V

Vivien Leigh Quotes

Actor

Memorable Quotes from Vivien Leigh

17 quotes
Determination to Survive Against All Odds
Scarlett O'Hara As God is my witness, as God is my witness they're not goin to lick me. I'm goin to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. ]
[with the tombstones; [Cars (film)|'''As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!''']
Navigating Love and Gender Expectations
Jenny Brown David's an artist. A wonderful one. He's caught up with social conscience right now, but he'll get over that.
Mary Treadwell Is it serious?
Jenny Brown I never felt about anybody the way I do about David. Only that David thinks a woman should follow three paces behind - with slippers.
Mary Treadwell Men usually do. My husband certainly did.
Desire for Unconditional Love
Mary Treadwell Everybody on this ship is in love. Love me whether or not I love you. Love me whether I am fit to love. Love me whether I am able to love. Even if there is no such thing as love. Love me.
A Moment of Realization and Foreboding
Blanche DuBois The first time I laid my eyes on her told the story I thought to myself, "That man is my executioner!
The Value of Inner Richness and Integrity
Blanche DuBois It won't be the sort of thing you have in mind. This man is a gentleman - he respects me. What he wants is my companionship. Having great wealth sometimes makes people lonely. A cultivated woman - a woman of breeding and intelligence - can enrich a man's life immeasurably. I have those things to offer, and time doesn't take them away. Physical beauty is passing - a transitory possession. But beauty of the mind, richness of the spirit, tenderness of the heart - I have all those things - aren't taken away but grow! Increase with the years! Oh! Strange that I should be called a destitute woman when I have all these treasures locked in my heart. I think of myself as a very, very rich woman. But I have been foolish - casting my pearls before....swine. Yes, swine! And I'm thinking not only of you, but of your friend Mr. Mitchell. He came here tonight, he did, coming in his work clothes, to repeat slander, vicious stories he'd gotten from you. I gave him his walking papers. But then he returned, he returned with a box of roses to beg my forgiveness. He implored my forgiveness. Some things are not forgivable. Deliberate cruelty is not forgivable. It is the one unforgivable thing, in my opinion, and the one thing of which I have never, never been guilty. So I said to him, Thank you, but it was foolish to think that we could ever adapt ourselves to each other. Our ways of life are too different. Our backgrounds are incompatible. So farewell, my friend and let there be no hard feelings.
[to Stanley]
Resilience in the Face of Adversity
Scarlett O'Hara *Note: bolded portion is ranked #31 in the ] in American cinema.
[[w:AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes|American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movie quotations]
The Fragility of Reality and Desire
Blanche DuBois * Note: the bolded portion is ranked #75 in the ] in American cinema.
[[w:AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes|American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movie quotations]
Searching for Connection Amidst Isolation
Blanche DuBois Tarantula was the name of it! I stayed at a hotel called the Tarantula Arms! Yes, a big spider. That's where I brought my victims. Yes, I have had many meetings with strangers. After the death of Allan, meetings with strangers was all I seemed able to fill my empty heart with. I think it was panic — just panic — that drove me from one to another, searching for some protection. Here, there and then in the most unlikely places. Then, at last, in a seventeen-year-old boy. But someone wrote to the superintendent about it: "This woman is morally unfit for her position!" True? Yes... unfit somehow anyway.
Scarlett O'Hara's Determination in Adversity
Scarlett O'Hara *Note: bolded portion is ranked #59 in the ] in American cinema.
[[w:AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes|American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movie quotations]
The Illusion of Youth and Loneliness
Mary Treadwell You are not young Mrs. Treadwell. You have not been young for years. Behind those old eyes, you hide a sixteen-year-old heart. Poor fool. Is that what men really find attractive? Baby, you just haven't managed to grow up, Mrs. Treadwell - of Murray Hill, Virginia. Now, you can paint your toenails gooey...you know how it ends don't you? Alone, sitting in a cafe, with a paid escort.
[to herself in the mirror; lights cigarette; puts cigarette out; starts to cry]
Dependence on the Kindness of Strangers
Blanche DuBois Whoever you are: I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
Imposing Control and Confinement
Blanche DuBois Alright, kid, let's put I the chains. Now stay there, kid.
[to little boy; she shackles and chains with key in the little boy's wristhand; Locked the door with a key]
The Unforgivable Nature of Deliberate Cruelty
Blanche DuBois Some things are not forgivable. Deliberate cruelty is not forgivable. It is the one unforgivable thing in my opinion and the one thing of which I have never, never been guilty.
Exploring Prejudice in "Ship of Fools
Bill Tenny What do they got against the Jews? Back home, we don't have anything against the Jews. Hell, I never even saw a Jew until I was fifteen.
Mary Treadwell Maybe you were too busy lynching Negroes to take time out for the Jews.
Settling for What You Can Get
Mary Treadwell If you can't get what you want, you damn well better settle for what you can get.
Desire for Magic Over Realism
Blanche DuBois I don't want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, magic. I try to give that to people. I do misrepresent things. I don't tell truths. I tell what ought to be truth.
Hope and Determination for Tomorrow
Scarlett O'Hara I can't let him go. I can't. There must be some way to bring him back. Oh, I can't think about this now! I'll go crazy if I do! I'll think about it tomorrow. But I must think about it. I must think about it. What is there to do? What is there that matters? Tara! Home. I'll go home. And I'll think of some way to get him back. After all...tomorrow...is another day!