I love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
Edward AbbeyRead
Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Conflict in relationships can indicate a deeper need for each other.
This quote by Edward Abbey suggests that contrary to the common perception that only harmonious couples are truly connected, even those who argue frequently may share a profound bond. The intensity of conflict can sometimes reflect a passionate interdependence, implying that love can manifest in various forms, including through struggles and disagreements.
Themes
RelationshipsLoveConflictMarriageBonding
In practice
Example use cases
During a relationship counseling session, when discussing the dynamics of love and conflict.
More from Edward Abbey
All quotes βIf it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
Edward AbbeyRead
The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
Edward AbbeyRead
I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
Edward AbbeyRead
Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
Edward AbbeyRead
Man's deliberate destruction of his own habitat -- planet Earth -- could serve as a mighty theme for a mighty book worthy of a modern Melville or Tolstoy. But our best fictioneers confine themselves to domestic drama -- soap opera with literary trimmings.
Edward AbbeyRead
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Human relationships didn't work anyhow. Only the first two weeks had any zing, then the participants lost their interest. Masks dropped away and real people began to appear: cranks, imbeciles, the demented, the vengeful, sadists, killers. Modern society had created its own kind and they feasted on each other. It was a duel to the death--in a cesspool.
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Let us be kinder to one another.
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She said that these were things all women knew yet seldom spoke of. Lastly she said that if women were drawn to rash men it was only that in their secret hearts they knew that a man who would not kill for them was of no use at all.
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Marriage is the only actual bondage known to our law. There remain no legal slaves, except the mistress of every house.
John Stuart MillRead