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How pleasant,' Dona said, peeling her fruit; 'the rest of us can only run away from time to time, and however much we pretend to be free, we know it is only for a little while - our hands and our feet are tied.
Daphne Du Maurier
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on the illusion of freedom and the constraints of time that bind us all.

In this quote, Daphne Du Maurier expresses the idea that while people may seek moments of escape or freedom from their daily lives, such experiences are ultimately temporary. It suggests that despite our attempts to detach ourselves from our responsibilities or the passage of time, we remain bound by constraints that limit our perceived freedom, highlighting a deeper philosophical understanding of our existence and the nature of true freedom.

Themes

FreedomTimeIllusionConstraintsPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a discussion about how people escape from reality through vacations.

More from Daphne Du Maurier

...the routine of life goes on, whatever happens, we do the same things, go through the little performance of eating, sleeping, washing. No crisis can break through the crust of habit.
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here was a silence between them for a moment, and she wondered if all women, when in love, were torn between two impulses, a longing to throw modesty and reserve to the winds and confess everything, and an equal determination to conceal the love forever, to be cool, aloof, utterly detached, to die rather than admit a thing so personal, so intimate.
Daphne Du MaurierRead
She had to live in this bright, red gabled house with the nurse until it was time for her to die... I thought how little we know about the feelings of old people. Children we understand, their fears and hopes and make-believe.
Daphne Du MaurierRead
We are all ghosts of yesterday, and the phantom of tomorrow awaits us alike in sunshine or in shadow, dimly perceived at times, never entirely lost.
Daphne Du MaurierRead
A familiar name on its own, however, does not carry its bearer far unless the talent is there, and the will to work.
Daphne Du MaurierRead
Here was the freedom I desired, long sought-for, not yet known Freedom to write, to walk, to wander, freedom to climb hills, to pull a boat, to be alone.
Daphne Du MaurierRead

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