“I believe in some blending of hope and sunshine sweetening the worst lots. I believe that this life is not all; neither the beginning nor the end. I believe while I tremble; I trust while I weep.”
- Source
- Villette
- Date
- 1853
- Attribution
- Source identified
- Voice / speaker
- Fictional narrator · Lucy Snowe
What does this quote mean?
Lucy Snowe holds hope and fear at the same time; endurance here does not require the disappearance of trembling or grief before trust becomes possible.
Where does it come from?
Villette, late in the novel; spoken in the first-person narrative voice of the fictional Lucy Snowe. The religious hope belongs to Lucy’s character and scene, not a direct autobiographical declaration by Charlotte Brontë.
Who voices the line?
Fictional narrator · Lucy Snowe. Villette, late in the novel; spoken in the first-person narrative voice of the fictional Lucy Snowe. The religious hope belongs to Lucy’s character and scene, not a direct autobiographical declaration by Charlotte Brontë. v4.93 stores the local voice separately from the bibliographic work author.
The source author and the local speaker can be different, especially in fiction, drama, dialogue and poetry.
How should this attribution be read?
This wording is connected with the named source shown above. Translations and editions can vary, so consult the source note when exact wording matters.