Code Name Hélène

“The thing about lipstick, the reason it’s so powerful, is that it is distracting. Men don’t see the flashes of anger in your eyes or your clenched fists when you wear it. They see a woman, not a warrior, and that gives me the advantage.”

“Love is a choice. It is the active choosing of good for another person. But like? It is a gift and it cannot be forced.”

“I am a devoted fan of the male species. They are brave, brilliant, offer endless entertainment, are good for moving heavy objects, and make the act of procreation a great deal more enjoyable. I’d hate to see a world in which they did not exist. But sometimes they can be spectacular idiots.”

“I am the same but different, and I greet this new reflection with a nod of acceptance. There is metal in my spine and there are fractures in my soul. I resemble Garrow now. I have been changed by war.”

“I would tell him what it felt like to stand in that stadium and watch Jesse Owens beat Adolf Hitler’s best runners to win the gold medal. And then, what it felt like, afterward, to interview the son of black sharecroppers from Alabama knowing that he had just changed the world. I would tell him about standing in the shadow of the Hindenburg as it passed over the field.”

“The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories, that it has come to be disbelieved in. Few people dare now to say that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet it is in this way that love begins, and in this way only.”

“You who suffer because you love, love still more. To die of love, is to live by it.”

“The friendships of women are strange and wonderful. Fraught and irreplaceable.”

“I do remember how to pray, and I know that God is God regardless of which denominational peg I hang my hat upon.”

“Terror is a strong thing. It comes upon you instantly and consumes all thought and reason.”

“I can see that he wants to laugh but the expression on my face stops him. “We have no women drivers.” “You do now.” Honestly, I’m so tired of this bullshit. I can’t have a byline because I’m a woman. I can’t apply for a marriage license on my own because I’m a woman. I can’t drive an ambulance because I’m a woman.”

“Sieg Heil!” they scream, frantic. Obsessed. Saluting and clapping. Believing every word, receiving every command they’ve just been given. Men. Women. Children. All of them swallowing it whole so they can be corroded from the inside out.”

“I couldn’t clamp my knees together harder if I was trying to prevent a pregnancy.”

“He’s gained weight and the whites of his eyes are no longer yellow. His ribs aren’t showing. The bruises are gone. But something is different. It can’t be seen or even named, but no one can endure what he did and not come out changed on the other side.”

“Sometimes, being right isn’t as satisfying as I would like it to be.”

“You who suffer because you love, love still more. To die of love, is to live by it. —VICTOR HUGO, LES MISÉRABLES”

“The opposite, in fact. I think you’d die trying to protect us. I’m just giving you one less reason to martyr yourself.”

“There are fifteen adequate insults he could lob at her. But that’s what she wants. Marceline thrives on reaction. He drowns her in apathy instead.”

“It’s not our job to fight to the death. Fight, yes. But fight to live another day.”

“Monsieur Carlier has long since realized that worry does him no good. It will not stop his wife from leaving, nor will it guarantee her safe return.”

“That’s the hard part, not taking your misery out on your colleagues. In truth, the plum brandy does little to keep us warm, but it helps with morale.”

“Rage is an odd thing, not so different from grief in the way it catches you unaware and then explodes in your chest. It crashes against you like a wave and all I can think in this moment is that we are sitting here, watching this happen. Doing nothing.”

“It is the weak-minded man’s retort. A thing he says when thwarted by a woman. An excuse. A bit of intellectual poverty.”

“You use profanity as a weapon. A way to be disarming. To charm or sometimes offend, depending on your audience. It’s how you demand parity and respect with your male coworkers. But you already have my respect.”

“He said that when a woman is speaking to you, you must listen to what she says with her eyes. And your eyes, Noncee, say that you are attracted to me. That is the difference between this dance and your last.”

“This is how people are brainwashed, I think. This is how they follow a monster. Everyone around me is mesmerized, their eyes glazed over, their breathing slow and rhythmic.”

“Love is a choice. It is the active choosing of good for another person. But like? It is a gift and it cannot be forced. The”

“But why would you even want to help? War isn’t for women.” I lean very close to him and lower my voice to a dangerous pitch. “And yet we suffer most in them.”

“The thing about lipstick, the reason it’s so powerful, is that it is distracting. Men don’t see the flashes of anger in your eyes or your clenched fists when you wear it. They see a woman, not a warrior, and that gives me the advantage. I cannot throw a decent punch or carry a grown man across a battlefield, but I can wear red lipstick as though my life depends on it. And the truth is, these days, it often does.”

“You use profanity as a weapon. A way to be disarming. To charm or sometimes offend, depending on your audience. It’s how you demand parity and respect”