Behind every successful man is a woman, behind her is his wife.
Groucho MarxRead
John you say you met in an elevator. Was the elevator going up at the time, or down? This is very important, for going down in an elevator one always has that sinking feeling and for all I know you may have this confused with love. If you were going up, it is clearly a case of love at first sight.
Interpretation
The quote playfully contrasts the feelings associated with love and the discomfort of a sinking feeling in an elevator.
Groucho Marx humorously compares the emotional experiences of love to the physical experience of riding an elevator. If the elevator is going up, it's an uplifting experience akin to love at first sight; if it's going down, it creates an unsettling feeling that could be mistaken for love. This comparison highlights how our emotions can be influenced by both our physical and situational contexts.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the nature of love and how it affects us emotionally.
Behind every successful man is a woman, behind her is his wife.
Firefly: Where is your husband? Mrs. Teasdale: Why, he's dead. Firefly: I'll bet he's just using that as an excuse. Mrs. Teasdale: I was with him to the very end. Firefly: Hmmph. No wonder he passed away. Mrs. Teasdale: I held him in my arms and kissed him. Firefly: Oh I see. Then, it was murder.
Chico: "Here's the book, it's a dollar" Groucho: "Here's a ten, and shoot the change." Chico: "I don't have change I'd have to give you nine more books.
Gentlemen, Chicolini here may talk like an idiot, and look like an idiot, but don't let that fool you: he really is an idiot. I implore you, send him back to his father and brothers, who are waiting for him with open arms in the penitentiary. I suggest that we give him ten years in Leavenworth, or eleven years in Twelveworth.
Die, my dear? Why that's the last thing I'll do!
Let there be dancing in the streets, drinking in the saloons, and necking in the parlor.
A soul cannot live without loving. It must have something to love, for it was created to love.
I felt that thread that had come between us, tugging, tugging at my heart - so hard, it hurt me. A hundred times I almost rose, almost went in to her; a hundred times I thought, Go to her! Why are you waiting? Go back to her side! But every time, I thought of what would happen if I did. I knew that I couldn't lie beside her, without wanting to touch her. I couldn't have felt her breath upon my mouth, without wanting to kiss her. And I couldn't have kissed her, without wanting to save her.
My God,' he gasped, 'you're fun to kiss.
Love cures people - both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.
I will say that as I get older and calmer and quieter in my own self, the one quality in a woman that I find more and more attractive is kindness. A sense of adventure and humor is important too, but I truly find kindness and consideration for others to be the most attractive thing in anyone.
Twenty-seven people sang 'Wind Beneath My Wings' before I got around to it. A lot of people saw the movie that I sang it in, Beaches, and what they came away with was that song. They turned to their loved ones and said, 'You know, you are the wind beneath my wings!' The song expressed how they felt in a way a simple 'I love you' would not have.
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