I never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
Of the widow's countless death-duties there is really just one that matters: on the first anniversary of her husband's death the widow should think I kept myself alive.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The most important responsibility of a widow is to prioritize her own survival and well-being after the loss of her husband.
This quote emphasizes the profound and often overlooked duty a widow has towards herself in the aftermath of her husband's death. It suggests that amid the grief and responsibilities that come with loss, the most crucial aspect is to remember to take care of one's own emotional and physical health, reinforcing the idea that survival and self-preservation are vital first steps in healing and continuing life.
Themes
WidowGriefSurvivalSelf-CareLoss
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about overcoming adversity, one might quote this to highlight the strength required to move forward after a loss.
More from Joyce Carol Oates
All quotes →I'm drawn to write about upstate New York in the way in which a dreamer might have recurring dreams. My childhood and girlhood were spent in upstate New York, in the country north of Buffalo and West of Rochester. So this part of New York state is very familiar to me and, with its economic difficulties, has become emblematic of much of American life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
My writing is often a way of 'bearing witness' for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won't be affected too much by my personal life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
When my brother called to inform me, on the morning of May 22, 2003, that our mother Caroline Oates had died suddenly of a stroke, it was a shock from which, in a way, I have yet to recover.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
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