Of the widow's countless death-duties there is really just one that matters: on the first anniversary of her husband's death the widow should think I kept myself alive.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
Loneliness is like starvation: you don't realize how hungry you are until you begin to eat.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Loneliness can go unnoticed until one finds meaningful connection, similar to recognizing hunger only when eating.
Joyce Carol Oates draws a poignant comparison between loneliness and starvation, emphasizing how people often underestimate the depth of their emotional needs. Just as one might not recognize physical hunger until consuming food, individuals may not realize their longing for connection and companionship until they actively seek it. This metaphor highlights the importance of relationships in fulfilling the emotional void that loneliness creates.
Themes
LonelinessRelationshipsHungerConnectionEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on mental health awareness, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of community.
More from Joyce Carol Oates
All quotes βI never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I'm drawn to write about upstate New York in the way in which a dreamer might have recurring dreams. My childhood and girlhood were spent in upstate New York, in the country north of Buffalo and West of Rochester. So this part of New York state is very familiar to me and, with its economic difficulties, has become emblematic of much of American life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
My writing is often a way of 'bearing witness' for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won't be affected too much by my personal life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
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There's one sad truth in life I've found While journeying east and west - The only folks we really wound Are those we love the best. We flatter those we scarcely know, We please the fleeting guest, And deal full many a thoughtless blow To those who love us best.
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Absence may or may not make the heart grow fonder, but it certainly freshens the eye.
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It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I am, the more affection I have for them. It is pure affection, and filled with reverance for the solitude of others. Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers for what they are, not for what they say.
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