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
There's nothing grimmer than the tragedy that wears a comic mask.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that sometimes sorrow and tragedy are hidden behind a facade of humor.
Edith Wharton's quote highlights the stark contrast between outward appearances and inner realities, indicating that a facade of comedy can often mask deeper, more tragic emotions. It suggests that humor may be used as a coping mechanism to deal with pain, emphasizing the complexity of human emotions where the external mask can be deceiving.
Themes
TragedyComedyMaskEmotionsHumanFacade
In practice
Example use cases
During a stand-up comedy routine, a comedian might reference this quote to discuss the irony of using humor to deal with tragic life events.
More from Edith Wharton
All quotes βThey seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods
Edith WhartonRead
Set wide the window. Let me drink the day.
Edith WhartonRead
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.
Edith WhartonRead
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 otherβs 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
Similar quotes
Adolescence: The stage between puberty and adultery.
Ambrose BierceRead
You can't study comedy; it's within you. It's a personality. My humor is an attitude.
Don RicklesRead
Almost every comedy you see is about people making all wrong choices and making all the errors of judgement possible. Good comedy is when it works on this scale. Because it is psychologically very real.
Colin FirthRead
A sense of humor is the main measure of sanity.
Hunter S. ThompsonRead
Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.
Kurt VonnegutRead
Dogs need to sniff the ground; it's how they keep abreast of current events. The ground is a giant dog newspaper, containing all kinds of late-breaking dog news items, which, if they are especially urgent, are often continued in the next yard.
Dave BarryRead