Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Edward AbbeyRead
I've wrecked and ravaged half my life in the pursuit of women, and I suffer the pangs of about seventeen regrets -- the seventeen who got away.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the regrets one may have in love and relationships, highlighting the emotional turmoil caused by past choices.
Edward Abbey's quote poignantly captures the idea of regret associated with romantic pursuits. It suggests that a significant portion of one's life may be spent in the chase for love, leading to a sense of loss or pain over missed opportunities. The number 'seventeen' signifies not just the quantity of relationships, but rather the depth of emotional impact each one had on the speaker, conveying a universal truth about the complexities of love and the haunting nature of what could have been.
Themes
RegretLoveRelationshipsPastLoss
In practice
Example use cases
In a reflective speech at a wedding, one might quote Abbey to emphasize the importance of appreciating love before it slips away.
More from Edward Abbey
All quotes βI love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
Edward AbbeyRead
If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
Edward AbbeyRead
The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
Edward AbbeyRead
I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
Edward AbbeyRead
Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
Edward AbbeyRead
Similar quotes
This devaluing of listening is handed down from generation to generation. There are many children who don't have the experience of being listened to by their parents.
Julian TreasureRead
Cruelty is, in theory, a perfectly adequate ground for divorce, but it may be interpreted so as to become absurd.
Bertrand RussellRead
The one joy that has kept me going through life has been the fact that stories unite us. To see you as you listen to me now, as you have always listened to me, is to know this: what I can believe, you can believe. And the way we all see our story-not just as Irish people but as flesh and blood individuals and not the way people tell us to see it-that's what we own, no matter who we are and where we come from.
Frank DelaneyRead
I cannot assume you will understand me. It is just as likely that as I invent what I want to say, you will invent what you want to hear. Some story we must have. Stray words on crumpled paper. A weak signal into the outer space of each other. The probability of seperate worlds meeting is very small. The lure is immense. We send starships. We fall in love
Jeanette WintersonRead
Lust is what keeps you wanting to do it even when you have no desire to be with each other. Love is what makes you want to be with each other even when you have no desire to do it.
Judith ViorstRead
...I realized that I knew less about loneliness than I had thought - and much less than I would know when he went away.
Octavia ButlerRead