---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But she had recently come to think that…"
description: "\"“But she had recently come to think that in such unhappy times--when the odds were so high against personal happiness--to find love was miraculous, and..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/bernard-malamud-3871_happiness_but-she-had-recently-come-to-think-that_1934583.jpg"
---

#  But she had recently come to think that in such unhappy…

![“But she had recently come to think that in such unhappy times--when the odds were so high against personal happiness--to find love was miraculous, and to fulfill it as best two people could was what really mattered.” quote by Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/bernard-malamud-3871_happiness_but-she-had-recently-come-to-think-that_1934583.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/bernard-malamud-3871_happiness_but-she-had-recently-come-to-think-that_1934583.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/bernard-malamud-3871_happiness_but-she-had-recently-come-to-think-that_1934583.jpg)

> ““But she had recently come to think that in such unhappy times--when the odds were so high against personal happiness--to find love was miraculous, and to fulfill it as best two people could was what really mattered.””

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

## About This Quote

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

In bleak circumstances, love feels extraordinary, and nurturing it becomes the highest priority for two people.

**In simple terms:** Love feels miraculous in hard times; caring for it matters most.

Key Takeaway

Cherish love despite hardships.

Themes

love hardship meaning relationships

Mood

hopeful reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- marriage
- friendship
- support during crisis
- personal growth

Key Concepts

existentialism human connection

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you prioritize love when life feels oppressive?
- What makes love feel miraculous?

A Different Perspective

Love may not solve all problems, only offers emotional relief.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Miraculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miraculous/) [Personal happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-happiness/)

## Related quotes

> [“She had recently come to think that in such unhappy times-when the odds were so high against personal happiness-to find love was miraculous, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/she-had-recently-come-to-think-that-in-such-unhappy-times-when-the/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [Not everyone can write a book or paint a picture or write a symphony, but almost anyone can fall in love. There is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-colwin/not-everyone-can-write-a-book-or-paint-a-picture-or-write-a-symphony/)

[Laurie Colwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-colwin/)

> [Often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/often-we-look-so-long-at-the-closed-door-that-we-do-not-see-the-one/)

[Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/)

> [As I get older, personal happiness is all about love. It's all about love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jada-pinkett-smith/as-i-get-older-personal-happiness-is-all-about-love-it-s-all-about/)

[Jada Pinkett Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jada-pinkett-smith/)

> [Christianity taught the capacity, the element, to love the All-perfect without a stingy bargain for personal happiness. It taught that to love Him was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/christianity-taught-the-capacity-the-element-to-love-the-all-perfect/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [You know, as I get older, personal happiness is all about love. It's all about love. You know, how I'm loved and how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jada-pinkett-smith/you-know-as-i-get-older-personal-happiness-is-all-about-love-it-s-all/)

[Jada Pinkett Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jada-pinkett-smith/)

> [Happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-m-goodman/happiness-is-a-way-of-travel-not-a-destination/)

Roy M. Goodman

> [“When the sun and the moon will be identically seen together, When the wind and the water will meet in alliance, When the stars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-sarraf/when-the-sun-and-the-moon-will-be-identically-seen-together-when-the/)

J. Sarraf

> [“The earth turned to bring us closer, it spun on itself and within us, and finally joined us together in this dream as written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-earth-turned-to-bring-us-closer-it-spun-on-itself-and-within-us/)

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

> [Personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a checklist of acquisition. Your qualifications are not your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/personal-happiness-lies-in-knowing-that-life-is-not-a-checklist-of/)

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

> [I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-washington/i-am-still-determined-to-be-cheerful-and-happy-in-whatever-situation/)

[Martha Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-washington/)

> [“Personal happiness is always a very serious matter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/personal-happiness-is-always-a-very-serious-matter/)

[Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/)

> [“Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, say Smith and Denton, seems to be “colonizing many historical religious traditions and, almost without anyone noticing, converting believers in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenda-creasy-dean/moralistic-therapeutic-deism-say-smith-and-denton-seems-to-be/)

[Kenda Creasy Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenda-creasy-dean/)

> [The thing is, when I had my first success it did coincide with the end of my first marriage, and because I went on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brydon/the-thing-is-when-i-had-my-first-success-it-did-coincide-with-the-end/)

