Ma's still nodding. "You're the one who matters, though. Just you." I shake my head till it's wobbling because there's no just me.
At the door, there was one of those moment when two people realize that they like each other more than they know each other. This is nicer than the opposite situation, but more awkward. You try to remember the protocol for touching. You hate to gush, or presume to much, yet you are unwilling to let the moment pass without without some gesture
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the awkward yet exciting moment when two people feel a connection that surpasses their familiarity with each other.
In this quote by Emma Donoghue, she captures the delicate and often awkward experience of two individuals who find themselves attracted to one another, despite not knowing each other well. It highlights the tension of wanting to connect and express feelings while navigating the uncertainties of social norms and the fear of overstepping boundaries. This moment signifies the potential for deeper intimacy, but also the hesitation that comes from the lack of a shared history.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about the beauty of unexpected romantic moments.
More from Emma Donoghue
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Books are the air I breathe, so I don't notice the seasons.
Writing stories is my way of scratching that itch: my escape from the claustrophobia of individuality. It lets me, at least for a while, live more than one life, walk more than one path. Reading, of course, can do the same.
...real loneliness is having no one to miss. Think yourself lucky you've known something worth missing.
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I am not sure that the inner world of teenage girls has changed. What's most important to kids today is still the same stuff.
Even though people may be well known, they hold in their hearts the emotions of a simple person for the moments that are the most important of those we know on earth: birth, marriage and death.
Empathy is the faculty to resonate with the feelings of others. When we meet someone who is joyful, we smile. When we witness someone in pain, we suffer in resonance with his or her suffering.
But maybe a man was nothing but a man, which is what Baby Suggs always said. They encouraged you to put some of your weight in their hands and soon as you felt how light and lovely that was, they studied your scars and tribulations, after which they did what he had done: ran her children out and tore up the house. [...] A man ain't nothing but a man,' said Baby Suggs. 'But a son? Well now, that's somebody.
Understanding of our fellow human beings...becomes fruitful only when it is sustained by sympathetic feelings in joy and sorrow.
But with a sigh he had released her hand, while she was so lost in the fantasy that she hadn't felt it go away, as if he'd known the best moment to let go.