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The clear liquid in our eyes is seawater and therefore…

“The clear liquid in our eyes is seawater and therefore there are fish in our eyes, seawater being the natural medium of fish. Since blue and green are the colours of the richest seawater, blue and green eyes are the fishiest. Dark eyes are somewhat less fecund and albino eyes are nearly fishless…” quote by Yann Martel
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““The clear liquid in our eyes is seawater and therefore there are fish in our eyes, seawater being the natural medium of fish. Since blue and green are the colours of the richest seawater, blue and green eyes are the fishiest. Dark eyes are somewhat less fecund and albino eyes are nearly fishless, sadly so. But the quantity of fish in an eye means nothing. A single tigerfish can be as beautiful, as powerful, as an entire school of seafaring tuna. That science has never observed ocular fish does nothing to refute my theory; on the contrary, it emphasizes the key hypothesis, which is: love is the food of eye fish and only love will bring them out. So to look closely into someone's eyes with cold, empirical interest is like the rude tap-tap of a finder on an aquarium, which only makes the fish flee. In a similar vein, when I took to looking at myself closely in mirrors during the turmoil of adolescence, the fact that I saw nothing in my eyes, not even the smallest guppy or tadpole, said something about my unhappiness and lack of faith in myself at the time. ...I no longer believe in eye fish in [i]fact[/i], but still do in metaphor. In the passion of an embrace, when breath, the win, is at its loudest and skin at its saltiest, I still nearly think that I could stop things and hear, feel, the rolling of the sea. I am still nearly convinced that, when my love and I kiss, we will be blessed with the sight of angelfish and sea-horses rising to the surface of our eyes, these fish being the surest proof of our love. In spite of everything, I sill profoundly believe that love is something oceanic.””

Yann Martel

About This Quote

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

Uses the metaphor of “eye fish” to illustrate how love transforms perception, suggesting that love is the nourishment that reveals beauty in ourselves and others.

In simple terms: Love feeds the fish in our eyes, revealing beauty.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate love to see deeper beauty.

Themes

love perception metaphor self‑acceptance

Mood

contemplative hopeful romantic

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

  • romantic relationships
  • self‑reflection
  • adolescent identity formation
  • artistic inspiration

Key Concepts

symbolism psychology emotional health

Questions to Reflect On

  • How does love change the way you view yourself?
  • What practices help you nurture love as a transformative force?
A Different Perspective

Metaphor may be overly whimsical, lacking empirical basis.

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