“What is a woman that you forsake herAnd the hearth fire and the home acreTo go with that old grey widow-maker?”

“What we find in books is like the fire in our hearths. We fetch it from our neighbors, we kindle it at home, we communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all.”

“Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell.”

“Cherish the people who make up your home, and you'll notice the hearth fires burn brighter than ever before.”

“I am an anomaly - a woman alone, too young to be widowed and too old to be looking for a mate. I occupy that no man's land - no woman's land - between youth and old age.”

“War, in some ways, is merciful to men. It makes them heroes if they are the victors. If they are the vanquished - they do not live to see their homes taken, their wives widowed. But if you are a woman - you must live through defeat...”