--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Was love then like a bag of assorted…" description: "\"Was love then like a bag of assorted sweets passed around from which one might choose more than once? Some might sting the tongue, some invoke night pe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/annie-proulx-6713_assorted_was-love-then-like-a-bag-of-assorted-swe_743688.jpg" --- # Was love then like a bag of assorted sweets passed around… ![“Was love then like a bag of assorted sweets passed around from which one might choose more than once? Some might sting the tongue, some invoke night perfume. Some had centers as bitter as gall, some blended honey and poison, some were quickly swallowed. And among the common bull's-eyes and…” quote by Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/annie-proulx-6713_assorted_was-love-then-like-a-bag-of-assorted-swe_743688.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/annie-proulx-6713_assorted_was-love-then-like-a-bag-of-assorted-swe_743688.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/annie-proulx-6713_assorted_was-love-then-like-a-bag-of-assorted-swe_743688.jpg) > “Was love then like a bag of assorted sweets passed around from which one might choose more than once? Some might sting the tongue, some invoke night perfume. Some had centers as bitter as gall, some blended honey and poison, some were quickly swallowed. And among the common bull's-eyes and peppermints a few rare ones; one or two with deadly needles at the heart, another that brought clam and gentle pleasure. Were his fingers closing on that one?” [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love is varied and unpredictable, offering both pleasure and pain, and sometimes dangerous allure. **In simple terms:** Love is sweet, bitter, and sometimes dangerous. Key Takeaway Choose love wisely. Themes love choice risk Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type literary poetic When to use this quote - dating - long‑term relationships - self‑reflection Key Concepts complexity desire danger pleasure Questions to Reflect On - Which love experience feels like a sweet treat? - How do you handle love’s bitter moments? A Different Perspective Not all love experiences fit this metaphor. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assorted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assorted/) [Bags](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bags/) [Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) [Bulls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bulls/) [Clams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clams/) [Closing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closing/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingers/) [Gentle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentle/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Honey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honey/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Needles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needles/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Peppermint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peppermint/) [Perfume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfume/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Poison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poison/) [Quickly Swallowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quickly-swallowed-5494926/) [Sting Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sting-tongue-3622220/) [Swallowed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swallowed/) [Swallowed Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swallowed-common-5801485/) [Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweet/) [Sweets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweets/) [Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [“On the stairs an image came to him. Was love then like a bag of assorted sweets passed around from which one might choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/on-the-stairs-an-image-came-to-him-was-love-then-like-a-bag-of/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [Juliet!' I whip around but not quickly enough. She's swallowed by the crowd, the gap that allowed her to break for the door closing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/juliet-i-whip-around-but-not-quickly-enough-she-s-swallowed-by-the/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Long live Jude,' she says with a wink, setting down the tray on a table with a clatter of the pots and saucers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/long-live-jude-she-says-with-a-wink-setting-down-the-tray-on-a-table/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [It's a wonderful thing, the D.T.'s. You can travel the world in a couple of hours. You see some mighty funny and curious things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/it-s-a-wonderful-thing-the-d-t-s-you-can-travel-the-world-in-a-couple/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [One of the women at the clinic had remarked dryly that Harrow's personal magnetism not only affected men, women and children but also extended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/one-of-the-women-at-the-clinic-had-remarked-dryly-that-harrow-s/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [The day is refracted, and the next and the one after that, all of them broken up into a hundred juggled segments, each brilliant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-day-is-refracted-and-the-next-and-the-one-after-that-all-of-them/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [I want to put any number of assorted 'ists' - such as relativists, deconstructionists, destructivists, postmodernists, the more maudlin kind of pacifists and feminists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-van-creveld/i-want-to-put-any-number-of-assorted-ists-such-as-relativists/) [Martin Van Creveld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-van-creveld/) > [Billy was fascinated by the television. At its most basic level, it occupied his time and shut out the demons of isolation. