[T]his jealousy gave him, if anything, an agreeable chill…
““[T]his jealousy gave him, if anything, an agreeable chill, as, to the sad Parisian who is leaving Venice behind him to return to France, a last mosquito proves that Italy and summer are still not too remote. But, as a rule, with this particular period of his life from which he was emerging, when he made an effort, if not to remain in it, at least to obtain a clear view of it while he still could, he discovered that already it was too late; he would have liked to glimpse, as though it were a landscape that was about to disappear, that love from which he had departed; but it was so difficult to enter into a state of duality and to present to oneself the lifelike spectacle of a feeling one has ceased to possess, that very soon, the clouds gathering in his brain, he could see nothing at all, abandoned the attempt, took the glasses from his nose and wiped them; and he told himself that he would do better to rest for a little, that there would be time enough later on, and settled back into his corner with the incuriosity, the torpor of the drowsy sleeper in the railway-carriage that is drawing him, he feels, faster and faster out of the country in which he has lived for so long and which he had vowed not to allow to slip away from him without looking out to bid it a last farewell.””
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 reflects on jealousy and the fleeting nature of love, realizing that trying to recapture past feelings creates a mental fog that obscures clarity.
In simple terms: Jealousy clouds memory of past love.
Accept loss, avoid clinging to past emotions.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- travel
- breakup
- self‑reflection
- creative writing
- philosophical contemplation
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What does it mean to truly let go of a past love?
- How can we honor memories without being consumed by them?
Attempting to relive lost love can trap you in confusion and prevent moving forward.