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.
Edith WhartonRead
Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life involves balancing risks and comforts, and some prefer the challenges over easy living.
This quote by Edith Wharton suggests that life presents us with contrasting experiences, symbolized by a tightrope representing challenge and risk, and a feather bed representing comfort and ease. Wharton expresses a preference for the former, indicating that she values the thrill and the growth that comes from navigating lifeβs challenges rather than seeking solace in simplicity and comfort.
Themes
LifeBalanceRiskComfortChallenge
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can inspire speeches about personal growth and resilience during challenging times.
More from Edith Wharton
All quotes βThey seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods
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Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.
Edith WhartonRead
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.
Edith WhartonRead
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 otherβs 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
Edith WhartonRead
There are two ways to spread happiness; either be the light who shines it or be the mirror who reflects it.
Edith WhartonRead
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O polished perturbation! golden care! That keep'st the ports of slumber open wide To many a watchful night.
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