Oh, anywhere, driver, anywhere - it doesn't matter. Just…
““Oh, anywhere, driver, anywhere - it doesn't matter. Just keep driving. It's better here in this taxi than it was walking. It's no good my trying to walk. There is always a glimpse through the crowd of someone who looks like him—someone with his swing of the shoulders, his slant of the hat. And I think it's he, I think he's come back. And my heart goes to scalding water and the buildings sway and bend above me. No, it's better to be here. But I wish the driver would go fast, so fast that people walking by would be a long gray blur, and I could see no swinging shoulders, no slanted hat. Dorothy Parker, Sentiment, Harper's Bazaar, May 1933.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The narrator longs to escape painful memories by staying in a moving taxi, hoping speed will blur reminders of a lost loved one.
In simple terms: Running away from grief by staying in motion.
Key Takeaway
Seek healing, not distraction.
Themes
grief
escape
memory
longing
urban life
Mood
melancholic
reflective
yearning
Type
literary
personal
emotional
When to use this quote
- taxi ride
- city walking
- processing loss
- avoidance of triggers
Key Concepts
psychology
nostalgia
urban alienation
Questions to Reflect On
- What do you chase to avoid confronting loss?
- Can movement truly heal heartache?
A Different Perspective
Speed cannot erase emotional pain, only mask it temporarily.