[Rob Brydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brydon/)

> [The object of life is not happiness, but to serve God or the Grail. All of the Grail quests are to serve God. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/the-object-of-life-is-not-happiness-but-to-serve-god-or-the-grail-all/)

[Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/)

## More by Bernard Malamud

> [Writers who can't invent stories often substitute style for narrative. They remind me of the painter who couldn't paint people, so he painted chairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/writers-who-can-t-invent-stories-often-substitute-style-for-narrative/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [We have two lives... the life we learn with and the life we live after that. Suffering is what brings us towards happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/we-have-two-lives-the-life-we-learn-with-and-the-life-we-live-after/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [“Leo hurried up to bed and hid under the covers. Under the covers he thought his life through. Although he soon fell asleep he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/leo-hurried-up-to-bed-and-hid-under-the-covers-under-the-covers-he/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [You can't eat language but it eases thirst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/you-can-t-eat-language-but-it-eases-thirst/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [First drafts are for learning what your novel or story is about. Revision is working with that knowledge to enlarge and enhance an idea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/first-drafts-are-for-learning-what-your-novel-or-story-is-about/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [“I’m an American, I’m a Jew, and I write for all men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/i-m-an-american-i-m-a-jew-and-i-write-for-all-men/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [“Her face deeply moved him. Why, he could at first not say. It gave him the impression of youth--spring flowers, yet age--a sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/her-face-deeply-moved-him-why-he-could-at-first-not-say-it-gave-him/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [I am somewhat of a meliorist. That is to say, I act as an optimist because I find I cannot act at all, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/i-am-somewhat-of-a-meliorist-that-is-to-say-i-act-as-an-optimist/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [Teach yourself to work in uncertainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/teach-yourself-to-work-in-uncertainty/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [One's fantasy goes for a walk and returns with a bride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/one-s-fantasy-goes-for-a-walk-and-returns-with-a-bride/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [The great thing about writing: Stay with it ... ultimately you teach yourself something very important about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/the-great-thing-about-writing-stay-with-it-ultimately-you-teach/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [We didn't starve, but we didn't eat chicken unless we were sick, or the chicken was](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/we-didn-t-starve-but-we-didn-t-eat-chicken-unless-we-were-sick-or-the/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [As long as a man stays alive he can't tell what chances will pop up next. But a dead man signs no checks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/as-long-as-a-man-stays-alive-he-can-t-tell-what-chances-will-pop-up/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [“So sleep now, without fear for your life, and if you should ever manage to get out of prison, keep in mind that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/so-sleep-now-without-fear-for-your-life-and-if-you-should-ever-manage/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

> [Children were strangers you loved because you could love. If they gave back love when they were grown you were ahead of the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/children-were-strangers-you-loved-because-you-could-love-if-they-gave/)

[Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

[Explore all 114 Bernard Malamud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/)

## More Happiness quotes

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

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

> [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/)

[Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/)

> [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/)

[Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/)

> [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/)

[MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/)

> [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/)

[Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/)

> [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/)

[Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/)

[Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/)

> [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/)

[Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/)

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

> [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/)

[Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/)

> [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/)

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

> [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/)

Pancho Barnes

[Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“But she had recently come to think that in such unhappy times--when the odds were so high against personal happiness--to find love was miraculous, and to fulfill it as best two people could was what really mattered.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Bernard Malamud"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/but-she-had-recently-come-to-think-that-in-such-unhappy-times-when/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Happiness"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/but-she-had-recently-come-to-think-that-in-such-unhappy-times-when/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/bernard-malamud-3871_happiness_but-she-had-recently-come-to-think-that_1934583.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/bernard-malamud-3871_happiness_but-she-had-recently-come-to-think-that_1934583.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/511/bernard-malamud-3871_happiness_but-she-had-recently-come-to-think-that_1934583.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“But she had recently come to think that in such unhappy times--when the odds were so high against personal…” — Bernard Malamud",
                "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": "Bernard Malamud",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“But she had recently come to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/but-she-had-recently-come-to-think-that-in-such-unhappy-times-when/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/but-she-had-recently-come-to-think-that-in-such-unhappy-times-when/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
