They are all alike you know. They hold their tongues for years and you think you're safe, but when the opportunity comes they remember everything.
It was too late for happiness - but not too late to be helped by the thought of what I had missed. That is all I haved lived on - don't take it from me now
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the idea that while true happiness may be out of reach, one can still find solace in memories of what was lost.
In this quote, Edith Wharton expresses a poignant reflection on missed opportunities for happiness. It suggests that although time may have passed and happiness seems unattainable, the memories and thoughts of what could have been provide a crucial source of support and comfort. This idea emphasizes the value of nostalgia and the emotional strength derived from remembering joyful possibilities, even when they are no longer accessible.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about overcoming adversity, I might quote Edith Wharton to highlight the importance of holding onto positive memories.
More from Edith Wharton
All quotes →They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods
Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.
And I wonder, among all the tangles of this mortal coil, which one contains tighter knots to undo, & consequently suggests more tugging, & pain, & diversified elements of misery, than the marriage tie.
As he paid the hansom and followed his wife's long train into the house he took refuge in the comforting platitude that the first six months were always the most difficult in marriage. 'After that I suppose we shall have pretty nearly finished rubbing off each other’s angles,' he reflected; but the worst of it was that May's pressure was already bearing on the very angles whose sharpness he most wanted to keep
There are two ways to spread happiness; either be the light who shines it or be the mirror who reflects it.
Similar quotes
If you really want to receive joy and happiness, then serve others with all your heart. Lift their burden, and your own burden will be lighter.
To be satisfied with what one has; that is wealth. As long as one sorely needs a certain additional amount, that man isn't rich.
The happy man needs nothing and no one. Not that he holds himself aloof, for indeed he is in harmony with everything and everyone; everything is "in him"; nothing can happen to him. The same may also be said for the contemplative person; he needs himself alone; he lacks nothing.
When we fulfill our function, which is to truly love ourselves and share love with others, then true happiness sets in.
The malicious have a dark happiness.
One reason I don't drink is that I want to know when I am having a good time.