Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: I fail to comprehend how far we are fully committed to the concept of freedom.
Sir Peter Teazle: Freedom in moderation.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: The concept of freedom is an absolute.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: Of all the women in England, you had to throw yourself on her. I have never objected to any of your affairs. I have accepted whatever arrangement you have proposed. But this... I have one single thing of my own. Why couldn't you let me keep Elizabeth for myself? What kind of man are you? She is my sole comfort in our marriage. You have robbed me of my only friend. What is wrong with me?
Dinner guest: Excellent speech, Mr. Fox.
Charles Fox: I think it is always easier to address a congregation of friends... particularly when those friends are drunk.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: I am her mother. After all, she is only a girl.
Duke of Devonshire: Over the years I have acted in ways that you have judged... harsh. Well, I do not wish for you to undergo any further suffering.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: He loves me?
Lady Spencer: Yes, of course.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: I have only met him twice.
Lady Spencer: When one truly loves someone, one doesn't have to know them well to be sure, Georgiana. One feels it right away.
Lady Spencer: I have heard a rumor.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: Yes?
Lady Spencer: That I will soon be addressing my daughter as her Grace, the Duchess of Devonshire.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: Is it true, Mama?
Lady Spencer: Yes.
Duke of Devonshire: I love you in the way I understand love.
Duke of Devonshire: How wonderful to be that free.
Lady Spencer: All of London is talking.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: Oh, let them talk.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: You can't ask me to battle nature in my own heart.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: What's that on your neck? Bess?
Bess Foster: It's not illegal for a man to beat his wife with a stick unless the stick is thicker than his thumb.
Duke of Devonshire: This will be the mistake of your life.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: No, I made that many years ago. I trust you can see yourself out.
Charles Grey: You don't have to please others all the time.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: It's what I've been brought up to do. Difficult lesson to unlearn.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: There are limits to the sacrifices one makes for one's children.
Bess Foster: No, there aren't. No limits whatsoever.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: Do you think of me when we're not together?
Charles Grey: You ought to know I do.
Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: You hesitated before you replied.
Charles Grey: No, I'm unused to being asked so directly. And by you of all people. I think of you all the time. I always have.
Answer: Marriage was far more complicated at that time and divorce was rarely an outcome. Henry VIII, being king, could more easily break conventional rules without suffering the same consequences others would face. Historically, marriages were seldom about romantic love and were unions that were arranged by the families. In upper classes, a marriage contract was drawn and a substantial dowry by the bride's family was bestowed to the groom. It was also about forming advantageous social, economic, and political alliances. Dissolving a marriage purely to marry someone else that you preferred could result in forfeiting whatever was gained from matrimony.
raywest ★