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carroll/billy-was-fascinated-by-the-television-at-its-most-basic-level-it/) [Jim Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carroll/) > [We are all victimized by the natural perversity of inanimate objects...and the assorted human beings who perpetuate and maintain this perversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/we-are-all-victimized-by-the-natural-perversity-of-inanimate-objects/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Ah, Meese has brought us her finest goblets! A moment, whilst Kruppe sweeps out cobwebs, insect husks and other assorted proofs of said goblets'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/ah-meese-has-brought-us-her-finest-goblets-a-moment-whilst-kruppe/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Contemporary fantasists all bow politely to Lord Tennyson and Papa Tolkien, then step around them to go back to the original texts for inspiration--and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eddings/contemporary-fantasists-all-bow-politely-to-lord-tennyson-and-papa/) [David Eddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eddings/) > [Today's woman puts on wigs, fake eyelashes, false nails, sixteen pounds of make-up/shadows/blushes/creams, living bras, various pads that would make a linebacker envious, has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/today-s-woman-puts-on-wigs-fake-eyelashes-false-nails-sixteen-pounds/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [I love you, hugs & kisses, smoochies galore, licks, nibbles & assorted gropages!! -Aisling said to Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-macalister/i-love-you-hugs-kisses-smoochies-galore-licks-nibbles-assorted/) [Katie MacAlister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-macalister/) > [Every shrink knows that it's not the event itself but how you respond to it that tells the story. Take ten assorted individuals, expose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-a-harrison/every-shrink-knows-that-it-s-not-the-event-itself-but-how-you-respond/) [A.S.A. Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-a-harrison/) > [Many a man has decided to stay alive not because of the will to live but because of the determination not to give assorted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/many-a-man-has-decided-to-stay-alive-not-because-of-the-will-to-live/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) ## More by Annie Proulx > [Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/writing-comes-from-reading-and-reading-is-the-finest-teacher-of-how/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“A kind of joyous hysteria moved into the room, everything flying before the wind, vehicles outside getting dented to hell, the crowd sweaty and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/a-kind-of-joyous-hysteria-moved-into-the-room-everything-flying/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“By January it had always been winter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/by-january-it-had-always-been-winter/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“.. that old, cold time on the mountain when they owned the world and nothing seemed wrong ..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/that-old-cold-time-on-the-mountain-when-they-owned-the-world-and/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“The mountain pine beetle is a tiny creature that chews through a lodgepole’s bark, gouges out a hollow in the wood and lays its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/the-mountain-pine-beetle-is-a-tiny-creature-that-chews-through-a/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“It was as if his eye were an ear and a crackle went through it each time he shot a look at the accordion.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/it-was-as-if-his-eye-were-an-ear-and-a-crackle-went-through-it-each/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“On the stairs an image came to him. Was love then like a bag of assorted sweets passed around from which one might choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/on-the-stairs-an-image-came-to-him-was-love-then-like-a-bag-of/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“The only cities were of ice, bergs with cores of beryl, blue gems within white gems, that some said gave off an odor of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/the-only-cities-were-of-ice-bergs-with-cores-of-beryl-blue-gems/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“They say that doing ten sums a day prevents you from becoming senile. But by that argument bankers should be geniuses. That's not right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/they-say-that-doing-ten-sums-a-day-prevents-you-from-becoming-senile/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [It's easier to die if others around you are dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/it-s-easier-to-die-if-others-around-you-are-dying/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“You stand there, braced. Cloud shadows race over the buff rock stacks as a projected film, casting a queasy, mottled ground rash. The air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/you-stand-there-braced-cloud-shadows-race-over-the-buff-rock-stacks/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“Thirty-six years old and this was the first time anybody ever said he'd done it right. Fog against the window like milk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/thirty-six-years-old-and-this-was-the-first-time-anybody-ever-said-he/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“There was a month of fiery happiness. Then six kinked years of suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/there-was-a-month-of-fiery-happiness-then-six-kinked-years-of/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [It is my feeling that a story is not finished until it is read, and that the reader finishes it through his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/it-is-my-feeling-that-a-story-is-not-finished-until-it-is-read-and/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [“One of the tragedies of real life is that there is no background music.