Explore "The Well of Loneliness" by Radclyffe Hall on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
The eye of youth is very observant. Youth has its moments and keen intuition, even normal youth -- but the intuition of those who stand midway between the sexes, is so ruthless, so poignant, so accurate, so deadly, as to be in the nature of an added scourge; and by such an intuition did Stephen discover that all was not well with her parents.
Their outward existence seemed calm and unruffled; so far nothing had disturbed the outward peace of Morton. But their child saw their hearts with the eyes of the spirit; flesh of their flesh, she had sprung from their hearts, and she knew that those hearts were heavy. They said nothing, but she sensed that some deep, secret trouble was afflicting them both; she could see it in their eyes. In the words that they left unspoken she could hear it -- it would be there, filling the small gaps of silence. She thought that she discerned it in her father's slow movements -- surely his movements had grown slower of late? And his hair was quite grey; it was quite grey all over. She realized this with a slight shock one morning as he sat in the sunlight -- it had used to look auburn in the nape of his neck when the sun fell upon it -- and now it was dull grey all over.