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
For what endless years this life will have to go on! He felt, with a kind of horror, his own strong youth and the bounding blood in his veins.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the struggle of living with the awareness of time and the persistence of youth amidst the inevitability of life's challenges.
In this quote by Edith Wharton, the speaker grapples with the concept of life stretching on endlessly, conjuring feelings of both horror and vitality. This juxtaposition of the vibrant energy of youth against the daunting passage of time highlights the human experience of contemplating mortality while simultaneously feeling the pulse of life and ambition. It suggests a complex relationship with existence, where youth symbolizes potential and intensity, but also an unsettling awareness of the future.
Themes
LifeYouthTimeExistenceHorror
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a graduation speech to inspire young people to embrace the challenges of life.
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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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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