--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He asked with a stiff smile 'What is…" description: "\"“He asked with a stiff smile 'What is love?' For me,' said Orianda, fumbling for a definition, 'for me it is a compound of anticipation and gratitude. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/a-e-coppard-30090_gratitude_he-asked-with-a-stiff-smile-what-is-love_925085.jpg" --- # He asked with a stiff smile 'What is love?' For me,' said… ![“He asked with a stiff smile 'What is love?' For me,' said Orianda, fumbling for a definition, 'for me it is a compound of anticipation and gratitude. When either of these two ingredients is absent love is dead.” quote by A.E. Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/a-e-coppard-30090_gratitude_he-asked-with-a-stiff-smile-what-is-love_925085.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/a-e-coppard-30090_gratitude_he-asked-with-a-stiff-smile-what-is-love_925085.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fc/a-e-coppard-30090_gratitude_he-asked-with-a-stiff-smile-what-is-love_925085.jpg) > ““He asked with a stiff smile 'What is love?' For me,' said Orianda, fumbling for a definition, 'for me it is a compound of anticipation and gratitude. When either of these two ingredients is absent love is dead.”” [A.E. Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love exists when both anticipation and gratitude are present; lacking either, love loses its vitality. **In simple terms:** Love needs anticipation and gratitude. Key Takeaway Cultivate both to keep love alive. Themes relationships emotions expectation Mood intimate contemplative Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - romantic partnerships - friendships - family bonds Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel more love when you anticipate future moments? - How can gratitude revive a stagnant relationship? A Different Perspective Love may persist even if one component wanes, but it will feel diminished. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Love is a state of being, and in that state, the 'me', with its identifications, anxieties, and possessions is absent. 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Dude! Appreciate them while they still have breathe!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeromy-shingongo/it-s-quite-interesting-how-people-love-the-dead-dude-appreciate-them/) [Jeromy Shingongo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeromy-shingongo/) ## More by A.E. Coppard > [“Mothers are inscrutable beings to their sons, always. ("The Higgler")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-coppard/mothers-are-inscrutable-beings-to-their-sons-always-the-higgler/) [A.E. Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) > [“The poor wretch, she had given up so much and could yet smile at her trouble. He himself had never surrendered to anything in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-coppard/the-poor-wretch-she-had-given-up-so-much-and-could-yet-smile-at-her/) [A.E. Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) > [“If he was not exactly a Spartan, he was, you might say, spartanatical. Things happened to you; they were good,or they were bad -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-coppard/if-he-was-not-exactly-a-spartan-he-was-you-might-say-spartanatical/) [A.E. Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) > [“Folly? O, it was indeed! But Folly is a prison where no charter of deliverence ever comes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-coppard/folly-o-it-was-indeed-but-folly-is-a-prison-where-no-charter-of/) [A.E. Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) > [“Humph,' he said, with a disagreeable air, 'the universe does its work very quietly.' (“The Bogey Man”)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-coppard/humph-he-said-with-a-disagreeable-air-the-universe-does-its-work-very/) [A.E. Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) > [“A high upland common was this moor, two miles from end to end, and full of furze and bracken. 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Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) > [“O, sir,' murmured Sheila, still on her knees, 'please forgive me.' 'Forgive you! 0, la, la, la!' cunningly cried the droll, and strutting like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-coppard/o-sir-murmured-sheila-still-on-her-knees-please-forgive-me-forgive/) [A.E. Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) > [“Holiness was always something richly dim.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-coppard/holiness-was-always-something-richly-dim/) [A.E. Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) > [“Pedersen was always wooing her. Sometimes he was gracious and kind, but at other times when his failure wearied him he would be cruel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-coppard/pedersen-was-always-wooing-her-sometimes-he-was-gracious-and-kind-but/) [A.E. Coppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) > [“I am Shiloh, whose box you stole. 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Coppard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-coppard/) ## More Gratitude quotes > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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