--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She had recently come to think that in…" description: "\"“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 fu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/bernard-malamud-3871_love_she-had-recently-come-to-think-that-in-s_1117447.jpg" --- # She had recently come to think that in such unhappy… ![“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 as two people could was what really mattered. Was it more important to insist a man's religious beliefs be exactly hers, or that…” quote by Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/bernard-malamud-3871_love_she-had-recently-come-to-think-that-in-s_1117447.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/bernard-malamud-3871_love_she-had-recently-come-to-think-that-in-s_1117447.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/bernard-malamud-3871_love_she-had-recently-come-to-think-that-in-s_1117447.jpg) > ““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 as two people could was what really mattered. Was it more important to insist a man's religious beliefs be exactly hers, or that the two of them have in common ideals, a desire to keep love in their lives, and to preserve in every possible way what was best in themselves? The less difference among people, the better; thus she settled it for herself yet was dissatisfied for those for whom she hadn't settled it,”” [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. Love thrives when shared values and mutual growth outweigh strict adherence to identical beliefs; compromise fosters deeper connection. **In simple terms:** Shared ideals matter more than identical religion. Key Takeaway Prioritize common goals and personal growth in relationships. Themes love values compromise Mood thoughtful empathetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - marriage - friendship - team projects - conflict resolution Key Concepts Existentialism humanism Questions to Reflect On - What values are non‑negotiable for you? - How can you honor both personal beliefs and shared goals? A Different Perspective Differences can still cause tension despite shared ideals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-love/) [Happiness love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-love/) [Ideals Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals-desire-3007321/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Miraculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-miraculous-498331/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious beliefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-beliefs/) ## Related quotes > [“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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-malamud/but-she-had-recently-come-to-think-that-in-such-unhappy-times-when/) [Bernard Malamud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-malamud/) > [“he described his own ideals, the desire for fulfillment not just as a theorist but also as an experimental physicist. (In the second respect,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-pais/he-described-his-own-ideals-the-desire-for-fulfillment-not-just-as-a/) [Abraham Pais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-pais/) > [“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/) > [“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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-sarraf/) > [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/) > [“valuable lesson from the experience: people with entrenched religious beliefs will always sidestep reason and fall back on toeing the party line, people from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-winters/valuable-lesson-from-the-experience-people-with-entrenched-religious/) [Joseph winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-winters/) > [The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-usa-is-so-enormous-and-so-numerous-are-its-schools-colleges-and/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [“God forces us to quantify our religious tenants by measuring them against the family problems they solve. If your religious beliefs aren't solving family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ben-zehabe/god-forces-us-to-quantify-our-religious-tenants-by-measuring-them/) [Michael Ben Zehabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ben-zehabe/) > [There is desire in those who love to hear about their loved ones' pains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/there-is-desire-in-those-who-love-to-hear-about-their-loved-ones-pains/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“In order to acheive you must dream, to dream you must desire, to desire you must love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gordon/in-order-to-acheive-you-must-dream-to-dream-you-must-desire-to-desire/) [Robert Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gordon/) > [The same is true of Love, and the instinctive desire to please those whom we love. The teacher who succeeds in getting herself loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-same-is-true-of-love-and-the-instinctive-desire-to-please-those/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“You're confusing desire and love,' she said, watching him. 'They are not the same.' 'I do love you. I feel near to murder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloisa-james/you-re-confusing-desire-and-love-she-said-watching-him-they-are-not/) [Eloisa James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloisa-james/) > [“It is important to desire a whole love story and not just any love story, setting the bar up high”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-wambui-ngabura/it-is-important-to-desire-a-whole-love-story-and-not-just-any-love/) [Carol Wambui Ngabura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-wambui-ngabura/) > [Passion is a strong emotional desire of love and hate to humans or objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/passion-is-a-strong-emotional-desire-of-love-and-hate-to-humans-or/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [“Because I didn't move here to fall in love. The desire for love is universal but that has never meant it's worthy of respect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/because-i-didn-t-move-here-to-fall-in-love-the-desire-for-love-is/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) ## 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 Desire love quotes > [Passion is a strong emotional desire of love and hate to humans or objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/passion-is-a-strong-emotional-desire-of-love-and-hate-to-humans-or/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [“It is important to desire a whole love story and not just any love story, setting the bar up high”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-wambui-ngabura/it-is-important-to-desire-a-whole-love-story-and-not-just-any-love/) [Carol Wambui Ngabura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-wambui-ngabura/) > [“In order to acheive you must dream, to dream you must desire, to desire you must love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gordon/in-order-to-acheive-you-must-dream-to-dream-you-must-desire-to-desire/) [Robert Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gordon/) > [There is desire in those who love to hear about their loved ones' pains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/there-is-desire-in-those-who-love-to-hear-about-their-loved-ones-pains/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“Because I didn't move here to fall in love. The desire for love is universal but that has never meant it's worthy of respect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/because-i-didn-t-move-here-to-fall-in-love-the-desire-for-love-is/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [The same is true of Love, and the instinctive desire to please those whom we love. The teacher who succeeds in getting herself loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-same-is-true-of-love-and-the-instinctive-desire-to-please-those/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“You're confusing desire and love,' she said, watching him. 'They are not the same.' 'I do love you. I feel near to murder at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloisa-james/you-re-confusing-desire-and-love-she-said-watching-him-they-are-not/) [Eloisa James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloisa-james/) > [“Transform your desire into love, and limits start to lose their usefulness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-micha-el-leventhal/transform-your-desire-into-love-and-limits-start-to-lose-their/) [Eric Micha'el Leventhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-micha-el-leventhal/) > [Not necessity, not desire - no, the love of power is the demon of men. Let them have everything - health, food, a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/not-necessity-not-desire-no-the-love-of-power-is-the-demon-of-men-let/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Not necessity, not desire - no, the love of power is the demon of men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/not-necessity-not-desire-no-the-love-of-power-is-the-demon-of-men/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [One cannot completely get rid of the six passions: lust, anger, greed, and the like. Therefore one should direct them to God. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/one-cannot-completely-get-rid-of-the-six-passions-lust-anger-greed/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [And that is the trouble with all lovers: they want more love, because they don't understand that the real desire is not for more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/and-that-is-the-trouble-with-all-lovers-they-want-more-love-because/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The desire to love and be loved is the most basic human need. You realize how deeply God loves you? You are a human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-bangira/the-desire-to-love-and-be-loved-is-the-most-basic-human-need-you/) [Wesley Bangira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-bangira/) > [“At the start of a new love as its ending, we are not exclusively attached to the object of that love, but rather the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/at-the-start-of-a-new-love-as-its-ending-we-are-not-exclusively/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [If someone does me injury I must desire that this injury shall not degrade me. I must desire this out of love for him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/if-someone-does-me-injury-i-must-desire-that-this-injury-shall-not/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) [Browse all 90 Desire love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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 as two people could was what really mattered. Was it more important to insist a man's religious beliefs be exactly hers, or that the two of them have in common ideals, a desire to keep love in their lives, and to preserve in every possible way what was best in themselves? 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