It's impossible to write about Native life without humor-that's how people maintain sanity.
Louise ErdrichRead
I am part of what she thinks is her illness, a symptom of which she thinks she has been cured. She, on the other hand, is what I was looking for.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the complex interplay between identity and perception in relationships, highlighting how one's health and self-concept can be intertwined with another's needs or perceptions.
In this quote, Louise Erdrich explores the intricate dynamics of relationships where personal struggles, such as illness, can affect not just oneself but also the people who are close to them. The speaker feels intertwined with another person's perception of her illness, suggesting that healing or understanding can sometimes depend on how others see us. It underscores the idea that while one person may be longing for healing or completeness, the other has their own vulnerabilities and expectations, ultimately emphasizing the deep connection and misunderstanding that can exist in intimate relationships.
Themes
RelationshipsPerceptionIdentityHealingIntimacy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about mental health awareness during a seminar, this quote can emphasize the importance of understanding the interplay between personal challenges and relationships.
More from Louise Erdrich
All quotes →It was just enough to sit there without words.
Louise ErdrichRead
Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won't either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart.
Louise ErdrichRead
The world tips away when we look into our children's faces.
Louise ErdrichRead
...which causes me to wonder, my own purpose on so many days as humble as the spider's, what is beautiful that I make? What is elegant? What feeds the world?
Louise ErdrichRead
Her mind was present because she was always gone. Her hands were filled because they grasped the meaning of empty. Life was simple. Her husband returned and she served him with indifferent patience this time. When he asked what had happened to her heat for him, she gestured to the west. The sun was setting. The sky was a body of fire.
Louise ErdrichRead
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I will never have a photograph of her to carry around in my pocket. I will never have a letter in her handwriting, or a scrap-book of everything we've done. I will never share an apartment with her in the city. I will never know if we are listening to the same song at the same time. We will not grow old together. I will not be the person she calls when she's in trouble. She will not be the person I call when I have stories to tell. I will never be able to keep anything she's given to me.
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When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them.
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