It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
In general she had found that the main drawback in being a man was that conversations were less interesting.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Ursula K. Le Guin suggests that men often engaged in less stimulating conversations compared to women.
In this quote, Ursula K. Le Guin reflects on her experiences and observations regarding gender dynamics in conversation. She implies that conversations among men tend to lack the depth and variety that she associates with women's discussions, indicating a broader commentary on societal norms and expectations that shape how individuals communicate based on gender. This observation invites readers to consider the inherent value of diverse perspectives and the potential limitations of traditional male-dominated discussions.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about gender differences in communication, one might reference this quote to highlight conversational styles.
More from Ursula K. Le Guin
All quotes βIn reading a novel, any novel, we have to know perfectly well that the whole thing is nonsense, and then, while reading, believe every word of it. Finally, when we're done with it, we may find - if it's a good novel - that we're a bit different from what we were before we read it, that we have changed a little... But it's very hard to say just what we learned, how we were changed.
Reason is a faculty far larger than mere objective force. When either the political or the scientific discourse announces itself as the voice of reason, it is playing God, and should be spanked and stood in the corner.
The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.
We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.
When he found that the administrators were upset, he laughed. βDo they expect students not to be anarchists?β he said. βWhat else can the young be? When you are on the bottom, you must organize from the bottom up
Similar quotes
It felt very good to have him walking beside her. Good like rest and quiet, like something you could live without but you needed anyway. That you had to learn how to miss, and then you'd never stop missing it.
I have got my story. Adoptees rarely get our stories. We only know what we are told. I don't even have my story, really. My mother won't tell me. She won't tell me who my father is. She won't tell me the story of my birth.
Today, when I saw you, I realized that what is between us is nothing more than an illusion.
No truth can cure the sorrow we feel from losing a loved one. No truth, no sincerity, no strength, no kindness can cure that sorrow. All we can do is see it through to the end and learn something from it, but what we learn will be no help in facing the next sorrow that comes to us without warning.
No one ever saw all of him. It took me nearly four decades to allow my father his shadows, his reserve, to sit silently with him and not clamor for something more.
I don't see any reason to discriminate against homosexuals.