Of the widow's countless death-duties there is really just one that matters: on the first anniversary of her husband's death the widow should think I kept myself alive.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
Most people think that a widow is inhabiting some elegiac world of - it's like Mozart's 'Requiem Mass.' You know, it's very beautiful and elevated thoughts and some measure of dignity. I didn't have that experience at all. I had one pratfall after another.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the contrast between societal perceptions of widowhood and the speaker's actual experience of it, which is filled with challenges and humor.
Joyce Carol Oates reflects on the common misconception that widowhood is a state filled with dignity and elevated emotions, akin to the beauty found in Mozart's 'Requiem Mass.' Instead, she shares a personal account of her experience, which is marked by a series of humorous and challenging moments, revealing a more relatable and down-to-earth perspective on grief and loss.
Themes
WidowhoodGriefHumorPerceptionExperience
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about overcoming personal challenges, one might share this quote to illustrate the unexpected and often humorous side of dealing with grief.
More from Joyce Carol Oates
All quotes →I never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I'm drawn to write about upstate New York in the way in which a dreamer might have recurring dreams. My childhood and girlhood were spent in upstate New York, in the country north of Buffalo and West of Rochester. So this part of New York state is very familiar to me and, with its economic difficulties, has become emblematic of much of American life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
My writing is often a way of 'bearing witness' for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won't be affected too much by my personal life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
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