I wish I were a girl again, half savage and hardy, and free.
Catherine looks backward to a time before manners and rules reshaped her. “Half savage and hardy” paints the moor-child she once was—tough, quick, and uncontained. The image is simple but piercing because it carries loss and self-knowledge together. It shows how growing up can feel like shrinking inside. The Sorrow here isn’t only about love; it’s about losing a version of oneself. Anyone who has felt tamed by life will hear the ache.