God how I hate new countries: They are older than the old, more sophisticated, much more conceited, only young in a certain puerile vanity more like senility than anything.
D. H. LawrenceRead
But that is how men are! Ungrateful and never satisfied. When you don't have them they hate you because you won't; and when you do have them they hate you again, for some other reason. Or for no reason at all, except that they are discontented children, and can't be satisfied whatever they get, let a woman do what she may.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the inherent dissatisfaction and ingratitude present in human relationships, particularly from men towards women.
D. H. Lawrence portrays a cynical view of human nature, suggesting that people, especially men, are often ungrateful and perpetually dissatisfied. This discontent manifests as fluctuating emotions towards women, where they seem to base their feelings on momentary whims rather than on any consistent appreciation or acknowledgment. The statement implies that some individuals act like discontented children, incapable of recognizing the efforts or merits of others, thus creating a challenging dynamic in relationships.
Themes
RelationshipsDissatisfactionIngratitudeHuman NatureDiscontent
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on human relationships, this quote can highlight the challenges couples face.
More from D. H. Lawrence
All quotes →A young man is afraid of his demon and puts his hand over the demon's mouth sometimes and speaks for him. And the things the young man says are very rarely poetry.
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And besides, look at elder flowers and bluebells-they are a sign that pure creation takes place - even the butterfly. But humanity never gets beyond the caterpillar stage -it rots in the chrysalis, it never will have wings.It is anti-creation, like monkeys and baboons.
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The Christian fear of the pagan outlook has damaged the whole consciousness of man.
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The cosmos is a vast living body, of which we are still parts. The sun is a great heart whose tremors run through our smallest veins. The moon is a great nerve center from which we quiver forever. Who knows the power that Saturn has over us, or Venus? But it is a vital power, rippling exquisitely through us all the time.
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... he preferred his own madness, to the regular sanity. He rejoiced in his own madness, he was free. He did not want that old sanity of the world, which was become so repulsive. He rejoiced in the new-found world of his madness. It was so fresh and delicate and so satisfying.
D. H. LawrenceRead
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