It is greater than the stars - that moving procession of human energy; greater than the palpitating earth and the things growing thereon.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the profound and dynamic nature of human energy and its significance over the physical elements of the universe.
In this quote, Kate Chopin reflects on the extraordinary power and vitality of human existence, suggesting that the collective energy of humanity surpasses even the grandeur of the stars and the life on Earth. This perspective encourages appreciation for human potential and interconnectedness, highlighting that our actions and relationships hold immense value in the grand scheme of existence.
In practice
During a motivational speech on the importance of teamwork, you might quote this to emphasize the power of collective human effort.
She looked into the distance, and the old terror flamed up for an instant, then sank again. Edna heard her father's voice and her sister Margaret's. She heard the barking of an old dog that was chained to the sycamore tree. The spurs of the cavalry officer clanged as he walked across the porch. There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air. (last lines)
There were days when she was unhappy, she did not know why,--when it did not seem worthwhile to be glad or sorry, to be alive or dead; when life appeared to her like a grotesque pandemonium and humanity like worms struggling blindly toward inevitable annihilation.
She's got some sort of notion in her head concerning the eternal rights of women.
Well, for instance, when I left her today, she put her arms around me and felt my shoulder blades, to see if my wings were strong, she said.
I would give up the unessential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself.
There would be no one there to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistance with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.
Must not all things at the last be swallowed up in death?
Free grace will fix those whom free will shook down into a gulf of misery.
It was a time when only the dead smiled, happy in their peace.
I began thinking about my skeleton, this solid, beautiful thing inside me that I would never see.
The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naΓ―ve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.
When wealth is centralized, the people are dispersed. When wealth is distributed, the people are brought together.
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