They are all alike you know. They hold their tongues for years and you think you're safe, but when the opportunity comes they remember everything.
Edith WhartonRead
To be able to look life in the face: that's worth living in a garret for, isn't it?
Interpretation
What this quote means
Valuing the ability to confront and accept life's realities over material comforts.
Edith Wharton's quote emphasizes the importance of facing life honestly and openly as the greatest achievement one can aspire to. The metaphor of living in a garret, a small and often uncomfortable space, signifies that enduring hardships is worthwhile if it leads to genuine living and understanding of oneself and the world.
Themes
LifeTruthExistenceMeaningAuthenticity
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about embracing challenges, one might quote this to highlight the value of authenticity over comfort.
More from Edith Wharton
All quotes βThey seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods
Edith WhartonRead
Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.
Edith WhartonRead
And I wonder, among all the tangles of this mortal coil, which one contains tighter knots to undo, & consequently suggests more tugging, & pain, & diversified elements of misery, than the marriage tie.
Edith WhartonRead
As he paid the hansom and followed his wife's long train into the house he took refuge in the comforting platitude that the first six months were always the most difficult in marriage. 'After that I suppose we shall have pretty nearly finished rubbing off each otherβs angles,' he reflected; but the worst of it was that May's pressure was already bearing on the very angles whose sharpness he most wanted to keep
Edith WhartonRead
There are two ways to spread happiness; either be the light who shines it or be the mirror who reflects it.
Edith WhartonRead
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Always cut the cards...and smile when you lose.
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We need to feel that life is important; we need that fantasy so we can live a little better.
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After great pain, a formal feeling comes β The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs β The stiff Heart questions was it He, that bore, And Yesterday, or Centuries before? The Feet, mechanical, go round β Of Ground, or Air, or Ought β A Wooden way Regardless grown, A Quartz contentment, like a stone β This is the Hour of Lead β Remembered, if outlived, As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow β First β Chill β then Stupor β then the letting go β
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