Art begins when a man, with a purpose of communicating to other people a feeling he once experienced, calls it up again within himself and expresses it by certain external signs.
Leo TolstoyRead
Man survives earthquakes, epidemics, the horrors of disease, and all the agonies of the soul, but for all time his tormenting tragedy is, and will be, the tragedy of the bedroom.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the deep emotional struggles and tragedies experienced in personal relationships, particularly in the context of intimacy.
Leo Tolstoy's quote highlights that while humanity can endure and overcome numerous external disasters and hardships, the most profound suffering often arises from personal relationships, particularly those occurring in the private sphere of the bedroom. This statement suggests that the complexities of love, intimacy, and personal connection create a unique form of tragedy that is persistent and deeply ingrained in the human experience.
Themes
RelationshipsTragedyLoveIntimacySuffering
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the emotional challenges faced in romantic relationships.
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People try to do all sorts of clever and difficult things to improve life instead of doing the simplest, easiest thing-refusing to participate in activities that make life bad.
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It's too easy to criticize a man when he's out of favour, and to make him shoulder the blame for everybody else's mistakes.
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Music is the shorthand of emotion. Emotions, which let themselves be described in words with such difficulty, are directly conveyed to man in music, and in that is its power and significance.
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A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor — such is my idea of happiness.
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