It was a wonderful meal at Michaud’s after we got in; but…
““It was a wonderful meal at Michaud’s after we got in; but when we had finished and there was no question of hunger any more the feeling that had been like hunger when we were on the bridge was still there when we caught the bus home. It was there when we came in the room and after we had gone to bed and made love in the dark, it was there. When I woke with the windows open and the moonlight on the roofs of the tall houses, it was there. I put my face away from the moonlight into the shadow but I could not sleep and lay awake thinking about it. We had both wakened twice in the night and my wife slept sweetly now with the moonlight on her face. I had to try to think it out and I was too stupid. Life had seemed so simple that morning when I had waked and found the false spring and heard the pipes of the man with the herd of goats and gone out bought the racing paper. But Paris was a very old city and we were young and nothing was simple there, not even poverty, nor sudden money, nor the moonlight, nor right and wrong nor the breathing of someone who lay beside you in the moonlight.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
A lingering sense of longing persists despite changing circumstances and attempts to rationalize it.
In simple terms: Unshakable longing remains.
Key Takeaway
Acknowledge and process lingering feelings.
Themes
longing
memory
existential
urban life
Mood
melancholic
contemplative
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- nighttime reflection
- travel experiences
- relationship intimacy
- urban alienation
Key Concepts
existentialism
psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the lingering feeling represent?
- How can one find peace in a complex city?
A Different Perspective
The feeling may be a symptom of deeper unresolved issues.