One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
Prince Rhaegar loved his Lady Lyanna, and thousands died for it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the profound impact of love, suggesting that it can lead to significant sacrifice and turmoil.
In this quote, George R. R. Martin illustrates the theme of love's power and its potential to drive individuals to extreme actions. The mention of Rhaegar's love for Lyanna, which results in the death of thousands, emphasizes that love can be both beautiful and destructive, capable of influencing the course of events in profound and tragic ways.
Themes
LoveSacrificePassionTragedyConsequences
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the sacrifices people make for love when addressing a group about relationships.
More from George R. R. Martin
All quotes βI hate outlines. I have a broad sense of where the story is going; I know the end, I know the end of the principal characters, and I know the major turning points and events from the books, the climaxes for each book, but I don't necessarily know each twist and turn along the way. That's something I discover in the course of writing and that's what makes writing enjoyable. I think if I outlined comprehensively and stuck to the outline the actual writing would be boring.
George R. R. MartinRead
There is only one god and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: βNot today.
George R. R. MartinRead
I did not do it. Yet now I wish I had.β He turned to face the hall, that sea of pale faces. βI wish I had enough poison for you all. You make me sorry that I am not the monster you would have me be, yet there it is. I am innocent, but I will get no justice here.
George R. R. MartinRead
But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. 'Life is not a song, sweetling,' he'd told her, 'You may learn that one day to your sorrow.' In life, the monsters win, she told herself.
George R. R. MartinRead
I write from this tight third-person viewpoint, where each chapter is seen through the eyes of one individual character. When I'm writing that character, I become that character and identify with that character.
George R. R. MartinRead
Similar quotes
I wish to believe in immortality-I wish to live with you forever.
John KeatsRead
What are you thinking?β She asks. -That you are beautiful. That not everyone could see it. I almost became the kind of person who could not.
Mary GaitskillRead
In the end it is nothing other than the loving kindness with which the woman cares for her child that makes the difference. Her concern concentrates on one thing just like the Buddhist practice of concentration. She thinks of nothing but her child, which is similar to Buddhist compassion. That must be why, although she created no other causes to bring about it, she was reborn in the Brahma heaven.
Gautama BuddhaRead
And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the bus, melting with sorrow and loveliness, a starry ache that lifted me up above the windswept city like a kite: my head in the rainclouds, my heart in the sky.
Donna TarttRead
She liked the way his smile took a long time to arrive and just as long to leave.
Maggie O'FarrellRead
The Mask "Put off that mask of burning gold With emerald eyes." "O no, my dear, you make so bold To find if hearts be wild and wise, And yet not cold." "I would but find what's there to find, Love or deceit." "It was the mask engaged your mind, And after set your heart to beat, Not what's behind." "But lest you are my enemy, I must enquire." "O no, my dear, let all that be, What matter, so there is but fire In you, in me?"
William Butler YeatsRead