QuoteProject
Only solitary men know the full joys of frienship. Others have their family; but to a solitary and an exile, his friends are everything.
Willa Cather
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

True friends provide immense joy, especially to those who feel alone or apart from their families.

Willa Cather's quote underscores the profound significance of friendship, particularly for individuals who are solitary or feel disconnected from their families. For those who find themselves in isolation, friendships become essential, providing not just companionship but a source of joy and emotional support that family might not fulfill in the same way. In essence, for a solitary person, friends are not merely companions; they are vital to their happiness and sense of belonging.

Themes

FriendshipSolitudeJoyConnectionSupport

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about the importance of friendship during hard times.

More from Willa Cather

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
That 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

Similar quotes

Strangers are family you haven't recognize yet
Mitch AlbomRead
It is like taking the sun out of the world, to bereave human life of friendship.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead
Wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.
A. A. MilneRead
I never enjoyed my work more than when I worked with William Powell. He was a brilliant actor, a delightful companion, a great friend and, above all, a true gentleman.
Myrna LoyRead
Golf camaraderie, like that of astronauts and Antarctic explorers, is based on a common experience of transcendence; fat or thin, scratch or duffer, we have been somerwhere together where non-golfers never go.
John UpdikeRead
Don't be dismayed by good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.
Richard BachRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.