“The only force comparable to an Ainsworth enthusiasm was the speed with which it passed.”
This quote reflects famous author William Ainsworth's personality and temperament. He spent much of his life as a cantankerous worry-wort who never enjoyed much of his—or anyone in his life. He rarely felt enthusiastic, and when he did, his enthusiasm passed quickly. This behavior angered those around them and caused them to be unappealing to people around them.
“The humiliations of girlhood. The separating of the beautiful from the plain and the ugly. The terror of maidenhood. The trials of marriage or childbirth – or their absence. The loss of that same beauty around which the whole system appears to revolve. The change of life. What strange lives women lead!”
This quote, which references Mrs. Touchet, talks about the strange and oftentimes complex lives that many women live (especially women in England during the Victorian era). Over the course of their lives, women often experience certain "humiliations," like "girlhood, marriage, and childbirth." Men don't experience things like that in their life. As a result, men and women turn out incredibly differently; they are different people with different goals and priorities.
“Eliza had long understood her cousin to be beyond the reach of editorial intervention.”
This quote speaks to Eliza's feelings about her cousin. She has mixed feelings about him; her cousin is a brilliant man with a prestigious career and a wonderful work output. Nevertheless, he was challenging to work with, and felt he was always right. His editors, most of whom gave him valuable suggestions to help him improve his work, were met with resistance or outright negativity. After all, Eliza's cousin was always right when it came to his work.
