Love, whether newly born, or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, this it overflows upon the outward world.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
She wanted—what some people want throughout life—a grief that should deeply touch her, and thus humanize and make her capable of sympathy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a desire for profound experiences that foster empathy and connection with others.
In this quote, Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the notion that some individuals seek out life experiences that evoke deep feelings of grief. This longing for grief is not merely for sorrow's sake, but rather an understanding that such experiences can enrich one's humanity and enhance the capacity for empathy and sympathy towards others, suggesting that emotional depth is essential for meaningful connections in life.
Themes
GriefEmpathyHumanitySympathyExperience
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about personal growth, one might quote Hawthorne to illustrate the transformative power of grief.
More from Nathaniel Hawthorne
All quotes →A bodily disease which we look upon as whole and entire within itself, may after all, be but a symptom of some ailment in the spiritual part.
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All merely graceful attributes are usually the most evanescent.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
There is so much wretchedness in the world, that we may safely take the word of any mortal professing to need our assistance; and, even should we be deceived, still the good to ourselves resulting from a kind act is worth more than the trifle by which we purchase it.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
Let men tremble to win the hand of woman, unless they win along with it the utmost passion of her heart! Else it may be their miserable fortune, when some mightier touch than their own may have awakened all her sensibilities, to be reproached even for the calm content, the marble image of happiness, which they will have imposed upon her as the warm reality.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
The thing you set your mind on is the thing you ultimately become.
Nathaniel HawthorneRead
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