She had been wrong to think it wouldn't matter that much to him, yes,He took her for granted, of course he did , but he took her for granted - not like an old coat in the corner of a dark cupboard, as she'd put it to herself , but like the very air that he breathed .
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the importance of appreciation in relationships, highlighting how taking someone for granted can be deeper than neglect.
In this quote, Ahdaf Soueif conveys a poignant message about the often-unseen emotional dynamics in relationships. The speaker realizes that being taken for granted can manifest in profound ways, akin to how one perceives the essentiality of air. This emphasizes that neglect in a relationship, even if it appears subtle, can lead to feelings of invisibility and unimportance, suggesting that acknowledgment and appreciation are vital for mutual respect and love.
In practice
During a conversation about relationship dynamics, one might use this quote to illustrate the subtle ways in which partners can overlook each other's needs.
I haven't come to you only to take , I haven't come to you empty handed : I bring you poetry as great as yours but in anther tongue , I bring you black eyes and golden skin and curly hair , I bring you Islam and Luxor and Alexandria and Lutes and tambourines and date-palms and silk rugs and sunshine and incense and voluptuous ways
It is that happy stretch of time when the lovers set to chronicling their passion. When no glance, no tone of voice is so fleeting but it shines with significance. When each moment, each perception is brought out with care, unfolded like a precious gem from its layers of the softest tissue paper and laid in front of the beloved — turned this way and that, examined, considered.
No matter how lonely you get or how many birth announcements you receive, the trick is not to get frightened. There's nothing wrong with being alone.
Domestic violence does not only happen to adults. Forty percent of girls age 14 to 17 report knowing someone their age who has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend, and approximately one in five female high school students reports being physically and sexually abused by a dating partner.
If you walk down the street and see someone in a box, you have a choice. That person is either the other and you're fearful of them, or that person is an extension of your family.
Arthur Miller wouldn't have married me if I had been nothing but a dumb blonde.
I talked and talked of everything I know about the white man's inhuman treatment of the Negro.
A house does not need a wife any more than it needs a husband.
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