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What was this yearning, tearing at her insides like hunger…

“What was this yearning, tearing at her insides like hunger and thirst? It couldn't be love. Love was warm and soft, like a bed of leaves. But this was dark, like the shade under a poisonous shrub, and it was hungry. So hungry. It must have some other name, just as there couldn't be the same word…” quote by Cornelia Funke
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““What was this yearning, tearing at her insides like hunger and thirst? It couldn't be love. Love was warm and soft, like a bed of leaves. But this was dark, like the shade under a poisonous shrub, and it was hungry. So hungry. It must have some other name, just as there couldn't be the same word for life and death, or for moon and sun””

Cornelia Funke

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A deep, unnamed yearning is contrasted with love, suggesting a primal, possibly destructive desire beyond conventional emotion.

In simple terms: A powerful, unknown longing exists.

Key Takeaway

Identify and understand your hidden drives.

Themes

desire identity conflict

Mood

introspective melancholic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

  • relationship turmoil
  • creative inspiration
  • personal growth
  • existential questioning

Key Concepts

psychology mythology

Questions to Reflect On

  • What hidden longing drives you?
  • How does it differ from love?
A Different Perspective

The feeling may be harmful if unexamined.

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