---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Diana felt she was beginning to…"
description: "\"Diana felt she was beginning to understand why, in all those novels she read, the headiest loves were the loves that couldn't be.\" — Anna Godbersen"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/anna-godbersen-3633_books_diana-felt-she-was-beginning-to-understa_3019552.png"
---

#  Diana felt she was beginning to understand why, in all…

![“Diana felt she was beginning to understand why, in all those novels she read, the headiest loves were the loves that couldn't be.” quote by Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/anna-godbersen-3633_books_diana-felt-she-was-beginning-to-understa_3019552.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/anna-godbersen-3633_books_diana-felt-she-was-beginning-to-understa_3019552.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/anna-godbersen-3633_books_diana-felt-she-was-beginning-to-understa_3019552.png)

> “Diana felt she was beginning to understand why, in all those novels she read, the headiest loves were the loves that couldn't be.”

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

## About This Quote

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

Unattainable love often appears most intense, reflecting deep yearning for the impossible.

**In simple terms:** Impossible loves feel strongest.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and manage idealized affection.

Themes

love unattainable desire idealization self‑awareness

Mood

melancholic reflective

Type

fictional emotional

When to use this quote

- crush on a celebrity
- unrequited love
- career ambition
- personal goals

Key Concepts

attachment theory romantic idealism psychology of longing

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do we chase what we can’t have?
- How to channel that energy product?

A Different Perspective

Idealization can cause disappointment.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Diana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diana/) [Diana Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diana-felt-4881996/) [Felt Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-beginning-313183/) [Headiest Loves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/headiest-loves-4881995/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Loves Couldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loves-couldn-4881997/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Understand Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-novels-808926/)

## Related quotes

> [The headiest loves were the loves that couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/the-headiest-loves-were-the-loves-that-couldn-t-be/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [I believe that people should write biographies only about people they love, or understand, or both. Novels, on the other hand, are often better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-fitzgerald/i-believe-that-people-should-write-biographies-only-about-people-they/)

[Penelope Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-fitzgerald/)

> [I have come to understand something about novels," Tessa said. "And what is that?" "They are not true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-have-come-to-understand-something-about-novels-tessa-said-and-what/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [Being the gateway to a large city, St. Louis, I had felt from the very beginning that somehow this building should symbolize this sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minoru-yamasaki/being-the-gateway-to-a-large-city-st-louis-i-had-felt-from-the-very/)

[Minoru Yamasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minoru-yamasaki/)

> [“He felt himself at last beginning to be a teacher, which is simply a man to whom his book is true, to whom is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-williams/he-felt-himself-at-last-beginning-to-be-a-teacher-which-is-simply-a/)

[John Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-williams/)

> [I felt the beginning of a passion, hopeless in the long run, but very nourishing, for identifying myself with people who were not my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-pritchett/i-felt-the-beginning-of-a-passion-hopeless-in-the-long-run-but-very/)

[V. S. Pritchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-pritchett/)

> [“She felt that she was beginning to know the pang of disappointed love, and that no other man could be the occasion of such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-felt-that-she-was-beginning-to-know-the-pang-of-disappointed-love/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [Kumiko and I felt something for each other from the beginning. It was not one of those strong, impulsive feelings that can hit two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/kumiko-and-i-felt-something-for-each-other-from-the-beginning-it-was/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“Recurrent memories of Henry Schoonmaker were the most exciting thing to happen in her conscious mind these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/recurrent-memories-of-henry-schoonmaker-were-the-most-exciting-thing/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [Henry turned his hat in his hands but went on looking at Diana in a way that made her want to crawl into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/henry-turned-his-hat-in-his-hands-but-went-on-looking-at-diana-in-a/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [That was how the heroine of a book would play it and Diana was still writing her own story the best heroines she'd always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/that-was-how-the-heroine-of-a-book-would-play-it-and-diana-was-still/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [Ah well that I can't tell you." Diana ducked her head so that the brim of her bonnet covered her face. "Some things must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/ah-well-that-i-can-t-tell-you-diana-ducked-her-head-so-that-the-brim/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [Good night.' Diana summoned all the dignity that she could manage in her bedraggled state and began to move back up the beach. Her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/good-night-diana-summoned-all-the-dignity-that-she-could-manage-in/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [Diana knew it wouldn't be right, but then she told herself that things only looked wrong when there was someone to see you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/diana-knew-it-wouldn-t-be-right-but-then-she-told-herself-that-things/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [So, Diana thought, that was the bait she had to lay out for Jack. Of course. What else? He might lust for Diana, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/so-diana-thought-that-was-the-bait-she-had-to-lay-out-for-jack-of/)

[Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/)

## More by Anna Godbersen

> [The value of secrets is ever fluctuating although ladies who have been in society for a long time learn that a secret kept can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/the-value-of-secrets-is-ever-fluctuating-although-ladies-who-have/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [It is a fact of big cities that one girl's darkest how is always another's moment of shining triumph, and New York is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/it-is-a-fact-of-big-cities-that-one-girl-s-darkest-how-is-always/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [“What a privilege it is to live now, at just this moment, and to be able to go anywhere…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/what-a-privilege-it-is-to-live-now-at-just-this-moment-and-to-be-able/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [“It was like the color of his eyes, she supposed - not quite one shade or another, and utterly unlike anyone else's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/it-was-like-the-color-of-his-eyes-she-supposed-not-quite-one-shade-or/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [Good night.' Diana summoned all the dignity that she could manage in her bedraggled state and began to move back up the beach. Her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/good-night-diana-summoned-all-the-dignity-that-she-could-manage-in/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [It is a truth universally acknowledge that there will always be a gentleman to dance with, except at just the moment when you require…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/it-is-a-truth-universally-acknowledge-that-there-will-always-be-a/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [In New York there is always something to look at, but it is all infinitely more interesting through a window in the backseat of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/in-new-york-there-is-always-something-to-look-at-but-it-is-all/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [Henry was thinking of the younger Holland sister of the way she could go from being an impetuous girl to a knowing woman in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/henry-was-thinking-of-the-younger-holland-sister-of-the-way-she-could/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [The first stab of love is like a sunset, a blaze of color -- oranges, pearly pinks, vibrant purples...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/the-first-stab-of-love-is-like-a-sunset-a-blaze-of-color-oranges/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [Living too much in one's head can be dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/living-too-much-in-one-s-head-can-be-dangerous/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [“A veces los finales son en realidad comienzos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/a-veces-los-finales-son-en-realidad-comienzos/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [Girls," their mother interjected, "you must both stop being strange - it is unattractive. And don't forget your hats. It would be absolutely the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/girls-their-mother-interjected-you-must-both-stop-being-strange-it-is/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [“It is often advantageous to forget. Forget your wincing humiliations, forget life's blows, and get on. For blocks in every direction, down every street…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/it-is-often-advantageous-to-forget-forget-your-wincing-humiliations/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [They were a society whose chief vocations were to entertain and be entertained ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/they-were-a-society-whose-chief-vocations-were-to-entertain-and-be/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

> [But in that moment she realized how false most smiles were and what a tremendous waste of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/but-in-that-moment-she-realized-how-false-most-smiles-were-and-what-a/)

[Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

[Explore all 123 Anna Godbersen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/)

## More Books quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

> [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/)

[Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/)

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

[Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/)

> [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/)

[Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/)

[Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Diana felt she was beginning to understand why, in all those novels she read, the headiest loves were the loves that couldn't be.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Anna Godbersen"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/diana-felt-she-was-beginning-to-understand-why-in-all-those-novels/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/diana-felt-she-was-beginning-to-understand-why-in-all-those-novels/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/anna-godbersen-3633_books_diana-felt-she-was-beginning-to-understa_3019552.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/anna-godbersen-3633_books_diana-felt-she-was-beginning-to-understa_3019552.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74b/anna-godbersen-3633_books_diana-felt-she-was-beginning-to-understa_3019552.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Diana felt she was beginning to understand why, in all those novels she read, the headiest loves were the…” — Anna Godbersen",
                "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": "Anna Godbersen",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Diana felt she was beginning to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/diana-felt-she-was-beginning-to-understand-why-in-all-those-novels/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/diana-felt-she-was-beginning-to-understand-why-in-all-those-novels/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
