Celebrate Dame Maggie Smith’s legacy on Downton Abbey with these 39 amazing quotes about the Dowager Countess

On Friday, September 27, the world said goodbye to one of its beloved Hollywood icons, Dame Maggie Smith.

“She passed away peacefully in hospital this morning, Friday, September 27,” he added Harry Potter the star’s sons revealed themselves in a statement for BBC. “She was a very private person, at the end she was with her friends and family. She leaves behind two sons and five loving grandchildren, devastated by the loss of an extraordinary mother and grandmother.” She was 89 years old.

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As we mourn Smith’s life, we take a moment to honor her iconic role as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham in the film Downton Abbey. Below, you’ll see some of her character’s most famous words, from brilliant one-liners to words of wisdom we should all pay attention to. There are a million reasons to love Downton Abbeybut Smith’s performance as the Dowager Countess is truly the best thing since sliced ​​bread. Smith brought a dry, biting wit and an air of wisdom to the character that no one else could have – which is why we will miss her most.

This is the best work of the Dowager Countess Violet Grantham.

About marriage

1. (when a couple is unhappily married) “Well, at times like these, the couple “cannot see each other as much as they would like.”

2. (on going behind her husband’s back) “This is a scruple that no successful wife can afford.”

3. (about Sybil having the right to her own opinion) “No! She is not her until she gets married. Then her husband will tell her what she thinks.

4. “I think ultimately a woman’s place is at home, but I don’t see anything wrong with her having a good time before she gets there.”

5. “In my day, a woman couldn’t feel physical attraction until her mother told her to do so.”

6. “Every woman walks down the aisle with half the story hidden.”

7. “I know several couples who are completely happy. We haven’t talked for years.

About parenting

8. Isobel: “Were you a very involved mother?”
Purple: – Does this surprise you?
Isobel: “I imagined them surrounded by nannies and governesses, starched and ironed to spend an hour with you after tea.”
Purple: “Yes, but it was an hour *every day*.”

About trying new things

9. (about jazz) “Do you think any of them know what the others are playing?”

10. (about cocktails) “They look too exciting for this early in the evening.”

11. “I couldn’t have electricity at home, I wouldn’t sleep a wink. All these fumes floating around.

12. “First electricity, now telephones. Sometimes I feel like I’m living in an HG Wells novel.

On Spratt (her diva-like butler)

13. (on service being human) “Yes, but preferably only on days off.”

14. “Typical Spratt. He is touchy like a beauty losing her looks.

15. “We all succumb to Spratt in this house.”

16. “I hope your standards are not so high as to prevent you from remaining in my employment.”

17. “Spratt, I think Dr. Clarkson would like some coffee… and don’t be such a snob. “

But Spratt isn’t her only problem

18. “I was right about my maid. She’s leaving to get married. I mean, how could she be so selfish?

About being right

19. Bark: “I think Grandma’s right.”
Purple: “Can someone write this down?”

20. Isobel: “How much you hate being wrong.”
Purple: “I don’t know, I don’t know this feeling.”

21. Robert: “First of all, Matthew has to agree. Second, you will both admit it when you realize you were wrong.
Purple: “Oh, well, it’s easy to accept that caveat because I’m *never* wrong.”

About life

22. “Life is a game in which the player must look ridiculous.”

23. “No life seems fulfilling if you think about it too much.”

24. “Principles are like prayers; noble, of course, but awkward at the party.

25. “Nothing beats excess.”

26. “You know me: never complain, never explain.”

27. “The presence of strangers is our only guarantee of good behavior.”

28. “An unlucky friend is tiring enough, an unlucky acquaintance is unbearable.”

29. “Hope is malice designed to prevent us from accepting reality.”

30. “Vulgarity is no substitute for wit”

31. “The whole of life is a series of problems that we must try to solve, first one, then another, and another, until finally we die.”

Personal favorites:

32. Isobel: “You take everything as a compliment.”
Purple: “I advise you to do the same, it will save you many awkward moments.”

33. Robert: -I thought you didn’t like him.
Purple: “So what? I have a lot of friends I don’t like.”

34. Isobel: – I suspect this is a tough nut to crack.
Purple: “And I’m a pretty tough nutcracker.”

35. Bark: – I take that as a compliment.
Purple: – I must have said it wrong.

36. “I don’t like him. I just don’t like him, and that’s a completely different thing.

37. “I hope I’m interrupting something…”

38. “You are a woman with brains and reasonable abilities. Stop whining and find something to do.

And most importantly

39. “What is a weekend?”

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