Does not a man physically tremble under the mere look of a wild beast or fellow-man that is stronger than himself? Does not a woman redden all over when she feels her lover's eyes on her? How then should one doubt the mysterious power of one individual over another?
Interpretation
The quote highlights the powerful, often subconscious influence individuals have on one another, especially in intimate relationships.
Jane Welsh Carlyle's quote reflects on the profound impact that the presence and gaze of others can have on us. It emphasizes how a person can elicit strong emotional responses, such as fear or attraction, purely through their physical presence or awareness of our vulnerability. The observation of how both fear and love can create intense reactions underlines the mysterious and potent nature of interpersonal connections.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the dynamics of relationships during a psychology class.
How many precious things do we not already possess which others have not - have hardly an idea of! Let us enjoy these, then, and bless God that we are permitted to enjoy them, rather than importune His goodness with vain longings for more.
The surest way to get a thing in this life is to be prepared for doing without it, to the exclusion even of hope.
I declare I would rather be a kitten and cry, 'Mew!' than live as I see many of my female acquaintances do, tearing each other's characters to pieces, and wearing out their lives in vanity and vexation of spirit.
One feels as if it could never, never be less. And yet all griefs, when there is no bitterness in them, are soothed down by time.
But what are friends? What is a husband, even, compared with one's Mother? Of her love, one is always so sure! It is the only love that nothing - not even misconduct on our part - can take away from us.
Never does one feel oneself so utterly helpless as in trying to speak comfort for great bereavement.
I felt the first man I slept with must be intelligent, so I could respect him.
I am imperfect in a million ways, but I always thought I was the kind of woman, the kind of wife to whom a husband would be faithful.
Trust has to be earned, and should come only after the passage of time.
The concern that some women show at the absence of their husbands, does not arise from their not seeing them and being with them, but from their apprehension that their husbands are enjoying pleasures in which they do not participate, and which, from their being at a distance, they have not the power of interrupting.
My weaknesses have always been food and men - in that order.
We [need to] stop treating each other like that, stop calling each other fat and stop with these unrealistic expectations for women. It’s disappointing that the media keeps it alive and fuels that fire.
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