What was any art but a mould in which to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself - life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose.
Willa CatherRead
I suppose there were moonless nights and dark ones with but a silver shaving and pale stars in the sky, but I remember them all as flooded with the rich indolence of a full moon.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the beauty and memorable quality of moonlit nights, overshadowing darker experiences.
Willa Cather uses rich imagery to convey how certain nights, regardless of their actual conditions, can be remembered as illuminated and tranquil due to the overwhelming influence of a full moon. This suggests that our memories can transform ordinary or challenging experiences into something beautiful through the lens of perception.
Themes
MoonMemoryNaturePerceptionBeauty
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote to illustrate the importance of perspective in a discussion about memories.
More from Willa Cather
All quotes →That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.
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Our tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.
Willa CatherRead
Writing ought either to be the manufacture of stories for which there is a market demand - a business as safe and commendable as making soap or breakfast foods - or it should be an art, which is always a search for something for which there is no market demand, something new and untried, where the values are intrinsic and have nothing to do with standardized values.
Willa CatherRead
The air and the earth interpenetrated in the warm gusts of spring; the soil was full of sunlight, and the sunlight full of red dust. The air one breathed was saturated with earthy smells, and the grass under foot had a reflection of the blue sky in it.
Willa CatherRead
This is reality, whether you like it or not--all those frivolities of summer, the light and shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies, and this is what was underneath. This is the truth.
Willa CatherRead
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