Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
I saw men whom thirty years had changed but slightly; but their wives had grown old. These were good women; it is very wearing to be good.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the toll that time and caregiving can take on women in relationships, often contrasting with their partners' relatively unchanged appearance.
Mark Twain reflects on the passage of time and its effects on personal relationships, particularly emphasizing how the burden of goodness and care can visibly age women more than men. The quote reveals a deeper commentary on gender roles and the societal expectations placed on women, suggesting that while men may retain their youthfulness, the emotional and physical labor of being a 'good' woman significantly impacts their vitality.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a panel discussion on gender roles, this quote could illustrate the emotional labor women undertake.
More from Mark Twain
All quotes βThe 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.
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Vladimir: Did I ever leave you? Estragon: You let me go.
Don't trust the person who has broken faith once.