Memorable Quotes from Megs Jenkins
4 quotesQuestioning Truth in Innocence
Miss Giddens
Flora saw her, too.
[referring to Miss Jessel]
Mrs. Grose
Did she tell you so?
Miss Giddens
No, of course not. She lied to me. Well, it amounted to a lie.
Mrs. Grose
Oh, now, miss, I've never known either of the children to tell lies. Why would they?
Miss Giddens
Why? Because they are both playing, or being made to play some monstrous game. I can't pretend to understand what its purpose is. I only know that it is happening. Something secretive and whispery and indecent. I tell you, believe me, the children are in dreadful peril.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Searching for Miss Jessel
Miss Giddens
And where, my pet, is Miss Jessel? Where is she, Flora?
Mrs. Grose
Miss Giddens!
Miss Giddens
Where is she? You know you can see her!
Mrs. Grose
Miss!
Miss Giddens
Look, Flora! Look! There! You know you can see her!
Flora
I can't! I can't!
Miss Giddens
Admit it! She's there! You know you can see her!
Flora
I can't! I can't!
Miss Giddens
But look, she's there!
Flora
Help me, I'm frightened!
Mrs. Grose
Please, miss.
Miss Giddens
But you can see her! You must!
Mrs. Grose
Hush! Hush, dear, hush! She isn't there. How could she be? She's dead and buried. Hush, Flora.
Flora
I can't see anything! I've never seen anything! You're cruel! You're wicked! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!
Miss Giddens
Flora!
Flora
Take me away from her! She's cruel! Take me away! Please take me away! Don't look at her! Don't look at her! She frightens me so!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Complex Nature of Love and Suffering
Miss Giddens
We must try to learn what it is these horrors want. Think, Mrs. Grose. The answer must lie in the past. Were Quint and Miss Jessel in love? They were in love, weren't they?
Mrs. Grose
Love? Oh, I suppose that's what she called it. But it was more like a sickness. A fever that leaves the body burned out and dry. There was no cruelty she wouldn't suffer. If he struck her - oh, yes, and I've seen him knock her to the floor - she'd look at him as though she wanted the weight of his hand. No pride, no shame. Crawl to him on her hands and knees, she would. And him laughing at her. Such a savage laugh he had. Oh, it hurts me to remember. Bad she was, but no woman could have suffered more.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Secrets and Confessions in The Innocents
Mrs. Grose
A person ought to keep quiet about it.
[referring to Peter Quint and Miss Jessel's abusive relationship]
Miss Giddens
You must tell me.
Mrs. Grose
Oh, miss, there's things I've seen I... I'm ashamed to say.
Miss Giddens
Go on.
Mrs. Grose
Rooms... used by daylight... as though they were dark woods.
Miss Giddens
They didn't care that you saw them? And the children?
Mrs. Grose
I can't say, miss. I... I don't know what the children saw. But they used to follow Quint and Miss Jessel, trailing along behind, hand in hand, whispering. There was too much whispering in this house, miss.
Miss Giddens
Oh, yes, I can imagine. Yes, I can imagine what sort of things they whispered about. Quint, Miles. I can hear them together.
Mrs. Grose
But there was nothing wrong in Master Miles wanting to be with Quint. Quint taught him to ride and took him walking. The poor lad needed someone to...
Miss Giddens
To corrupt him?
Mrs. Grose
But Master Miles is a good boy, miss. There's nothing wicked in him.
Miss Giddens
Unless he's deceiving us. Unless they're both deceiving us. The innocents.
Mrs. Grose
Innocents they are, miss. It's not fair. You have no right to accuse them of...
Miss Giddens
Oh, forgive me, Mrs. Grose. I'm not accusing. I'm just trying to put it together, to understand. Tell me, were the children happy?
Mrs. Grose
Oh, they seemed to be. The same as now. But sometimes I used to wonder if they really cared for them, those two... or if they weren't just using them.
Miss Giddens
Using them?
Mrs. Grose
Yes, of course they were... and still are.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.