She had been wrong to think it wouldn't matter that much to him, yes,He took her for granted, of course he did , but he took her for granted - not like an old coat in the corner of a dark cupboard, as she'd put it to herself , but like the very air that he breathed .
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the importance of appreciation in relationships, highlighting how taking someone for granted can be deeper than neglect.
In this quote, Ahdaf Soueif conveys a poignant message about the often-unseen emotional dynamics in relationships. The speaker realizes that being taken for granted can manifest in profound ways, akin to how one perceives the essentiality of air. This emphasizes that neglect in a relationship, even if it appears subtle, can lead to feelings of invisibility and unimportance, suggesting that acknowledgment and appreciation are vital for mutual respect and love.
In practice
During a conversation about relationship dynamics, one might use this quote to illustrate the subtle ways in which partners can overlook each other's needs.
I haven't come to you only to take , I haven't come to you empty handed : I bring you poetry as great as yours but in anther tongue , I bring you black eyes and golden skin and curly hair , I bring you Islam and Luxor and Alexandria and Lutes and tambourines and date-palms and silk rugs and sunshine and incense and voluptuous ways
It is that happy stretch of time when the lovers set to chronicling their passion. When no glance, no tone of voice is so fleeting but it shines with significance. When each moment, each perception is brought out with care, unfolded like a precious gem from its layers of the softest tissue paper and laid in front of the beloved — turned this way and that, examined, considered.
When it's raining like this," said Naoko, "it feels as if we're the only ones in the world. I wish it would just keep raining so the three of us could stay together.
There were always in me, two women at least, one woman desperate and bewildered, who felt she was drowning and another who would leap into a scene, as upon a stage, conceal her true emotions because they were weaknesses, helplessness, despair, and present to the world only a smile, an eagerness, curiosity, enthusiasm, interest.
Nobody listens anymore. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me, I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough it'll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read.
Compassion is the basis of all truthful relationship: it means being present with love-for ourselves and for all life, including animals, fish, birds, and trees. Compassion is bringing our deepest truth into our actions, no matter how much the world seems to resist, because that is ultimately what we have to give this world and one another.
We live in a world where people can ridicule you at the push of the button. They can question you at the push of a button.
(Male) culture was (and is) parasitical, feeding on the emotional strength of women without reciprocity.
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