Know what we did, Lucy? You and me? We spent our whole lives yearning. Isn't that the God damndest thing?
Richard YatesRead
It haunted him all night, while he slept alone; it was still there in the morning, when he swallowed his coffee and backed down the driveway in the crumpled old Ford. And riding to work, one of the youngest and healthiest passengers on the train, he sat with the look of a man condemned to a very slow, painless death. He felt middle-aged.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on feelings of despair and the burdens of life that weigh heavily on an individual, regardless of their age or outward appearance.
In this quote, Richard Yates captures the essence of existential dread and the profound impact of inner turmoil that can overshadow one's existence. The protagonist's emotional state is juxtaposed with mundane actions of daily life, illustrating how deep-seated feelings of futility and resignation can persist even in moments that seem ordinary. Despite being young and healthy, the character feels trapped and aged by his thoughts, highlighting the struggle between external appearances and internal realities.
Themes
DespairExistentialBurdenLifeResignationInner Turmoil
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the pressures of modern life, this quote can highlight the silent struggles many face.
More from Richard Yates
All quotes →She was calm and quiet now with knowing what she had always known, what neither her parents nor Aunt Claire nor Frank nor anyone else had ever had to teach her: that if you wanted something to do something absolutely honest, something true, it always turned out to be a thing that had to be done alone.
Richard YatesRead
He found it so easy and so pleasant to cry that he didn’t try to stop for a while, until he realized he was forcing his sobs a little, exaggerating their depth with unnecessary shudders. … The whole point of crying is to quit before you coined it up. The whole point of grief itself was to cut it out while it was still honest, while it still meant something. Because the thing was so easily corrupted
Richard YatesRead
Do you know what the definition of insane is? Yes. It’s the inability to relate to another human being. It’s the inability to love.
Richard YatesRead
It's a disease. Nobody thinks or feels or cares any more; nobody gets excited or believes in anything except their own comfortable little God damn mediocrity.
Richard YatesRead
She just happened to feel like it. Wasn’t that after all, the only reason there was? Had she ever had a less selfish, more complicated reason for doing anything in her life?
Richard YatesRead
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