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
If I try to summon back his face, the sound of his voice, and the sensation in my stomach like a key turning in a lock when he touched me, I lose everything.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote explores the complexities and intensity of emotional memories associated with love.
In this quote, Joyce Carol Oates expresses the struggle of holding onto the memories of a loved one. The vivid imagery of summoning back a face, voice, and physical sensations highlights how deeply intertwined love is with our emotions, but also reveals the pain of trying to recapture something that may be lost forever. It suggests that attempting to relive those moments can lead to further loss of what is cherished.
Themes
LoveMemoryLossEmotionSensation
In practice
Example use cases
During a heartfelt conversation about past relationships, I shared this quote to express the difficulty of remembering a lost love.
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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