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Love is the world's infinite mutability; lies, hatred, murder even, are all knit up in it; it is the inevitable blossoming of its opposites, a magnificent rose smelling faintly of blood.
Tony Kushner
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Love encompasses both beauty and pain, embodying contradictions that define human experience.

This quote by Tony Kushner explores the nature of love as a complex and opposing force. It suggests that love is not just a pure and wonderful emotion; instead, it is intertwined with negative aspects like lies and hatred. The imagery of a rose, beautiful yet with a hint of blood, illustrates how love can be both a source of joy and suffering, highlighting the coexistence of good and evil within it.

Themes

LovePainContradictionEmotionDuality

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the complexity of relationships, this quote can highlight how love involves both joy and sadness.

More from Tony Kushner

A handful of works in history have had a direct impact on social policy: one or two works of Dickens, some of Zola, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' and, in modern drama, Larry Kramer's 'The Normal Heart.'
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Artists know that diligence counts as much, if not more, as inspiration; in art, as in politics, patience counts as much as revolution.
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I don't understand why I'm not dead. When your heart breaks, you should die
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In this world, there is a kind of painful progress. Longing for what we've left behind, and dreaming ahead.
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The way that same-sex marriage should reach the federal level is that it absolutely should be decided by the Supreme Court as quickly as possible. It's a 14th Amendment issue. There's no argument about it.
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Gay TV has been immensely important in transforming American culture in a more gay-positive direction.
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