--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps love is a minor madness. And as…" description: "\"Perhaps love is a minor madness. And as with madness, it's unendurable alone. The one person who can relieve us is of course the sole person we cannot ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/andrew-sean-greer-2689_allies_perhaps-love-is-a-minor-madness-and-as-w_1635976.png" --- # Perhaps love is a minor madness. And as with madness, it's… ![“Perhaps love is a minor madness. And as with madness, it's unendurable alone. The one person who can relieve us is of course the sole person we cannot go to: the one we love. So instead we seek out allies, even among strangers and wives, fellow patients who, if they can't touch the edge of our…” quote by Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/andrew-sean-greer-2689_allies_perhaps-love-is-a-minor-madness-and-as-w_1635976.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/andrew-sean-greer-2689_allies_perhaps-love-is-a-minor-madness-and-as-w_1635976.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/andrew-sean-greer-2689_allies_perhaps-love-is-a-minor-madness-and-as-w_1635976.png) > “Perhaps love is a minor madness. And as with madness, it's unendurable alone. The one person who can relieve us is of course the sole person we cannot go to: the one we love. So instead we seek out allies, even among strangers and wives, fellow patients who, if they can't touch the edge of our particular sorrow, have felt something that cuts nearly as deep.” [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love can feel like a kind of madness that is unbearable when experienced alone, prompting us to seek connection with others who share similar pain. **In simple terms:** Love feels like madness that needs another to bear. Key Takeaway Find companions who understand your sorrow. Themes loneliness connection shared pain love seeking allies Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - grief counseling - marriage - friendship support groups - online communities - therapy sessions Key Concepts emotional dependence psychological relief human solidarity Questions to Reflect On - Who can you turn to when love feels overwhelming? - How do shared struggles ease personal suffering? A Different Perspective Not everyone can provide the needed intimacy; some relationships may deepen pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allies/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [“One does not make love to a minor religious edifice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/one-does-not-make-love-to-a-minor-religious-edifice/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Perhaps love is only the highest symbol of friendship, as all other things seem symbols of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/perhaps-love-is-only-the-highest-symbol-of-friendship-as-all-other/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“She once told me how she could feel the missing part of her arm- how she sometimes experienced the sensation of a hand- that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-van-booy/she-once-told-me-how-she-could-feel-the-missing-part-of-her-arm-how/) [Simon Van Booy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-van-booy/) > [Perhaps love is a compelling necessity imposed on man by God that has something to do with suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/perhaps-love-is-a-compelling-necessity-imposed-on-man-by-god-that-has/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [I think perhaps Love thrives on chance and unlikely circumstance. Life also thrives on these principles-- and is life not love? AND LOVE NOT…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-boyd/i-think-perhaps-love-thrives-on-chance-and-unlikely-circumstance-life/) [Brandon Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-boyd/) > [Sherman made the terrible discovery that men make about their fathers sooner or later... that the man before him was not an aging father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/sherman-made-the-terrible-discovery-that-men-make-about-their-fathers/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I think perhaps love thrives on unlikely circumstance and chance : life thrives on these principles, and is life not love? And love not life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-boyd/i-think-perhaps-love-thrives-on-unlikely-circumstance-and-chance-life/) [Brandon Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-boyd/) > [“He had loved the library, and had felt, as a boy, as though it had a kind of sentience, and perhaps loved him back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/he-had-loved-the-library-and-had-felt-as-a-boy-as-though-it-had-a/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [“Perhaps all love affairs are nothing more than the projections of hopeful hearts looking for soft lodging in a world that would have them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-leblanc/perhaps-all-love-affairs-are-nothing-more-than-the-projections-of/) [Jeanette LeBlanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-leblanc/) > [“While he wanted to teach me what he knew, I wanted him to see what it all looked like for me—perhaps love is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/while-he-wanted-to-teach-me-what-he-knew-i-wanted-him-to-see-what-it/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [Perhaps love is like a resting place, a shelter from the storm. It exists to give you comfort, it is there to keep you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/perhaps-love-is-like-a-resting-place-a-shelter-from-the-storm-it/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [I hope someday you will join us and the world will live as one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/i-hope-someday-you-will-join-us-and-the-world-will-live-as-one/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [I'm not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/i-m-not-going-to-change-the-way-i-look-or-the-way-i-feel-to-conform/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [“Remember you are water. Of course you leave salt trails. Of course you are crying. Flow. P.S. If there happens to be a multitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-maree-brown/remember-you-are-water-of-course-you-leave-salt-trails-of-course-you/) [Adrienne Maree Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-maree-brown/) > [“Perhaps love makes us old before our time - or young , if youth has passed”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/perhaps-love-makes-us-old-before-our-time-or-young-if-youth-has-passed/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by Andrew Sean Greer > [It takes too much imagination to see the sorrows of people we take for happy. Their real battles take place, like those of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/it-takes-too-much-imagination-to-see-the-sorrows-of-people-we-take/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [They say you hit your stride as a writer at about 50. I'm hoping to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/they-say-you-hit-your-stride-as-a-writer-at-about-50-i-m-hoping-to-do/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“Then I traveled. Quite a bit, in fact. You have to stockpile a few beautiful vistas in your memory, Pearlie. In case we're rationed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/then-i-traveled-quite-a-bit-in-fact-you-have-to-stockpile-a-few/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [Writing fiction is an act of imaginative empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/writing-fiction-is-an-act-of-imaginative-empathy/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“To give up a marriage - someone unmarried might imagine it's like giving up a seat in a theater, or sacrificing a trick in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/to-give-up-a-marriage-someone-unmarried-might-imagine-it-s-like/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“Standing on the deck of a San