Gossip says she hanged herself from the turret on the tower, but when you have a house like Hill House with a tower and a turret, gossip would hardly allow you to hang yourself anywhere else.
Shirley JacksonRead
Journeys end in lovers meeting; I have spent an all but sleepless night, I have told lies and made a fool of myself, and the very air tastes like wine. I have been frightened half out of my foolish wits, but I have somehow earned this joy; I have been waiting for it for so long.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the joy and complexity of love, highlighting the emotional journey it entails.
In this quote, Shirley Jackson captures the essence of romantic love and the myriad experiences that accompany it. The speaker describes a tumultuous journey filled with sleepless nights, fear, and self-doubt, yet ultimately conveys a profound sense of joy that comes from the culmination of love. It speaks to the idea that the path to love can be fraught with challenges, but the rewards make it all worthwhile, suggesting that true love is a destination that is eagerly awaited.
Themes
LoveJourneyJoyEmotionsRelationships
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for a wedding toast celebrating the couple's journey together.
More from Shirley Jackson
All quotes →It watches," he added suddenly. "The house. It watches every move you make.
Shirley JacksonRead
There had not been this many words sounded in our house for a long time, and it was going to take a while to clean them out.
Shirley JacksonRead
Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.
Shirley JacksonRead
I can't help it when people are frightened," says Merricat. "I always want to frighten them more.
Shirley JacksonRead
I was pretending that I did not speak their language; on the moon we spoke a soft, liquid tongue, and sang in the starlight, looking down on the dead dried world.
Shirley JacksonRead
Similar quotes
I wanted to tell her that she was the first beautiful thing I had seen in three years. That the sight of her yawning to the back of her hand was enough to drive the breath from me. How I sometimes lost the sense of her words in the sweet fluting of her voice. I wanted to say that if she were with me then somehow nothing could ever be wrong for me again.
Patrick RothfussRead
The capacity to love is tied to being able to be awake, to being able to move out of yourself and be with someone else in a manner that is not about your desire to possess them, but to be with them, to be in union and communion.
Bell HooksRead
Is it not a sad thing that after all Christ's love to us, we should repay it with lukewarm love to Him?
Charles SpurgeonRead
When once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vice, constrained by the love of God.
Oswald ChambersRead
When I tried to draw near, you dissolved into air before my lips could touch you...
George SandRead
Often a man wishes to be alone and a girl wishes to be alone too and if they love each other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. But we were never lonely and never afraid when we were together.
Ernest HemingwayRead