I pay very little regard...to what any young person says on the subject of marriage. If they profess a disinclination for it, I only set it down that they have not yet seen the right person.
Jane AustenRead
There could have never been two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved. Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the deep bond that was lost between two individuals who were once close, emphasizing the pain of emotional estrangement.
In this quote by Jane Austen, the author poignantly captures the ache of unfulfilled connection and the tragedy of once-intimate hearts that have become distant. It highlights the sorrow in seeing the potential for deep emotional resonance, only to be met with a profound detachment that isolates them from one another, making their previous closeness feel painfully inaccessible. The phrase 'perpetual estrangement' encapsulates the idea that their separation is not merely physical, but deeply emotional and irreversible, leaving them as mere strangers despite their shared past.
Themes
EstrangementRelationshipsConnectionEmotionsLoss
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about lost love during a breakup support group.
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You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever.
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She hoped to be wise and reasonable in time; but alas! Alas! She must confess to herself that she was not wise yet.
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