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
It was easy enough to despise the world, but decidedly difficult to find any other habitable region.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggle of finding a better alternative to a flawed world.
Edith Wharton's quote speaks to the innate human tendency to criticize and despise the state of the world we live in, while simultaneously highlighting the difficulty of identifying or escaping to a better, more favorable place. It suggests a contemplation of our environment, suggesting that while it is easy to cast judgment, finding viable solutions or alternatives is a far more complex challenge.
Themes
WorldDespiseHabitableRegionAlternatives
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about resilience and adaptability in challenging situations.
More from Edith Wharton
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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.
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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
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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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