Here are the 25 best handpicked quotes from “The Princess and the Goblin” by George MacDonald:
From quotes by Princess Irene to quotes by Grandmother.
So if you want the best quotes from “The Princess and the Goblin” sorted by figure, then you’re in the right place.
Let’s get started!
My Favorite “The Princess and the Goblin” Quote
#1
“People must believe what they can, and those who believe more must not be hard upon those who believe less. I doubt if you would have believed it all yourself if you hadn’t seen some of it.”
— Grandmother
In a time where varying views and perspectives can be easily expressed, especially with the presence of social media, this quote highlights the importance of respecting one’s views even when they do not align with our own.
With different beliefs shaped by unique experiences and levels of faith, empathy and tolerance play a huge role in maintaining peace among us regardless of our differences.
Our differences should not result in prejudice and misinterpretation; rather, they should pave the way to open our minds to varying perspectives and broaden our understanding of things and people.
3 Quotes by Princess Irene
#2
“See, see, Lootie! The sun has had his face washed. Look how bright he is!”
— Princess Irene
#3
“Do you know, Curdie, I don’t quite like your song; it sounds to me rather rude.”
— Princess Irene
#4
“But, grandmother, you’re so beautiful and grand with your crown on! and I am so dirty with mud and rain! I should quite spoil your beautiful blue dress.”
— Princess Irene
3 Quotes by Curdie Peterson
#5
“I’m very much obliged to you, Irene, for getting me out of that hole, but I wish you hadn’t made a fool of me afterwards.”
— Curdie Peterson
#6
“Perhaps you may think me foolish, but until I am sure there is nothing in my present fancy, I am more determined than ever to go on with my observations.”
— Curdie Peterson
#7
“‘One, two, Hit and hew! Three, four, Blast and bore!‘”
— Curdie Peterson
5 Quotes by Grandmother
#8
“It means, my love, that I did not mean to show myself. Curdie is not yet able to believe some things. Seeing is not believing—it is only seeing.”
— Grandmother
#9
“But, remember, it may seem to you a very roundabout way indeed, and you must not doubt the thread. Of one thing you may be sure, that while you hold it, I hold it too.‘”
— Grandmother
#10
“We are all very anxious to be understood, and it is very hard not to be. But there is one thing much more necessary.′
‘What is that, grandmother?’
‘To understand other people.‘”
— Grandmother
#11
“I’ve nobody to spin for just at present. I never spin without knowing for whom I am spinning.”
— Grandmother
#12
“It is so silly of people to fancy that old age means crookedness and witheredness and feebleness and sticks and spectacles and rheumatism and forgetfulness! It is so silly! Old age has nothing whatever to do with all that. The right old age means strength and beauty and mirth and courage and clear eyes and strong painless limbs.”
— Grandmother
3 Quotes by Mrs. Peterson
#13
“You ought to be very happy at having got away from those demons, and instead of that I never saw you so gloomy. There must be something more.”
— Mrs. Peterson
#14
“It is when people do wrong things wilfully that they are the more likely to do them again.”
— Mrs. Peterson
#15
“‘They think so much of themselves!’ said his mother. ‘Small creatures always do. The bantam is the proudest cock in my little yard.‘”
— Mrs. Peterson
10 Quotes by No Specific Figure
#16
“When the princess awoke from the sweetest of sleeps, she found her nurse bending over her, the housekeeper looking over the nurse’s shoulder, and the laundry-maid looking over the housekeeper’s.”
— The Princess and the Goblin
#17
“That is the way fear serves us: it always sides with the thing we are afraid of.”
— The Princess and the Goblin
#18
“Her face was fair and pretty, with eyes like two bits of night sky, each with a star dissolved in the blue.”
— The Princess and the Goblin
#19
“‘I don’t see anything,’ persisted Curdie. ‘Then you must believe without seeing,’ said the princess; ‘for you can’t deny it has brought us out of the mountain.‘”
— The Princess and the Goblin
#20
“The truest princess is just the one who loves all her brothers and sisters best, and who is most able to do them good by being humble towards them.”
— The Princess and the Goblin
#21
“The king, who was the wisest man in the kingdom, knew well there was a time when things must be done and questions left till afterwards.”
— The Princess and the Goblin
#22
“Here I should like to remark, for the sake of princes and princesses in general, that it is a low and contemptible thing to refuse to confess a fault, or even an error. If a true princess has done wrong, she is always uneasy until she has had an opportunity of throwing the wrongness away from her by saying: ‘I did it; and I wish I had not; and I am sorry for having done it.‘”
— The Princess and the Goblin
#23
“But her tale, as he did not believe more than half of it, left everything as unaccountable to him as before, and he was nearly as much perplexed as to what he must think of the princess.”
— The Princess and the Goblin
#24
“Every little girl knows how dreadful it is to find a room empty where she thought somebody was.”
— The Princess and the Goblin
#25
“But instead of being afraid, she felt more than happy—perfectly blissful.”
— The Princess and the Goblin