What Are The Best Quotes About Kindness In Literature?

There’s a line about secrets that really resonates with me: “We built our kingdom on lies, and then wondered why the walls kept crumbling.” This line really captures the entire plot. Everything – the relationships, the brotherhood, the love – is all rooted in something that is destined to decay. This line really captures that sense of frustration and despair, and the sense of inevitability. The characters are watching their world fall apart, and they know that they had this power to stop it – to fix it – but they didn’t.

It is a nice phrase ‘dearest reader’ and one that is used in lots of classic novels. I think of the Brontës first and how, in ‘Jane Eyre’, Jane addresses the reader in her direct acknowledgements of her thoughts and feelings. It is a gentle gesture which gives more insight to the reader into the harsher aspects of the novel and makes clear her successes. But then there’s Ian McEwan’s Atonement. McEwan employs the most complex form of direct address in the novel and thereby constantly forces the reader to become aware of the fictional nature of a story and of the emotional effects it has on him. It’s wonderful. And it makes me ponder how such phrases are able to form a personal connection with the reader and at the same time draw attention to the art of writing the novel. The deliberate style of the phrase ‘dearest reader’ is amazing.

Fleabag’s classic ‘I love you!’ ‘It’ll pass’ line is forever etched into our memories because it so accurately captures the moment of all-consuming love, followed inevitably by the passing of time. But above all, the show is wonderfully balanced between hilarious moments and moments of pure heartache – like this hairquote: ‘Hair is everything.’ Funny on the surface, yes, but also a wry commentary on how far we’d go for love. Every line is a punchline and a punch to the gut at the same time.

This quote is almost wistful. It’s the basis for his whole reason for being a hero. As a young boy he came up with the simple, yet reasonable, conclusion that “You can save more people if you’re fast” and that has remained the motivation for his actions as a hero throughout his life. The quote is almost tragic in its purity. The child’s assertion makes sense, but we know from our adult perspective the horrific costs of acting on this which led to his break down and all of the moral compromises that he made along the way. This is the initial motivation for the man who wanted to be a hero, who could solve problems before they even became problems, and this wish drove him throughout his life.

I sometimes wonder if we are expecting too much from characters who are less than perfect in novels. Do they have to be redeemed of their flaws? Can’t they just be as they are: complicated, morally ambiguous characters who do good and bad things and are therefore not likable in equal measure? The demand for a neat redemption arc of flawed characters can create an unrealistic moral situation and reduce complex human nature to an unfair binary between good and evil. In reality, life is not a story. Some people are a mixture of good and bad and their value does not reside in their having turned into saints by the end of the novel. They can remain as they are and the reader can follow them on their journey of growth to learning to live with themselves the way they are.

There’s ‘The Gift of the Magi’ by O. Henry. I read this in school long ago but I still get chills thinking about this particularly lovely short story about a young couple who each lose their most prized possessions in order to buy the perfect Christmas gift for the other. The moral, that love is greater than any material possession and that true gift-giving comes from selfless sacrifice, is powerfully conveyed through a beautiful story and perfect irony, leaving the reader with a very warm and bittersweet feeling long after finishing the story. One of my favorite short stories is 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson. Now this is a very different type of moral. At first the story seems to be this really fun little tradition that a small town celebrates every year but in reality it is a horrid look into the dangers of blind conformity and the dangers of traditions that are continue simply because they have always been done. It is a very shocking story and there is a very horrid twist at the end that really shocks you into realising just how blindly people follow along with things that are wrong and even be cruel. We read this in book club and it really brought out a lot of discussion. Some people found it to be very horrible while others saw it as okay. Again this is not a 'feel good' moral but it is a very powerful message that really makes you think. Another piece that I find uplifting is “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry. An artist struggles to make ends meet with his girlfriend sick in an apartment right below them. He paints a single leaf on a close-by tree in order for her to know that they still have hope. The story is so beautiful in its quiet portrayal of friendship and the power of art to sustain life. I love this short story because there is no moral at the end of it. The moral is embedded throughout the whole story in the way that the characters treat one another with kindness and beauty. Every time I read it, I find something new about the characters and their relationships. It never fails to bring a tear to my eye in the happiest of ways.

'Wonder' shows the absence of empathy at first and then the gradual growth of it through a series of small positive moments with Jack, Summer and others, including Miranda’s belated apology. The book is good because it shows kindness is not always rewarded but is worth it. Auggie’s family is good too, in that their love for each other is not perfect. His dad’s jokes hide his fear and his mum’s over-protectiveness is smothering at times, but they both love him relentlessly. The book shows that empathy is not always pretty but it is necessary.

Just when I thought I needed something to get me through my twenties, Emma M. Lion’s “There are years that ask questions and years that answer” has become the perfect mantra for feeling lost and still being hopeful. And as for quotes in general, they are like little compasses. The best ones are small and sturdy, and point you in the right direction, or back to your own personal North Star.

For sheer fun and creative stimulation, consider speculative fiction. “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir is another great library novel that makes science and cooperation look heroic and fun. It’s inspiring to read of such problem-solving and of so much science leading to such wonderful solutions and adventure. Or “The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet” by Becky Chambers, which is all about found family and kindness in space. Fun inspiration doesn’t have to be serious.

Dew in stories? That’s nature’s sticky note. The tiny, ephemeral stuff is full of meaning. I think kids’ books use dew a lot to show wonder – e.g. Wilbur’s web sparkling in the early morning sun in ‘Charlotte’s Web’. Horror stories on the other hand can make dew seem sinister, damp and frightening. This is all about perspective. A farmer might look at dew and see promise of future crops. A heartbroken hero might look at the same dew and see all his lost love disappearing before his eyes. Dew is magic because it can mean whatever you like it to mean without explanation.