Married couples who quarrel bitterly every day may really need each other as deeply as those who appear to be desperately in love.
Edward AbbeyRead
I've wrecked and ravaged half my life in the pursuit of women, and I suffer the pangs of about seventeen regrets -- the seventeen who got away.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the regrets one may have in love and relationships, highlighting the emotional turmoil caused by past choices.
Edward Abbey's quote poignantly captures the idea of regret associated with romantic pursuits. It suggests that a significant portion of one's life may be spent in the chase for love, leading to a sense of loss or pain over missed opportunities. The number 'seventeen' signifies not just the quantity of relationships, but rather the depth of emotional impact each one had on the speaker, conveying a universal truth about the complexities of love and the haunting nature of what could have been.
Themes
RegretLoveRelationshipsPastLoss
In practice
Example use cases
In a reflective speech at a wedding, one might quote Abbey to emphasize the importance of appreciating love before it slips away.
More from Edward Abbey
All quotes βI love America because it is a confused, chaotic mess - and I hope we can keep it this way for at least another thousand years. The permissive society is the free society.
Edward AbbeyRead
If it's knowledge and wisdom you want, then seek out the company of those who do real work for an honest purpose.
Edward AbbeyRead
The earth is real. Only a fool, milking his cow, denies the cow's reality.
Edward AbbeyRead
I believe in nothing that I cannot touch, kiss, embrace.... The rest is only hearsay.
Edward AbbeyRead
Why can't we simply borrow what is useful to us from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, especially Zen, as we borrow from Christianity, science, American Indian traditions and world literature in general, including philosophy, and let the rest go hang? Borrow what we need but rely principally upon our own senses, common sense and daily living experience.
Edward AbbeyRead
Similar quotes
You are in a partnership with all other human beings, not a contest to be judged better than some and worse than others.
Wayne DyerRead
We were never lovers, and we never will be, now. I do not regret that, however. I regret the conversations we never had, the time we did not spend together. I regret that I never told him that he made me happy, when I was in his company. The world was the better for his being in it. These things alone do I now regret: things left unsaid. And he is gone, and I am old.
Neil GaimanRead
When you stop putting yourself on the line, and you don't touch your own heart, how do you expect to touch other people?
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Anti-Asian racism is very real, and it will not be solved with an opulent rom-com or Marvel superhero, but with you - the bystanders - acknowledging the validity of our pain.
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I think that a lot of people don't understand how much discrimination transgender people actually face. They think that we're just kind of saying it to put it out there and get sympathy, but that's not true at all.
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The reason that I'm here at all is because of my relationship with my family and their encouragement of me to be a musician and to work hard. As long as I stay there in that space, I can do anything. That's my truth.
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