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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Marriage can present significant challenges and complexities that often lead to emotional pain.
In this quote, Edith Wharton reflects on the intricate and often troublesome nature of marriage, suggesting that it encompasses a variety of struggles and miseries that can create emotional turmoil. She uses the metaphor of 'tangles' and 'knots' to convey how complicated and difficult navigating the bonds of marriage can be, implying that, while marriage can provide joy, it can also lead to considerable suffering and emotional hardship.
Themes
MarriageRelationshipsMiseryPainLove
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared during a discussion on the challenges of marriage at a counseling session.
More from Edith Wharton
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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 other’s 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
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There are two ways to spread happiness; either be the light who shines it or be the mirror who reflects it.
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The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!
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