Quote by George MacDonald
“OPHELIA There’s fennel for you, and columbines. 176 There’s rue for you, and here’s some for me. We may call it herb of grace o’ Sundays. You must wear your rue 178 with a difference. There’s a daisy. I would give you 179 some violets, but they withered all when my father 180 died. They say a made a good end. [Sings.] For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy. LAERTES Thought and afflictions, passion, hell itself, 183 She turns to favor and to prettiness. OPHELIA Song. And will a not come again? And will a not come again? No, no, he is dead; Go to thy deathbed; He never will come again. His beard was as white as snow, 190 Flaxen was his poll. He is gone, he is gone, And we cast away moan. God ’a’ mercy on his soul.”
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George MacDonald was a Scottish author, poet, and Christian minister.
Known particularly for his poignant fairy tales and fantasy novels, George MacDonald inspired many authors, such as W. H. Auden, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, E. Nesbit and Madeleine L'Engle. G. K. Chesterton cited The Princess and the Goblin as a book that had "made a difference to my whole existence."
Even Mark Twain, who initially disliked MacDonald, became friends with him, and there is some evidence that Twain was influenced by MacDonald.
MacDonald grew up influenced by his Congregational Church, with an atmosphere of Calvinism. But MacDonald never felt comfortable with some aspects of Calvinist doctrine; indeed, legend has it that when the doctrine of predestination was first explained to him, he burst into tears (although assured that he was one of the elect). Later novels, such as Robert Falconer and Lilith, show a distaste for the idea that God's electing love is limited to some and denied to others.