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I love my mother, but there has been, ever since my boyhood, a sort of coldness of intercourse between us, such as is apt to come between people of strong feelings.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote expresses a complex relationship between the speaker and their mother, characterized by love but also emotional distance.

Nathaniel Hawthorne reflects on the relationship with his mother, acknowledging a deep love for her while also recognizing a persistent emotional distance that has existed since his childhood. This 'coldness of intercourse' suggests that intense feelings can sometimes complicate familial connections, leading to a relationship that is both affectionate and estranged.

Themes

MotherLoveRelationshipEmotional DistanceFamily

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be referenced during a discussion about the emotional complexities of parent-child relationships.

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Let men tremble to win the hand of woman, unless they win along with it the utmost passion of her heart! Else it may be their miserable fortune, when some mightier touch than their own may have awakened all her sensibilities, to be reproached even for the calm content, the marble image of happiness, which they will have imposed upon her as the warm reality.
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The thing you set your mind on is the thing you ultimately become.
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