I thought it very touching to see these two women, coarse and shabby and beaten, so united; to see what they could be to one another; to see how they felt for one another, how the heart of each to each was softened by the hard trials of their lives. I think the best side of such people is almost hidden from us. What the poor are to the poor is little known, excepting to themselves and God.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the deep bond and empathy shared between individuals facing hardship.
In this reflection, Charles Dickens emphasizes the profound connection that can exist between those who endure struggles and adversities together. He observes two women who, despite their coarse and shabby appearances, display a touching unity that reveals the resilience and compassion of the human spirit. Dickens suggests that the true essence of these friendships formed in hardship is often unnoticed by the outside world, yet it is profoundly meaningful to those who share it, understood only by themselves and the divine.
In practice
During a speech about community support, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of friendship in overcoming adversity.
I recollected one story there was in the village, how that on a certain night in the year (it might be that very night for anything I knew), all the dead people came out of the ground and sat at the heads of their own graves till morning.
A silent look of affection and regard when all other eyes are turned coldly away-the consciousness that we possess the sympathy and affection of one being when all others have deserted us-is a hold, a stay, a comfort, in the deepest affliction, which no wealth could purchase, or power bestow.
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
There are not a few among the disciples of charity who require, in their vocation, scarcely less excitement than the votaries of pleasure in theirs.
You might, from your appearance, be the wife of Lucifer,” said Miss Pross, in her breathing. “Nevertheless, you shall not get the better of me. I am an Englishwoman.
Christmas is a poor excuse every 25th of December to pick a man's pockets.
We often talk too much & listen too little. The surer route to winning a friend isn't to convince them that you're right, but that you care what they think.
One of the brightest lights of our time-a brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman.
We are all good friends. Friendship is what endures. Shared ideals, respect for the whole character of a human being.
Adversity shows whether we have friends, or only the shadows of friends.
No guest is so welcome in a friend's house that he will not become a nuisance after three days.
Only solitary men know the full joys of frienship. Others have their family; but to a solitary and an exile, his friends are everything.
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