Family Quote by Bram Stoker
““I am glad that it is old and big. I myself am of an old family, and to live in a new house would kill me. A house cannot be made habitable in a day; and, after all, how few days go to make up a century. I rejoice also that there is a chapel of old times. We Transylvanian nobles love not to think that our bones may lie amongst the common dead. I seek not gaiety nor mirth, not the bright voluptuousness of much sunshine and sparkling waters which please the young and gay. I am no longer young; and my heart, through weary years of mourning over the dead, is not attuned to mirth. Moreover, the walls of my castle are broken; the shadows are many, and the wind breathes cold through the broken battlements and casements. I love the shade and the shadow, and would be alone with my thoughts when I may.” Somehow his words and his look did not seem to accord, or else it was that his cast of face made his smile look malignant and saturnine.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Dracula by Bram Stoker, 1897
The speaker values age, tradition, and solitude, finding comfort in old, familiar places over new, bright experiences.
In simple terms: Old comforts are preferred over new thrills.
Key Takeaway
Embrace familiar traditions.
Themes
nostalgia
solitude
tradition
Mood
melancholic
contemplative
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- personal reflection
- historical settings
- loneliness
- aging
Key Concepts
existentialism
mortality
Questions to Reflect On
- What traditions ground you?
- How do you balance nostalgia with change?
A Different Perspective
May romanticize decay and ignore progress.
