Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
A marriage...makes of two fractional lives a whole; it gives to two purposeless lives a work, and doubles the strength of each to perform it; it gives to two questioning natures a reason for living, and something to live for; it will give a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, and a new mystery to life.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Marriage unites individuals, enhancing their lives and providing purpose.
In this quote, Mark Twain beautifully articulates the transformative power of marriage. He suggests that when two individuals come together in a committed partnership, they create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, giving meaning, strength, and joy to their lives. This union not only provides a shared purpose but also enriches their experiences of the world, making everything from sunshine to flowers more beautiful and meaningful. Essentially, marriage is portrayed as a journey that elevates life itself.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a wedding speech to highlight the significance of partnership.
More from Mark Twain
All quotes →The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
Similar quotes
A man's presence suggests what he is capable of doing to you or for you. By contrast, a woman's presence... defines what can and cannot be done to her.
Boys are beyond the range of anybody's sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years.
Matrimony is the union of meanness and martyrdom.
So what I say about Tracy is this: Tracy's big challenge is not having a Parkinson's patient for a husband. It's having me for a husband. I happen to be a Parkinson's patient.
Saying hello doesn't have an ROI. It's about building relationships.
He feared me as many men fear women: because their mistresses (or their wives) understand them. They are scarcely adult, some men: they wish women to understand them, and to that end they tell them all their secrets; and then, when they are properly understood, they hate their women for understanding them.