Quotes from The Well of the Saints: A Comedy in Three Acts

It's myself has a grand, small, beautiful wife, surely, though the world sees her wrapped in a coarse sack, and her hair grey from the time she was a child.

Context: Martin Doul says this early in Act I to Mat Simon and Timmy, expressing his contentment with his blind perception of Mary's beauty. It highlights how his imagination creates an ideal world for him before his sight is restored.

There's little things a man can be seeing in the world, Martin, and he not seeing at all, and there's a power of ugly things a man can be seeing when his eyes are for ever open.

Context: Mary Doul says this to Martin in Act II after they have both gained their sight and are disappointed by each other's appearance and the world's harshness. It encapsulates their shared disillusionment, suggesting ignorance can sometimes be preferable to a bleak reality.

It's a pity, surely, for if you were a blind man, Martin Doul, it's a fine man you'd be, and you'd have a good word for a girl, and a fine way with you, and a grand talk.

Context: Molly Byrne says this to Martin Doul in Act II, after he has gained his sight and insulted her appearance. She laments his transformation, pointing out that his charm and attractiveness were linked to his blindness and imagination.

I'm telling you there isn't a power in the heavens above, and there isn't power on the earth beneath, to make me see the world again, the way it is now.

Context: Martin shouts this near the end of the play, refusing to be cured a second time and rejecting the 'miracle' that brought him such disillusionment. It's a powerful statement of his newfound philosophy and desire to choose his own path.

It's a power of wonders the Saints are working, Martin, God bless them, and we'd be as bad, surely, as the black heathen if we wouldn't have some reverence for them that are for ever doing good.

Context: Timmy the Smith says this early in Act I, reflecting the conventional piety of the villagers who see the miracle as purely good and beneficial. This contrasts with Martin's later, more complex experience of sight.

Let you not be talking, for it's my own life I'm for living, and not the life of the like of them.

Context: Martin says this towards the end of the play, rejecting the villagers' attempts to make him conform or to get him to use the well water again. It shows his fierce independence and desire for self-determination against societal pressures.

I'm thinking it's a poor thing when the best a man can be seeing is his own wife, and she with the likes of you beside her.

Context: Mary Doul says this to Martin in Act II, expressing her profound disappointment in his physical appearance after she gains her sight. It highlights the shattering of her idealized imagination of him, and the disillusionment with their marriage.

And maybe it's right he is, for what good is a sight to a man when it's the like of the dirt of the road he'd be seeing, and he after seeing the likes of the stars and the moon?

Context: Mat Simon says this to the other villagers in Act III, reflecting on Martin's choice to remain blind. He shows a surprising understanding of Martin's perspective, questioning the true value of physical sight compared to a rich inner world.

It's a lonesome road you'll be going, Martin Doul, and it's little of good will come to you in the end of it.

Context: Mary Doul says this to Martin Doul at the very end of Act III, warning him about the consequences of his chosen path of wandering and self-reliance. It expresses her concern and her traditional view of a settled, less defiant life.

It's a great power the Saints have, surely, and it's the Saints will be judging every person when the time comes.

Context: The Pilgrim says this to the villagers and Martin Doul in Act III, emphasizing traditional religious authority and judgment. This statement contrasts sharply with Martin's individualistic spiritual journey and rejection of conventional piety.