Francisco ferryboat, in a gray suit so precisely the same colour as the fog that he seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/standing-on-the-deck-of-a-san-francisco-ferryboat-in-a-gray-suit-so/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“We're too old to think we'll meet again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/we-re-too-old-to-think-we-ll-meet-again/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“A rosewater smell from the box summoned, instantly, a dictatorial woman with a tight bun, hectoring him with questions. The cut, the buttons, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/a-rosewater-smell-from-the-box-summoned-instantly-a-dictatorial-woman/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [Does love always form, like a pearl, around the hardened bits of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/does-love-always-form-like-a-pearl-around-the-hardened-bits-of-life/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [I was raised Unitarian, and my mother said she took us to church so that we wouldn't get religious later in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/i-was-raised-unitarian-and-my-mother-said-she-took-us-to-church-so/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [A downside to being a successful novelist? Wow - I can't imagine one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/a-downside-to-being-a-successful-novelist-wow-i-can-t-imagine-one/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [My country is nothing if not diverse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/my-country-is-nothing-if-not-diverse/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [Any gay man in America redeals a deck at some point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/any-gay-man-in-america-redeals-a-deck-at-some-point/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“We kept each other's stare a long time, for we had each done a startling thing, dodged time for an instant - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/we-kept-each-other-s-stare-a-long-time-for-we-had-each-done-a/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [My grandmother was not a great storyteller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/my-grandmother-was-not-a-great-storyteller/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) [Explore all 154 Andrew Sean Greer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) ## More Allies quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) Brian Reade > [If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the Allies would lose the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joffre/if-the-women-in-the-factories-stopped-work-for-twenty-minutes-the/) Joseph Joffre > [As far as Japan is concerned, I want to help all of our allies, but we are losing billions and billions of dollars. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/as-far-as-japan-is-concerned-i-want-to-help-all-of-our-allies-but-we/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [ No wonder that Churchill described this effort \[the British codebreakers working at Bletchley Park\] as "Britian"s secret weapon," a weapon far more effective than… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hilton/no-wonder-that-churchill-described-this-effort-the-british/) [Peter Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hilton/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Our security depends on having good relationships with our allies. Donald Trump mainly shows contempt for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wolfowitz/our-security-depends-on-having-good-relationships-with-our-allies/) [Paul Wolfowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wolfowitz/) > [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [What would your life be like if your body were your friend and ally?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-northrup/what-would-your-life-be-like-if-your-body-were-your-friend-and-ally/) [Christiane Northrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-northrup/) > [“Bacteria and viruses were the most effective allies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-hughes-galeano/bacteria-and-viruses-were-the-most-effective-allies/) [Eduardo Hughes Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-hughes-galeano/) > [When black women are down with you and in your corner, you have an ally that will move Heaven and Earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-perry/when-black-women-are-down-with-you-and-in-your-corner-you-have-an/) [Tyler Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-perry/) > [There is an irreplaceable ally. It's called the United States of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-netanyahu/there-is-an-irreplaceable-ally-it-s-called-the-united-states-of/) [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-netanyahu/) > [It would have been easier to fight alone with inadequate forces than to have to accept...responsibility for our ally's lack of fighting qualities and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-kesselring/it-would-have-been-easier-to-fight-alone-with-inadequate-forces-than/) [Albert Kesselring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-kesselring/) > [It isn't until you begin to fight in your own cause that you become really committed to winning and become a genuine ally of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-morgan/it-isn-t-until-you-begin-to-fight-in-your-own-cause-that-you-become/) [Robin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-morgan/) > [ Again, I hear almost everyday from atheists who write off religion as primitive, premodern nonsense. I summon Aquinas, Augustine, Paul \[of Tarsus\], Teresa of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/again-i-hear-almost-everyday-from-atheists-who-write-off-religion-as/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [My own take on the word "transgender" is that it's an umbrella term for anyone who breaks any rules, laws, guidelines or protocol of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bornstein/my-own-take-on-the-word-transgender-is-that-it-s-an-umbrella-term-for/) [Kate Bornstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bornstein/) [Browse all 1,053 Allies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Perhaps love is a minor madness. And as with madness, it's unendurable alone. The one person who can relieve us is of course the sole person we cannot go to: the one we love. So instead we seek out allies, even among strangers and wives, fellow patients who, if they can't touch the edge of our particular sorrow, have felt something that cuts nearly as deep.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andrew Sean Greer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/perhaps-love-is-a-minor-madness-and-as-with-madness-it-s-unendurable/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Allies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/perhaps-love-is-a-minor-madness-and-as-with-madness-it-s-unendurable/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/andrew-sean-greer-2689_allies_perhaps-love-is-a-minor-madness-and-as-w_1635976.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/andrew-sean-greer-2689_allies_perhaps-love-is-a-minor-madness-and-as-w_1635976.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0b/andrew-sean-greer-2689_allies_perhaps-love-is-a-minor-madness-and-as-w_1635976.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Perhaps love is a minor madness. And as with madness, it's unendurable alone. The one person who can relieve…” — Andrew Sean Greer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Andrew Sean Greer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Perhaps love is a minor madness....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/perhaps-love-is-a-minor-madness-and-as-with-madness-it-s-unendurable/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/perhaps-love-is-a-minor-madness-and-as-with-madness-it-s-unendurable/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```