The comic spirit is given to us in order that we may analyze, weigh, and clarify things in us which nettle us, or which we are outgrowing, or trying to reshape
Thornton WilderRead
There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Love serves as a connection between life and death, giving meaning to existence.
The quote by Thornton Wilder emphasizes the idea that love is the essential bridge that connects the experiences of living and the inevitability of death. It suggests that love is not only a powerful emotion but also the fundamental aspect that gives our lives significance, providing comfort and continuity even in the face of mortality.
Themes
LoveLifeDeathMeaningConnection
In practice
Example use cases
In a eulogy, one could use this quote to highlight the enduring power of love between people.
More from Thornton Wilder
All quotes →A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in a mighty public way.
Thornton WilderRead
Good-by, Good-by, world. Good-by, Grover's Corners... Mama and Papa. Good-by to clocks ticking... and Mama's sunflowers. And food and coffee. And new-ironed dresses and hot baths...and sleeping and waking up. Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you.
Thornton WilderRead
When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.
Thornton WilderRead
Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest attention to colloquial speech.
Thornton WilderRead
I want you to try and remember what it was like to have been very young. And particularly the days when you were first in love; when you were like a person sleepwalking, and you didn’t quite see the street you were in, and didn’t quite hear everything that was said to you. You’re just a little bit crazy. Will you remember that, please?
Thornton WilderRead
Similar quotes
Only when we give joyfully, without hesitation or thought of gain, can we truly know what love means.
Leo BuscagliaRead
Sometimes I have the strangest feeling about you. Especially when you are near me as you are now. It feels as though I had a string tied here under my left rib where my heart is, tightly knotted to you in a similar fashion. And when you go to Ireland, with all that distance between us, I am afraid that this cord will be snapped, and I shall bleed inwardly.
Charlotte BronteRead
Believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.
Rainer Maria RilkeRead
Jim lights a cigarette and leans indolently back on his elbow smiling at Laura with a warmth and charm which lights her inwardly with altar candles.
Tennessee WilliamsRead
Love shall be our token; love be yours and love be mine.
Christina RossettiRead
Love is the most durable power in the world.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read