Personal relations are the important thing for ever and ever, and not this outer life of telegrams and anger.
E. M. ForsterRead
You do care a little for me, I know... but nothing to speak of, and you don't love me. I was yours once till death if you'd cared to keep me, but I'm someone else's now... and he's mine in a way that shocks you, but why don't you stop being shocked, and attend to your own happiness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the complexities of love and attachment, emphasizing the importance of focusing on one's own happiness.
E. M. Forster's quote highlights the bittersweet nature of love and the emotional turmoil that comes with unreciprocated feelings. The speaker acknowledges that while there is care involved in the relationship, it lacks true love, and they have moved on to find happiness with someone else. It suggests that instead of lingering on the past and feeling shocked by the changes, one should prioritize their own well-being and joy.
Themes
LoveHappinessRelationshipsCareAttachment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about moving on after a breakup.
More from E. M. Forster
All quotes →A poem is true if it hangs together. Information points to something else. A poem points to nothing but itself.
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One must be fond of people and trust them if one is not to make a mess of life.
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Oxford is Oxford: not a mere receptacle for youth, like Cambridge. Perhaps it wants its inmates to love it rather than to love one another.
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The fact is we can only love what we know personally. And we cannot know much. In public affairs, in the rebuilding of civilization, something less dramatic and emotional is needed, namely tolerance.
E. M. ForsterRead
One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.
E. M. ForsterRead
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