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
Man's deliberate destruction of his own habitat -- planet Earth -- could serve as a mighty theme for a mighty book worthy of a modern Melville or Tolstoy. But our best fictioneers confine themselves to domestic drama -- soap opera with literary trimmings.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights humanity's negligence toward the environment and its focus on trivial domestic stories instead of significant ecological issues.
Edward Abbey suggests that the self-destructive behavior of humanity toward the planet should be a profound theme in literature, akin to the works of great authors like Melville or Tolstoy. He critiques contemporary authors for choosing to concentrate on mundane domestic dramas rather than addressing the pressing and monumental theme of environmental destruction, which is a critical issue that impacts all of humanity.
Themes
EnvironmentLiteratureSelf-DestructionHabitatEcology
In practice
Example use cases
In an environmental conference, one might quote Abbey to emphasize the urgency of ecological issues.
More from Edward Abbey
All quotes →I 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
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