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
The desire for symmetry, for balance, for rhythm in form as well as in sound, is one of the most inveterate of human instincts.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Humans have a deep-rooted instinct to seek balance and harmony in their surroundings.
In this quote, Edith Wharton highlights the innate human tendency to appreciate and strive for symmetry, balance, and rhythm, not just in visual art but also in sound and life itself. This desire reflects a fundamental aspect of human nature, indicating that our aesthetic preferences and emotional responses are often guided by these principles of harmony.
Themes
SymmetryBalanceRhythmInstinctArtHuman Nature
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a lecture about the elements of design in art classes.
More from Edith Wharton
All quotes βThey seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods
Edith WhartonRead
Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.
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.
Edith WhartonRead
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 otherβs 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
Edith WhartonRead
There are two ways to spread happiness; either be the light who shines it or be the mirror who reflects it.
Edith WhartonRead
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