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
Old people, who have felt blows and toil and known the world's hard hand, need, even more than children do, a woman's tenderness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Elderly individuals, having faced life's hardships, require warmth and care more intensively than children do.
This quote by Willa Cather emphasizes the need for compassion and tenderness towards the elderly. It highlights how, after experiencing life's difficulties and burdens, older individuals may long for the nurturing qualities often associated with femininity, suggesting that emotional support is crucial for their well-being, just as it is for children who are still growing and developing.
Themes
ElderlyTendernessCareRelationshipsCompassion
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about elderly care, this quote could be used to emphasize the need for compassion.
More from Willa Cather
All quotes βThat is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.
Willa CatherRead
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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