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.
Edith WhartonRead
She felt a stealing sense of fatigue as she walked; the sparkle had died out of her, and the taste of life was stale on her lips. She hardly knew what she had been seeking, or why the failure to find it had so blotted the light from her sky: she was only aware of a vague sense of failure, of an inner isolation deeper than the loneliness about her.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a profound sense of inner conflict and existential fatigue in the search for meaning and fulfillment.
In this quote, Edith Wharton captures the essence of a person's struggle with existential fatigue and the sense of isolation that comes from feeling unfulfilled. As the character walks, she experiences a deep inner conflict characterized by a loss of sparkle and vitality, suggesting that the pursuit of meaning in life can lead to feelings of emptiness and a disconnection from oneself and the surrounding world. This poignant reflection highlights the human experience of seeking purpose while grappling with feelings of inadequacy and loneliness.
Themes
FatigueIsolationFailureSearchLifeMeaning
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about perseverance in the face of adversity.
More from Edith Wharton
All quotes →They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods
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Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.
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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.
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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
Edith WhartonRead
There are two ways to spread happiness; either be the light who shines it or be the mirror who reflects it.
Edith WhartonRead
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