phoebe Marks serve as a timeless reminder of the importance of staying true to oneself. Phoebe's ability to maintain her individuality despite the influences of the outer world is a valuable lesson for us all. In a society that constantly tries to mold individuals into a certain image, Phoebe Marks stands as a beacon of authenticity and self-empowerment.
The quote from Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret highlights the character of Phoebe Marks, describing her as a unique individual who remains true to herself despite the influence of others.
Phoebe Marks is described as someone who maintains her individuality regardless of the influence of the outside world. Reflect on a time when you felt true to yourself in the midst of external pressures or expectations. How did you maintain your sense of self?
Consider how Phoebe's ability to remain silent and self-contained may have impacted her relationships with others. Have you ever found yourself holding back or keeping to yourself in order to protect your individuality? How did this affect your interactions with others?
Think about the concept of taking "no colour from the outer world." How do you interpret this idea in relation to Phoebe's character? In what ways do you maintain your own sense of identity amidst the influences and pressures of the world around you?
“She's talking about herself in the third person because the idea of being who she is, of acknowledging that she is herself, is more than her pride can take.”
“The more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, to see the world unveiled. This person is not afraid to meet the people or to enter into a dialogue with them. This person does not consider himself or herself the proprietor of history or of all people, or the liberator of the oppressed; but he or she does commit himself or herself, within history, to fight at their side.”
“Plus she had to admit that a small part of her secrecy was that she was holding something back, for herself. If she never told Dexter the truth, she was still reserving the right to return to her old life. To one day be a covert operative again. To be a person who could keep the largest secrets from everyone, including her husband, forever.”
“Once she was separated from the cockles & clams, she found herself miraculously transformed into a Goddess. But she found herself different from the Goddesses & Nymphs of the sea because of the girdle. It clung to her body as a second skin, or as the shell clung to the cockle, & she had never been able to take it off. And thus, she herself had never known what she hid beneath the girdle.”
“Like a sun: but a small sun, which she had within her, warming her from the inside out. She was conscious of a feeling she had had before, a sense that she was looking at him, and at all of them, from some far way off, or from a great height. There had been a time when she seemed to herself to be snug, and small, within the large house of Smokey, a safe inhabitant, room to run in yet never leave his encompassment. Now she oftener felt otherwise: over time it was he who seemed to have become a mouse within the house of her.”