Sadness is more or less like a head cold - with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer.
Barbara KingsolverRead
He lifts her breasts, which fit perfectly into his hands, though he knows this is no promise that he gets to keep them. A million things you can't have will fit in a human hand.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the fleeting nature of physical intimacy and the impermanence of desire.
In this quote, Barbara Kingsolver explores the complexities of physical relationships and the realization that beauty and attraction do not guarantee permanence or possession. It suggests that while intimate moments can be profoundly fulfilling, they are not guarantees for the future, and many desires may remain unfulfilled despite their proximity.
Themes
LoveIntimacyFleetingDesireRelationships
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the nature of love and physical attraction during a relationship workshop.
More from Barbara Kingsolver
All quotes →Children can be your heartache. But that doesn't matter, you have to go on and have them . . . it works out.
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I'm of a fearsome mind to throw my arms around every living librarian who crosses my path, on behalf of the souls they never knew they saved.
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I did it to win love, and to prove myself capable. Not to move mountains. In my opinions, mountains don't move. They only look changed when you look down on them from great height.
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Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin.
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Empathy is really the opposite of spiritual meanness. It's the capacity to understand that every war is both won and lost. And that someone else's pain is as meaningful as your own.
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