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"  Everyone who watches Downton Abbey is in possession of one simple truth: the Dowager Countess is the best character on the show, if not the best character on television period. With a fiery wit, a reservoir of wisdom, and an endless supply of pithy zingers, it&amp;#039;s no wonder she&amp;#039;s the woman we all aspire to be. She&amp;#039;s always in control of every situation, carries herself with unwavering poise, and yet, deep down, is really an old softy, which is what lends even her most brutal of lines a sweet and sensitive quality. And she can throw some serious shade with just one withering look. Now that the show&amp;#039;s fifth season is wrapping in the UK, and it&amp;#039;s been announced that the beloved series has been renewed for another season, it seems like there couldn&amp;#039;t be a better time to celebrate the sassy, sharp-tongued dame, and to ask yourself the eternal question: What would the Dowager Say?  When you&amp;#039;re wondering what it means to &amp;quot;be a woman:&amp;quot; &amp;quot;One way or another, every woman goes down the aisle with half the story hidden.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;A woman of my age can face reality better than most men.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;I do think a woman&amp;#039;s place is eventually in the home, but I see no harm in her having some fun before she gets there.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;I am a woman, Mary. I can be as contrary as I choose.&amp;quot;  When you&amp;#039;re considering the appropriate course of action or self-expression: &amp;quot;Vulgarity is no substitute for wit.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t dislike him. I just don&amp;#039;t like him. Which is quite different.&amp;quot;&amp;quot; &amp;quot;All this unbridled joy has given me quite an appetite.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Of course it would happen to a foreigner. No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else&amp;#039;s house.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Principles are like prayers; noble, of course, but awkward at a party.&amp;quot;  &amp;quot;At my age, one must ration one&amp;#039;s excitement.&amp;quot; Mrs. Crawley: &amp;quot;I take that as a compliment.&amp;quot;Countess Violet: &amp;quot;I must&amp;#039;ve said it wrong.&amp;quot; Dr. Clarkson: You want me to lie?Countess Violet: Lie is so unmusical a word. When you&amp;#039;re debating the complicated ethics of love/friendship/marriage:  &amp;quot;We&amp;#039;ll have to take her abroad, in these moments you can usually find an Italian who&amp;#039;s not too picky.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;No one wants to kiss a girl in black.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;If she won&amp;#039;t say yes when he might be poor, he won&amp;#039;t want her when he will be rich.&amp;quot; Cora: &amp;quot;I hate to go behind Robert&amp;#039;s back.&amp;quot;Countess Violet: &amp;quot;That is a scruple no successful wife can afford.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s nothing simpler than avoiding people you don&amp;#039;t like. Avoiding one&amp;#039;s friends, that&amp;#039;s the real test.&amp;quot;  When you need to tell it like is for someone&amp;#039;s own good:  &amp;quot;Edith, you are a Lady, not Toad of Toad Hall.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Don&amp;#039;t be defeatist, dear, it&amp;#039;s very middle class.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;You are a woman with a brain and reasonable ability. Stop whining and find something to do.&amp;quot; When you&amp;#039;re contemplating the meaning of life:  &amp;quot;Sir Richard, life is a game, where the player must appear ridiculous.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;We don&amp;#039;t always get our just desserts.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;No life appears rewarding if you think about it too much.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;All life is a series of problems which we must try and solve.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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