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That farewell kiss which resembles greeting, that last glance of love which becomes the sharpest pang of sorrow.
George Eliot
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects the bittersweet nature of parting, where a goodbye can feel like a warm greeting yet also evokes profound sadness.

George Eliot's quote encapsulates the dual emotions present in farewells, illustrating how moments of parting can trigger feelings of love and connection, even as they also bring about our deepest sorrows. The farewell kiss symbolizes both affection and loss, highlighting how love remains entwined with pain. It reminds us that goodbyes can hold the essence of both joy and sorrow, leading to a poignant emotional experience that resonates deeply within us.

Themes

FarewellLoveSorrowPartingEmotion

In practice

Example use cases

During a eulogy, one might reflect on the beauty and pain of saying goodbye with this quote.

More from George Eliot

Go forward with joyful confidence.
George EliotRead
You must love your work, and not be always looking over the edge of it, wanting your play to begin. And the other is, you must not be ashamed of your work, and think it would be more honorable to you to be doing something else. You must have a pride in your own work and in learning to do it well.
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She thought it was part of the hardship of her life that there was laid upon her the burthen of larger wants than others seemed to feel – that she had to endure this wide hopeless yearning for that something, whatever it was, that was greatest and best on this earth.
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Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.
George EliotRead
I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.
George EliotRead
Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them: they can be injured by us, they can be wounded; they know all our penitence, all our aching sense that their place is empty, all the kisses we bestow on the smallest relic of their presence.
George EliotRead

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Beloved, gaze in thine own heart, The holy tree is growing there; From joy the holy branches start, And all the trembling flowers they bear. The changing colours of its fruit Have dowered the stars with metry light; The surety of its hidden root Has planted quiet in the night; The shaking of its leafy head Has given the waves their melody, And made my lips and music wed, Murmuring a wizard song for thee.
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Love measures our stature: the more we love, the bigger we are.
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