There are such beings as vampires, some of us have evidence that they exist. Even had we not the proof of our own unhappy experience, the teachings and the records of the past give proof enough for sane peoples.
Bram StokerRead
I have cried even when the laugh did choke me. But no more think that I am all sorry when I cry, for the laugh he come just the same. Keep it always with you that laughter who knock at your door and say, ‘May I come in?’ is not true laughter. No! He is a king, and he come when and how he like. He ask no person, he choose no time of suitability. He say, ‘I am here.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the complexity of emotions, showing that laughter can coexist with sadness.
Bram Stoker reflects on the intertwined nature of laughter and tears, suggesting that one should not mistake the act of crying for weakness or sorrow, as true laughter is a powerful, sovereign force that arrives on its own terms. This conveys the idea that genuine joy can arise even amidst sorrow and emphasizes the unpredictability and authority of laughter in our emotional lives.
Themes
LaughterTearsEmotionsJoySorrow
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used during a speech about resilience in the face of life's challenges.
More from Bram Stoker
All quotes →I stood beside Van Helsing, and said;- "Ah, well, poor girl, there is peace for her at last. It is the end!" He turned to me, and said with grave solemnity:- "Not so; alas! not so. It is only the beginning!
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Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!
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Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose? That the luckiest man who walks on this earth is the one who finds… true love?
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But a stranger in a strange land, he is no one. Men know him not, and to know not is to care not for.
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Oh, the terrible struggle that I have had against sleep so often of late; the pain of the sleeplessness, or the pain of the fear of sleep, and with such unknown horror as it has for me! How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams.
Bram StokerRead
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