The Foundling Quotes
"She must have been happy most of the time if she found so many funny things to say and to laugh about."
"Apparently, there was a sparkle in her eye."
"The laughter and taunts from some of the older girls when he reminded them of my original name were like blanks fired from a pistol."
"I felt the strange smoothness of his freshly shaved jaw during that brief moment when he pressed his face against my forehead."
"But I felt, as he smiled vaguely at each of us in turn, like he’d reached inside me and crushed my heart with his hand."
"I didn’t inherit my mother’s high spirits or her sparkly eye, but she did leave me a very nice lady’s suitcase."
"It was so hot up there in the ward on summer days you could barely breathe sometimes."
"Dr. Vogel’s work was one of the very cornerstones of the state’s civic endeavors."
"They were dealt a very unfortunate hand from the moment of their conception, and we are mindful of this and treat them with utmost care and compassion."
"It was better to be chicken for a minute than dead for the rest of your life."
"Yes, I know, the widow Nolan. It does evoke a type, doesn’t it? I’m so looking forward to getting to know you."
"No," I said truthfully. "I didn’t know women like Dr. Vogel existed."
"Idiot" was the same word in French, apparently.
"Yes, my Peg was recently judged the best Scotch bitch in all of Pennsylvania."
"Mrs. Nolan! You should be ashamed of yourself! And on your way to church!"
"There’s no end to the evil men can do, if given the opportunity," Dr. Vogel said grimly.
"Of course she’s paid well. She’s a doctor, running a large institution, one of the only in the state that actually makes a profit some years."
"Fascinating? What’s so fascinating about a bunch of cows?"
"It’s not really a place one goes for treatment. It’s just a place to confine these girls so they can’t have children."
"I pray that you are still my friend and that you won’t betray me. Please meet me tomorrow night at 11?"
"She was one of the meanest of the ward bullies, when we were little."
"I worried she might retaliate if I left her waiting for me in the woods."
"Perhaps she was happy here and just wanted to talk about old times."
"I met Ethel Waters, at the National one night, Mary!"
"It wasn’t just curiosity or nostalgia that motivated me."
"They said if I admitted that her father raped me, I wouldn’t be arrested for fornication and immoral acts."
"I’ve been a prisoner here for two years, Mary, you should see the place we sleep."
"I’ve never felt so much love in my life as when I was with Graham."
"I met Graham there when his band was playing with ours, after hours."
I have a daughter, Mary," he said, slowly shaking his head in wonder. "I have a little girl.
"They said I’d committed fraud for allowing Tom to think the baby was his."
"I had to marry him, I had no choice," Lillian said.
"She’s a famous singer; you’ve heard her on the radio."
"I told her I was married. I was expecting a child."
"You’re still the same sniveling little coward you always were, Mary Engle."
"I’ve spent hours listening to you and all your lofty ideas about social problems."
"Give her to me. It's the baby blues, I always got 'em, too."
"You were one of the poor lambs at the home, Mary. They wouldn’t pick you up, no matter how hard you cried."
"I must get my things and go; I promised I’d be at Dr. Vogel’s before supper."
"Please come and see us every day, if you can. We’ll miss you so."
"Of course. I’ll keep all your mail for you."
"Don’t be a stranger, Mare. I know Betty’s gonna miss you something awful."
"I’m afraid it’s going to be somewhat awkward living in the doctor’s house."
"What an impudent child he is. Why had I bothered even trying to engage him in conversation?"
"I was fascinated by Dr. Vogel’s childhood—it was exactly the childhood I had imagined for myself."
"Nobody lives forever, Mary Engle. Someday, you might very well take my place here."
"Better a coward for a minute than dead for the rest of your life."
"Heroics were best left to fools and saints."
"It's not the glass that's the problem, it's the people behind it."
"Nature has a wonderful way of helping all creatures compensate for deficiencies."
"The highly manipulative nature of the girls is something we must always bear in mind."
"They’re like parrots. They can repeat words and phrases beautifully, but there is not the understanding that you or I have."
"I don’t belong here and you know it. I’m normal. I’ve a normal mind, I’m not the only one—we’re NOT IDIOTS—get your hands OFF me, you BITCHES!"
"She touched me. Did you say she’s violent?"
"We’ve a busy week ahead of us, so I came in."
"Just because it's done, doesn't mean it was the best decision."
"I'm outside. I'm outside the gate! Who knew it could be that easy!"
"Thinking you’re better than us every minute of every day."
"This whole damn mess, it ain’t over, you know."
"Luck always finds a foundling, Lillian."
"Why would I so recklessly endanger the life of a helpless resident? And why, after everything I’ve done for you, would you betray me so horribly?"
"No, she asked me if he was Protestant, and I told her the truth—he’s not Protestant."
"She was like a sister, actually. That’s why I did it."
"You just grazed her shoulder, Pa, I don’t think you even hit a bone."
"It’s something I’ll never forget... reminiscent of the dark ages."
"I’m not well, I see that now. I can fix this. Come home. Come home with me, Mary."
"We had a niece in here, once. Died when she wasn’t yet twenty. They said she had an accident."
"What happened to Lillian—it can’t all be for nothing. She wanted me to help the girls in there."
"I’ve known there were problems in Building Five. It’ll all be sorted out."