Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) - Quotes

Love and Freedom in Relationships

Paul: I love you.

Holly: So what.

Paul: So what? So plenty! I love you, you belong to me!

Holly: [tearfully] No. People don't belong to people.

Paul: Of course they do!

Holly: I'll never let anybody put me in a cage.

Paul: I don't want to put you in a cage, I want to love you!

Holly: It's the same thing!

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Expressions of Happiness and Acknowledgment

Holly: Did I tell you how divinely and utterly happy I am?

Paul: Yes.

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Nostalgia and Continuity in Everyday Moments

Paul: Actually, it was purchased concurrent with . . . well, actually, it came inside of . . . well, a box of Cracker Jack.

Salesman: I see. Do they still really have prizes in Cracker Jack boxes?

Paul: Oh, yes.

Salesman: That's nice to know. It gives one a feeling of solidarity, almost of continuity, with the past, that sort of thing.

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A Comedic Take on Wealth and Marriage

Holly: I'll tell you one thing, Fred, darling . . . I'd marry you for your money in a minute. Would you marry me for my money?

Paul: In a minute.

Holly: I guess it's pretty lucky neither of us is rich, huh?

Paul: Yeah.

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Talent and Compensation in Artistic Pursuits

Holly: [Paul turns toward her] Do you think she's talented? Deeply and importantly talented?

Paul: No. Amusingly and superficially talented, yes, but . . . deeply and importantly, no.

Holly: Gracious! Do you think she's handsomely paid?

Paul: Hm? Oh! Indeed.

Holly: Well let me tell you something, mister. If I had her money, I'd be richer than she is!

Paul: How do you figure that?

Holly: Because I keep the candy store.

Paul: Hm?

Holly: [She laughs.] Oh, Sally Tomato. That's my candy store. I'll always keep Sally. And that's why I'd be richer than she is!

Paul: We'd better get a little more air.

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The Dangers of Loving a Wild Thing

Doc Golightly: I love you, Lula Mae.

Holly Golightly: I know you do, and that's just the trouble. It's the mistake you always made, Doc, trying to love a wild thing. You were always lugging home wild things. Once it was a hawk with a broken wing . . . and another time it was a full-grown wildcat with a broken leg. Remember?

Doc: Lula Mae there's something . . .

Holly: You musn't give your heart to a wild thing. The more you do, the stronger they get, until they're strong enough to run into the woods or fly into a tree. And then to a higher tree and then to the sky.

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Misunderstanding a Nickname in Conversation

O. J. Berman: Hey, Fred-baby!

Paul: No, no. It's Paul-baby.

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Stories of Anger and Sensitivity

Paul: They're not the kind of stories you can really tell.

Holly: Too dirty?

Paul: Yeah, I suppose they're dirty, too, but only incidentally. Mainly they're angry, sensitive, intensely felt, and that dirtiest of all dirty words - promising. Or so said The Times Book Review, October 1, 1956.

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Identity and Certainty in Self-Description

Holly: What do you do, anyway?

Paul: I'm a writer, I guess.

Holly: You guess? Don't you know?

Paul: Okay, positive statement. Ringing affirmative. I'm a writer.

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Holly's Appearance Impresses Paul

Holly: How do I look?

Paul: Very good. I must say, I'm amazed.

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The Challenge of Remembering Thursdays

Holly: Thursday! It can't be! It's too gruesome!

Paul: What's so gruesome about Thursday?

Holly: Nothing, except I can never remember when it's coming up.

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Understanding the Mean Reds

Holly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?

Paul: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?

Holly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?

Paul: Sure.

Holly: Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it. Nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!

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Desire for Belonging and Connection

Holly: He's all right! Aren't you, cat? Poor cat! Poor slob! Poor slob without a name! The way I see it I haven't got the right to give him one. We don't belong to each other. We just took up one day by the river. I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I'm not sure where that is but I know what it is like. It's like Tiffany's.

Paul: Tiffany's? You mean the jewelry store.

Holly: That's right. I'm just crazy about Tiffany's!

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Isolation in a Bustling City

Paul "Fred" Varjak: [to Holly Golightly] And I always heard people in New York never get to know their neighbors.

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Uncommon Experience of Breakfast Champagne

Paul "Fred" Varjak: [to Holly Golightly] I don't think I've ever drunk champagne before breakfast before. With breakfast on several occasions, but never before, before.

Confronting Self-Imposed Limitations

Paul "Fred" Varjak: [to Holly Golightly] You know what's wrong with you, Miss Whoever-you-are? You're chicken, you've got no guts. You're afraid to stick out your chin and say, "Okay, life's a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness." You call yourself a free spirit, a "wild thing", and you're terrified somebody's gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you're already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it's not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somali-land. It's wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.

Chasing Dreams and Heartbreaks Together

Holly Golightly: [singing; [w:Moon River (song)|Moon river] ], wider than a mile I'm crossing you in style some day Oh, dream maker, my heart breaker Wherever you're going, I'm going your way …

Defiance in the Face of Judgment

Holly Golightly: [to Paul "Fred" Varjak] Ahh . . . Do I detect a look of disapproval in your eye? Tough beans buddy, cause that's the way it's gonna be.

Embracing the role of shock value

Holly Golightly: [to Paul "Fred" Varjak] It's useful being top banana in the shock department!

Self-Reflection on Identity and Belonging

Holly Golightly: I'm like Cat, here. We're a couple of no-name slobs.

Concerns About Appearance Before Important Events

Holly Golightly: [to Paul "Fred" Varjak] I've got to do something about the way I look. I mean a girl just can't go to Sing Sing with a green face.

Expressing Frustration with Colorful Exclamations

Holly Golightly: But oh golly! Gee damn!

The Impact of Fame on Beauty

Holly Golightly: [to Paul "Fred" Varjak] There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl's complexion.

Perceptions Reflected in Gift Choices

Holly Golightly: [to Paul "Fred" Varjak] You could always tell what kind of a person a man thinks you are by the earrings he gives you. I must say, the mind reels.