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
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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 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
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