I gave him my heart, and he took and pinched it to death; and flung it back to me. People feel with their hearts, Ellen, and since he has destroyed mine, I have not power to feel for him.
Emily BronteRead
I pray every night that I may live after him; because I would rather be miserable than that he should be — that proves I love him better than myself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True love prioritizes the happiness of the beloved over one's own comfort or joy.
In this quote, Emily Bronte conveys a profound sense of selflessness associated with love. The speaker expresses a willingness to endure personal suffering rather than allow their loved one to face any misery, emphasizing that their love is greater than their own desires or well-being. This reflects the idea that true love entails sacrificing one's own happiness for the sake of another's joy, showcasing the deep emotional bonds that exist in genuine relationships.
Themes
LoveSelflessnessSacrificeRelationshipsHappiness
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a wedding speech to highlight the nature of commitment in love.
More from Emily Bronte
All quotes →I ran to the children's room: their door was ajar, I saw they had never laid down, though it was past midnight; but they were calmer, and did not need me to console them. The little souls were comforting each other with better thoughts than I could have hit on: no parson in the world ever pictured heaven so beautifully as they did, in their innocent talk; and, while I sobbed, and listened. I could not help wishing we were all there safe together.
Emily BronteRead
Vain are the thousand creeds That move men's hearts, unutterably vain; Worthless as withered weeds, Or idlest froth amid the boundless main.
Emily BronteRead
Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.
Emily BronteRead
He had been content with daily labour and rough animal enjoyments, 'till Catherine crossed his path. Shame at her scorn, and hope of her approval, were his first prompts to higher pursuits; and, instead of guarding him from one and winning him to the other, his endeavors to raise himself had produced just the contrary result.
Emily BronteRead
And, even yet, I dare not let it languish, Dare not indulge in memory's rapturous pain; Once drinking deep of that divinest anguish, How could I seek the empty world again?
Emily BronteRead
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I wish I could love people as you do, Molly!' 'Don't you?' said the other, in surprise. 'No. A good number of people love me, I believe, or at least they think they do; but I never seem to care much for any one. I do believe I love you, little Molly, whom I have only known for ten days, better than any one.
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It's the ones who resist that we most want to kiss, wouldn't you say?
George MichaelRead