Of the widow's countless death-duties there is really just one that matters: on the first anniversary of her husband's death the widow should think I kept myself alive.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The act of sending a letter is an act of generosity, even if, in retrospect, it might seem reckless. Why regret one's generosity? Why regret one's impulsiveness, one's misjudgment of others? The inevitable discovery that someone is selling letters you'd written in trust is simply to discover an obvious human truth: there are those who don't cherish us as we'd cherished them, and had wished to be cherished by them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Sending letters is a generous act, even if it feels reckless later; regretting generosity or impulsiveness doesn't aid our understanding of human trust.
This quote by Joyce Carol Oates emphasizes the value of generosity in human relationships, particularly through the act of writing and sending letters. It reflects on the potential for misjudgment and betrayal when our trust is not reciprocated but suggests that the willingness to be open and vulnerable is an essential aspect of connection, even if it sometimes leads to disappointment. Ultimately, it champions the idea that being generous and trusting, despite the possibility of being let down, is a fundamental human truth.
Themes
GenerosityTrustRelationshipsVulnerabilityCommunication
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about friendship, one might mention this quote to highlight the importance of staying open despite past betrayals.
More from Joyce Carol Oates
All quotes →I never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I'm drawn to write about upstate New York in the way in which a dreamer might have recurring dreams. My childhood and girlhood were spent in upstate New York, in the country north of Buffalo and West of Rochester. So this part of New York state is very familiar to me and, with its economic difficulties, has become emblematic of much of American life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
My writing is often a way of 'bearing witness' for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won't be affected too much by my personal life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
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