Life, after all, was a secret with the self. The more one gave out, the less there remained for the center--that center which she coveted for herself and recognized instantly in others. Fruits had it, the very heart of, say, a cherry, where the true worth and flavor lay. Some of course were flawed or hollow in there. Many, in fact.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that true essence and self-identity are deeply personal and may be diminished by excessive sharing.
Edna O'Brien's quote reflects on the notion that life is a personal mystery and that the more we expose ourselves and our inner selves to others, the less we have left for our own core identity. It draws a parallel between personal essence and the heart of the fruit, highlighting that while it may be tempting to share, one must be cautious as there are flaws and hollowness in many, suggesting the importance of preserving one's inner value.
In practice
In a motivational speech about self-discovery.
Love . . . is like nature, but in reverse; first it fruits, then it flowers, then it seems to wither, then it goes deep, deep down into its burrow, where no one sees it, where it is lost from sight, and ultimately people die with that secret buried inside their souls.
That is the mystery about writing: it comes out of afflictions, out of the gouged times, when the heart is cut open.
Cities, in many ways, are the best repositories for a love affair. You are in a forest or a cornfield, you are walking by the seashore, footprint after footprint of trodden sand, and somehow the kiss or the spoken covenant gets lost in the vastness and indifference of nature. In a city there are places to remind us of what has been.
Darkness is drawn to light, but light does not know it; light must absorb the darkness and therefore meet its own extinguishment.
Oh, love, what an unreasoning creature it grew to be.
Recollection is not something that I can summon up, it simply comes and I am the servant of it.
If we go on to cast a look at the fate of these World-Historical persons, whose vocation it was to be the agents of the World-Spirit, we shall find it to have been no happy one. They attained no calm enjoyment; their whole life was labour and trouble; their whole nature was nought else but their master—passion. When their object is attained they fall off like empty hulls from the kernel. They die early, like Alexander; they are murdered, like Caesar.
The wise soul feareth not death; rather she sometimes striveth for death, she goeth beyond to meet her. Yet eternity maintaineth her substance throughout time, immensity throughout space, universal form throughout motion.
Keep things at arm's length... If you let anything come too near you want to hold on to it. And there is nothing a man can hold on to.
It is so fatally easy to confuse an aesthetic appreciation of the spiritual life with the life itself-to dream that you have waked, washed, and dressed and then to find yourself still in bed.
Even in this world where you’re getting everything you need and having this nice life, there’s still loneliness and longing and disconnection.
In the main, and from the beginning of time, mysticism has kept men sane. The thing that has driven them mad was logic.
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