A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.
So, having found a lady, could you not have come to her aid, or left her alone? Why drag her into your foolishness?' 'Love,' he explained. She looked at him with eyes the blue of the sky. 'I hope you choke on it,' she said, flatly.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the complexities and burdens of love, suggesting it can lead to foolish actions and unintended consequences.
In this exchange, the characters grapple with the emotional turmoil that love can bring. The speaker questions the appropriateness of involving someone in their struggles, while the response reflects a sense of disillusionment and rejection of the idea that love justifies such actions. This illustrates how love can sometimes lead to irresponsible behavior, drawing others into one's personal troubles rather than respecting their autonomy and emotional space.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the consequences of love in relationships.
More from Neil Gaiman
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As a teenager I wrote to R.A. Lafferty. And he responded, too, with letters that were like R.A. Lafferty short stories, filled with elliptical answers to straight questions and simple answers to complicated ones.
The important thing to understand about American history, wrote Mr. Ibis, in his leather-bound journal, is that it is fictional, a charcoal-sketched simplicity for the children, or the easily bored.
Nothing’s changed. You’ll go home. You’ll be bored. You’ll be ignored. No one will listen to you, really listen to you. You’re too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don’t even get your name right.
I like the stars. It's the illusion of permanence, I think. I mean, they're always flaring up and caving in and going out. But from here, I can pretend...I can pretend that things last. I can pretend that lives last longer than moments. Gods come, and gods go. Mortals flicker and flash and fade. Worlds don't last; and stars and galaxies are transient, fleeting things that twinkle like fireflies and vanish into cold and dust. But I can pretend.
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I feel like if you're a really good human being, you can try to find something beautiful in every single person, no matter what.
If I had no duties, and no reference to futurity, I would spend my life in driving briskly in a post-chaise with a pretty woman.