They are all alike you know. They hold their tongues for years and you think you're safe, but when the opportunity comes they remember everything.
She said she knew we were safe with you, and always would be, because once, when she asked you to, you'd given up the thing you most wanted." Archer received this strange communication in silence. His eyes remained unseeingly fixed on the thronged sunlit square below the window. At length he said in a low voice: "She never asked me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the deep trust and selflessness in a relationship, particularly in the context of sacrifice.
In this quote, Archer reflects on a moment that encapsulates the essence of love and sacrifice. It reveals how true affection often involves giving up one's deepest desires for the sake of another's comfort and security. The acknowledgment that someone felt safe due to this sacrifice highlights the profound impact of love that prioritizes the well-being of others over personal wants. Archer's contemplation of the memory suggests a lingering connection to unfulfilled expectations and the complexities of devotion.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a wedding speech to highlight the sacrifices made in a loving relationship.
More from Edith Wharton
All quotes →They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods
Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.
And I wonder, among all the tangles of this mortal coil, which one contains tighter knots to undo, & consequently suggests more tugging, & pain, & diversified elements of misery, than the marriage tie.
As he paid the hansom and followed his wife's long train into the house he took refuge in the comforting platitude that the first six months were always the most difficult in marriage. 'After that I suppose we shall have pretty nearly finished rubbing off each other’s angles,' he reflected; but the worst of it was that May's pressure was already bearing on the very angles whose sharpness he most wanted to keep
There are two ways to spread happiness; either be the light who shines it or be the mirror who reflects it.
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No woman is worth more than a fiver unless you're in love with her. Then she's worth all she costs you.
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Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning. Dream is also just a word until you decide to fight for it with all your enthusiasm and commitment
These two are not two, love has made them one. Amo Ergo Sum! And by its mystery each is no less but more.
Why do I write? I have been called a writer of catastrophes, but that isn't true. I am always looking for words of love. Hate will not save us. Only love.