Helen Fielding

“Is the whole world doomed to emotional trauma?”

“Tom has a theory that homosexuals and single women in their thirties have natural bonding: both being accustomed to disappointing their parents and being treated as freaks by society.”

“Resolution number one: Obviously will lose twenty pounds. Number two: Always put last night's panties in the laundry basket. Equally important, will find sensible boyfriend to go out with and not continue to form romantic attachments to any of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, commitment phobic's, peeping toms, megalomaniacs, emotional fuckwits or perverts. And especially will not fantasize about a particular person who embodies all these things”

“Dieting on New Year's Day isn't a good idea as you can't eat rationally but really need to be free to consume whatever is necessary, moment by moment, in order to ease your hangover. I think it would be much more sensible if resolutions began generally on January the second.”

“I looked at him nonplussed. I realized that I have spent so many years being on a diet that the idea that you might actually need calories to survive has been completely wiped out of my consciousness. Have reached point where believe nutritional ideal is to eat nothing at all, and that the only reason people eat is because they are so greedy they cannot stop themselves from breaking out and ruining their diets.”

“אני לחלוטין לטובת הבדלים בגילאים. יש את המונח הזה 'קוגרית' שרומז שהדרך היחידה בה אישה בשלה תוכל לצאת עם גבר צעיר ממנה היא זו של לצוד אותו כמו טרף. אבל יש בוודאות המון מערכות יחסים כאלה שהן פשוט מקסימות. אולי לא תמיד, אבל חלקן מקסימות.”

“מה שמאפיין את ברידג'ט הוא שהקומדיה מגיעה תמיד ממצבים אמיתיים. דברים קשים קורים בחיים, והיא מצליחה לעבור אותם. היא שורדת. היא מצליחה להגיע לצד השני ועדיין למצוא את הצד הקומי שבעניין. זה כואב אבל היא עדיין צוחקת. זהו מסר שהיה לי חשוב להעביר.”

“האנשים בפרימרוז היל נהגו ונוהגים לספר לי כאלה סיפורים מצחיקים על החיים שלהם, שרבים מהם מצאו את עצמם בספרים.”

“I certainly think I'll end up writing about America in some form. I've taken plenty of notes. I like America very much.”

“When someone leaves you, apart from missing them, apart from the fact that the whole little world you've created together collapses, and that everything you see or do reminds you of them, the worst is the thought that they tried you out and, in the end, the whole sum of parts adds up to you got stamped REJECT by the one you love. How can you not be left with the personal confidence of a passed over British Rail sandwich?”

“It is horrid to smirk.”

“Comedy tends to come out of things which are quite painful and serious.”

“There are so many images pushed at women and so many ideas of what you're supposed to be. I think there's too much of this superwoman, this woman with a bottom like two billiard balls. There's no real celebration of just being a person.”

“the nation's young men havebeen proved by surveys to be completely unmarriageable, and as a result there's a wholegeneration of single girls like me with their own incomes and homes who have lots of fun anddon't need to wash anyone else's socks.”

“Nobody wants to be racist and I think that most people aren't.”

“I was writing an earnest novel about cruises in the Caribbean and I just started writing 'Bridget Jones' to get some money, to finance this earnest work, and then I chucked it out.”

“Rules for Living by Olivia Joules14) Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.and then the new one from Elsie, added at the bottom:15) Don't regret anything. Remember there wasn't anything else that could have happened, given who you were and the state of the world at that moment. The only thing you can change is the present, so learn from the past.”

“It struck me as pretty ridiculous to be called Mr. Darcy and to stand on your own looking snooty at a party. It's like being called Heathcliff and insisting on spending the entire evening in the garden, shouting "Cathy" and banging your head against a tree.”

“The point is you are supposed to vote for the principle of the thing, not the itsy-bitsy detail about this percent and that percent.”

“I like L.A. It's like a mini break. For a writer, it's hilarious. Like the food. Where I come from, we eat chip sandwiches: white bread, butter, tomato catsup and big fat french fries. It's delicious. Here, you order a creme caramel and the waiter says, 'You know, that contains dairy.'”