The deep joy we take in the company of people with whom we have just recently fallen in love is undisguisable.
John CheeverRead
I do not understand the capricious lewdness of the sleeping mind.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the unpredictable nature of the subconscious mind and its hidden desires.
In this quote, John Cheever expresses a sense of confusion and intrigue regarding the whimsical and often inappropriate tendencies of the subconscious mind while it is in a state of sleep. It suggests that the sleeping mind operates beyond rationality, revealing hidden thoughts, desires, and instincts that are usually suppressed during waking hours. This contemplation invites us to explore the depth of our psyche and the complexities of human nature.
Themes
SubconsciousMindDreamsDesiresPsychology
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about psychology, one could use this quote to illustrate the complexities of the mind.
More from John Cheever
All quotes βFor me a page of good prose is where one hears the rain. A page of good prose is when one hears the noise of battle.... A page of good prose seems to me the most serious dialogue that well-informed and intelligent men and women carry on today in their endeavor to make sure that the fires of this planet burn peaceably.
John CheeverRead
For me, a page of good prose is where one hears the rain and the noise of battle. It has the power to give grief or universality that lends it a youthful beauty.
John CheeverRead
The world that was not mine yesterday now lies spread out at my feet, a splendor. I seem, in the middle of the night, to have returned to the world of apples, the orchards of Heaven. Perhaps I should take my problems to a shrink, or perhaps I should enjoy the apples that I have, streaked with color like the evening sky.
John CheeverRead
What I am going to write is the last of what I have to say. I will say that literature is the only consciousness we possess and that its role as consciousness must inform us of our ability to comprehend the hideous danger of nuclear power.
John CheeverRead
Art is the triumph over chaos.
John CheeverRead
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