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/one-of-the-tragedies-of-real-life-is-that-there-is-no-background-music/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) [Explore all 97 Annie Proulx quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) ## More Assorted quotes > [Many a man has decided to stay alive not because of the will to live but because of the determination not to give assorted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/many-a-man-has-decided-to-stay-alive-not-because-of-the-will-to-live/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Every shrink knows that it's not the event itself but how you respond to it that tells the story. Take ten assorted individuals, expose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-a-harrison/every-shrink-knows-that-it-s-not-the-event-itself-but-how-you-respond/) [A.S.A. Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-a-harrison/) > [I love you, hugs & kisses, smoochies galore, licks, nibbles & assorted gropages!! -Aisling said to Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-macalister/i-love-you-hugs-kisses-smoochies-galore-licks-nibbles-assorted/) [Katie MacAlister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-macalister/) > [Today's woman puts on wigs, fake eyelashes, false nails, sixteen pounds of make-up/shadows/blushes/creams, living bras, various pads that would make a linebacker envious, has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/today-s-woman-puts-on-wigs-fake-eyelashes-false-nails-sixteen-pounds/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [Contemporary fantasists all bow politely to Lord Tennyson and Papa Tolkien, then step around them to go back to the original texts for inspiration--and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eddings/contemporary-fantasists-all-bow-politely-to-lord-tennyson-and-papa/) [David Eddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eddings/) > [Ah, Meese has brought us her finest goblets! A moment, whilst Kruppe sweeps out cobwebs, insect husks and other assorted proofs of said goblets'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/ah-meese-has-brought-us-her-finest-goblets-a-moment-whilst-kruppe/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [We are all victimized by the natural perversity of inanimate objects...and the assorted human beings who perpetuate and maintain this perversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/we-are-all-victimized-by-the-natural-perversity-of-inanimate-objects/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Billy was fascinated by the television. At its most basic level, it occupied his time and shut out the demons of isolation. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carroll/billy-was-fascinated-by-the-television-at-its-most-basic-level-it/) [Jim Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carroll/) > [I want to put any number of assorted 'ists' - such as relativists, deconstructionists, destructivists, postmodernists, the more maudlin kind of pacifists and feminists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-van-creveld/i-want-to-put-any-number-of-assorted-ists-such-as-relativists/) [Martin Van Creveld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-van-creveld/) > [The day is refracted, and the next and the one after that, all of them broken up into a hundred juggled segments, each brilliant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-day-is-refracted-and-the-next-and-the-one-after-that-all-of-them/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [One of the women at the clinic had remarked dryly that Harrow's personal magnetism not only affected men, women and children but also extended…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/one-of-the-women-at-the-clinic-had-remarked-dryly-that-harrow-s/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [It's a wonderful thing, the D.T.'s. You can travel the world in a couple of hours. You see some mighty funny and curious things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/it-s-a-wonderful-thing-the-d-t-s-you-can-travel-the-world-in-a-couple/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [It must not simply be taken for granted that a given set of ill-assorted people, for no other reason than because it is Christmas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher/it-must-not-simply-be-taken-for-granted-that-a-given-set-of-ill/) [M. F. K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher/) > [Hunting is the noblest sport yet devised by the hand of man. There were mighty hunters in the Bible, and all the caves where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ruark/hunting-is-the-noblest-sport-yet-devised-by-the-hand-of-man-there/) [Robert Ruark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ruark/) > [Logic is a large drawer, containing some useful instruments, and many more that are superfluous. A wise man will look into it for two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/logic-is-a-large-drawer-containing-some-useful-instruments-and-many/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Browse all 33 Assorted quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assorted/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Was love then like a bag of assorted sweets passed around from which one might choose more than once? Some might sting the tongue, some invoke night perfume. Some had centers as bitter as gall, some blended honey and poison, some were quickly swallowed. And among the common bull's-eyes and peppermints a few rare ones; one or two with deadly needles at the heart, another that brought clam and gentle pleasure. 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