---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can anyone remember love? It's like…"
description: "\"Can anyone remember love? It's like trying to summon up the smell of roses in a cellar. You might see a rose, but never the perfume.\" — Arthur Miller"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/arthur-miller-947_best-friend_can-anyone-remember-love-it-s-like-tryin_1660220.png"
---

#  Can anyone remember love? It's like trying to summon up…

![“Can anyone remember love? It's like trying to summon up the smell of roses in a cellar. You might see a rose, but never the perfume.” quote by Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/arthur-miller-947_best-friend_can-anyone-remember-love-it-s-like-tryin_1660220.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/arthur-miller-947_best-friend_can-anyone-remember-love-it-s-like-tryin_1660220.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/arthur-miller-947_best-friend_can-anyone-remember-love-it-s-like-tryin_1660220.png)

> “Can anyone remember love? It's like trying to summon up the smell of roses in a cellar. You might see a rose, but never the perfume.”

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

## 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 elusive, like trying to capture a rose's scent in a cellar—visible but intangible.

**In simple terms:** Love feels distant and hard to grasp fully.

Key Takeaway

Seek authentic connections beyond idealized expectations.

Themes

love memory longing intimacy

Mood

melancholic thoughtful

Type

philosophical poetic

When to use this quote

- relationship counseling
- poetry
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

sensory metaphor romantic idealism

Questions to Reflect On

- What does the rose metaphor reveal about love's nature?
- How can we appreciate love without chasing perfection?

A Different Perspective

Idealizing love can lead to disappointment.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Best friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-friend/) [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [Homosexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexuality/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rose/) [Sexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexuality/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/)

## Related quotes

> [Betrayal is the only truth that sticks. Can anyone remember love? It's like trying to summon up the smell of roses in a cellar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/betrayal-is-the-only-truth-that-sticks-can-anyone-remember-love-it-s/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [A Leprecaun without a pot of gold is like a rose without perfume, a bird without a wing, or an inside without an outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/a-leprecaun-without-a-pot-of-gold-is-like-a-rose-without-perfume-a/)

[James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/)

> [I always gravitate to perfume with rose. My mom's maiden name is Rose, and the scent of my childhood was always rose. Le Sirenuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alana-haim/i-always-gravitate-to-perfume-with-rose-my-mom-s-maiden-name-is-rose/)

[Alana Haim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alana-haim/)

> [“I know it too well, my friend. Fresh water does not come out of a bitter spring; you don’t expect to get rose perfume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/i-know-it-too-well-my-friend-fresh-water-does-not-come-out-of-a/)

[Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [Don't forget to stop and smell the roses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-hagen/don-t-forget-to-stop-and-smell-the-roses/)

[Walter Hagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-hagen/)

> [Take time to smell the roses. Appreciating the little things in life really can make all the difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-puddicombe/take-time-to-smell-the-roses-appreciating-the-little-things-in-life/)

[Andy Puddicombe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-puddicombe/)

> [Look, we're all the same; a man is a fourteen-room house - in the bedroom he's asleep with his intelligent wife, in the living-room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/look-we-re-all-the-same-a-man-is-a-fourteen-room-house-in-the-bedroom/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [Beautiful and minimalist, the traditional Japanese art of ikebana - arranging bouquets of cut flowers and leaves using very few elements - ideally corresponded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-ellena/beautiful-and-minimalist-the-traditional-japanese-art-of-ikebana/)

[Jean-Claude Ellena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-ellena/)

> [I know there is poor and hideous suffering, and I've seen the hungry and the guns that go to war. I have lived pain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/i-know-there-is-poor-and-hideous-suffering-and-i-ve-seen-the-hungry/)

[Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/)

> [“If I have made you dream, laugh, cry and smell the roses in bloom, the salt on the sea air, then I have accomplished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mason/if-i-have-made-you-dream-laugh-cry-and-smell-the-roses-in-bloom-the/)

Barbara Mason

> [The more you dont look backwards the more you wont turn into stone...move forward and smell the roses,they have a softer feeling..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenchqueen/the-more-you-dont-look-backwards-the-more-you-wont-turn-into-stone/)

Frenchqueen

> [Wake up and smell the roses, it's a beautiful day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-moretz/wake-up-and-smell-the-roses-it-s-a-beautiful-day/)

[Chloe Moretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-moretz/)

> [Nobody is ready for death. If you ask Joe Blow on the street, he aint gonna tell you he thinks he'll live forever. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/nobody-is-ready-for-death-if-you-ask-joe-blow-on-the-street-he-aint/)

[Cristina Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/)

> [“Take time to smell the roses and eventually you’ll inhale a bee. Anon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-goulson/take-time-to-smell-the-roses-and-eventually-you-ll-inhale-a-bee-anon/)

Dave Goulson

> [“My mum always taught me the value of knowing, recognizing and acknowledging when you had a good day. There are so many bad days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/my-mum-always-taught-me-the-value-of-knowing-recognizing-and/)

[Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/)

## More by Arthur Miller

> [If a person measures his spiritual fulfillment in terms of cosmic visions, surpassing peace of mind, or ecstasy, then he is not likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/if-a-person-measures-his-spiritual-fulfillment-in-terms-of-cosmic/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [“If you can fall in love again and again, if you can forgive your parents for the crime of bringing you into the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/if-you-can-fall-in-love-again-and-again-if-you-can-forgive-your/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [The wedding of Christianity or Judaism with nationalism is lethal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-wedding-of-christianity-or-judaism-with-nationalism-is-lethal/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [“I know what's wrong with me - I could never stand still for death! Which you've got to do by a certain age, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-know-what-s-wrong-with-me-i-could-never-stand-still-for-death-which/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [You cannot catch a child's spirit by running after it; you must stand still and for love it will soon itself return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/you-cannot-catch-a-child-s-spirit-by-running-after-it-you-must-stand/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [ “(Looking at the letter in his hand) Then what is this if it isn’t telling me? Sure, \[Larry\] was my son. But I think… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/looking-at-the-letter-in-his-hand-then-what-is-this-if-it-isn-t/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [The two greatest plays ever written were Hamlet and Oedipus Rex, and they're both about father-son relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-two-greatest-plays-ever-written-were-hamlet-and-oedipus-rex-and/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [A character is defined by the kinds of challenges he cannot walk away from. And by those he has walked away from that cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/a-character-is-defined-by-the-kinds-of-challenges-he-cannot-walk-away/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [Everybody likes a kidder, but nobody lends him money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/everybody-likes-a-kidder-but-nobody-lends-him-money/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [The American Dream is the largely unacknowledged screen in front of which all American writing plays itself out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-american-dream-is-the-largely-unacknowledged-screen-in-front-of/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [“When it is recalled that until the Christian era the underworld was never regardded as a hostile area, that all gods were useful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/when-it-is-recalled-that-until-the-christian-era-the-underworld-was/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [“Elizabeth, with great fear: I will fear nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/elizabeth-with-great-fear-i-will-fear-nothing/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [I know you're no worse than most men but I thought you were better. I never saw you as a man. I saw you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-know-you-re-no-worse-than-most-men-but-i-thought-you-were-better-i/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [The best of our theater is standing on tiptoe, striving to see over the shoulders of father and mother. The worst is exploiting and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-best-of-our-theater-is-standing-on-tiptoe-striving-to-see-over/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

> [“I only ask you one thing- don't trust nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-only-ask-you-one-thing-don-t-trust-nobody/)

[Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

[Explore all 322 Arthur Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/)

## More Best friend quotes

> [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/)

[Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/)

> [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/)

[Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/)

> [I fell in love with my best friend, but I know that if it doesn't last, it will never be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-yang/i-fell-in-love-with-my-best-friend-but-i-know-that-if-it-doesn-t-last/)

Shelly Yang

> [A best friend isn't someone who's just always there for you.Its someone who understands you a bit more than you understand yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/a-best-friend-isn-t-someone-who-s-just-always-there-for-you-its/)

[Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/)

> [Back home I get to see my old friends!(: But they don't understand the change in me and I can't explain it to them...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/back-home-i-get-to-see-my-old-friends-but-they-don-t-understand-the/)

[Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/)

> [This goes out to someone that was Once the most important person in my life I didn't realize it at the time I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aviation/this-goes-out-to-someone-that-was-once-the-most-important-person-in/)

Aviation

> [You’re crazy,” said her best friend, Angela, as the bell rang to signal five minutes before the first class on the first day back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/you-re-crazy-said-her-best-friend-angela-as-the-bell-rang-to-signal/)

[Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/)

> [Sometimes the right people can make your day. They're called best friends :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/sometimes-the-right-people-can-make-your-day-they-re-called-best/)

[Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/)

> [Here is your third gift from Me once again..I had a fourth gift it was about me making a video telling you how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilbear/here-is-your-third-gift-from-me-once-again-i-had-a-fourth-gift-it-was/)

[LilBear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilbear/)

> [Our friendship is like a cup of tea¦a special blend of you and me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orebela-gbenga/our-friendship-is-like-a-cup-of-tea-a-special-blend-of-you-and-me/)

[Orebela Gbenga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orebela-gbenga/)

> [When you have the most beautiful best friend in the world what more could I ask for I love you Tay :) you mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick/when-you-have-the-most-beautiful-best-friend-in-the-world-what-more/)

[Nick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick/)

> [I believe in God, because he is the only thing that kept me going. He's my best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hahn/i-believe-in-god-because-he-is-the-only-thing-that-kept-me-going-he-s/)

[Jessica Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hahn/)

> [ONE stone enough to break a glass,,, ONE sentence is enough to break a heart,,, FIRST sight is enough to fall in love,,, ONE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-stone-enough-to-break-a-glass-one-sentence-is-enough-to-break-a/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [A Real Man will help build his woman's self esteem not break it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-s-voice/a-real-man-will-help-build-his-woman-s-self-esteem-not-break-it/)

Lisa's Voice

[Browse all 6,524 Best friend quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-friend/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Can anyone remember love? It's like trying to summon up the smell of roses in a cellar. You might see a rose, but never the perfume.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Arthur Miller"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/can-anyone-remember-love-it-s-like-trying-to-summon-up-the-smell-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Best friend"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/can-anyone-remember-love-it-s-like-trying-to-summon-up-the-smell-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/arthur-miller-947_best-friend_can-anyone-remember-love-it-s-like-tryin_1660220.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/arthur-miller-947_best-friend_can-anyone-remember-love-it-s-like-tryin_1660220.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/arthur-miller-947_best-friend_can-anyone-remember-love-it-s-like-tryin_1660220.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Can anyone remember love? It's like trying to summon up the smell of roses in a cellar. You might see a…” — Arthur Miller",
                "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": "Arthur Miller",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Can anyone remember love? It's like...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/can-anyone-remember-love-it-s-like-trying-to-summon-up-the-smell-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/can-anyone-remember-love-it-s-like-trying-to-summon-up-the-smell-of/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
