--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dan thought of love as defined by books…" description: "\"Dan thought of love as defined by books, cobwebbed and hidden from view by the past. Too bad a love like that didn't actually exist. In the twentieth c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1af/dennis-cooper-32504_20th-century_dan-thought-of-love-as-defined-by-books_2615498.jpg" --- # Dan thought of love as defined by books, cobwebbed and… ![“Dan thought of love as defined by books, cobwebbed and hidden from view by the past. Too bad a love like that didn't actually exist. In the twentieth century one had to fake it.” quote by Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1af/dennis-cooper-32504_20th-century_dan-thought-of-love-as-defined-by-books_2615498.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1af/dennis-cooper-32504_20th-century_dan-thought-of-love-as-defined-by-books_2615498.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1af/dennis-cooper-32504_20th-century_dan-thought-of-love-as-defined-by-books_2615498.jpg) > “Dan thought of love as defined by books, cobwebbed and hidden from view by the past. Too bad a love like that didn't actually exist. In the twentieth century one had to fake it.” [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) ## 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 portrayed as an idealized, literary construct that feels unattainable, leading to a need for artificial or false love in modern times. **In simple terms:** Literary love feels unreal, prompting fake relationships. Key Takeaway Seek authentic connections beyond idealized narratives. Themes love illusion modernity Mood melancholic reflective critical Type literature relationships When to use this quote - dating apps - literary analysis - personal relationships Key Concepts romanticism authenticity social constructs Questions to Reflect On - What does authentic love look like? - How do media shape our love expectations? A Different Perspective Idealizing love can cause disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [20th century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) [Bad love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-love/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Dan Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dan-thought-1538023/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-defined-438878/) [Thought Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-love/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Dan thought of another AA aphorism: We're powerless over people, places, and things. 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Real love can only be defined by them both.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soar-soaring-words-com/beautiful-feelings-soar-freely-while-true-care-roots-deeply-real-love/) [Soar Soaring-Words.com](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soar-soaring-words-com/) > [Dont love D person who enjoys with U, Love D person who really suffers without U.. Becoz, D pain of love can never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laine/dont-love-d-person-who-enjoys-with-u-love-d-person-who-really-suffers/) [Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laine/) > [Your love is unique. Let love remain love, don’t give it any name. The love that is defined by a relationship is limited. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/your-love-is-unique-let-love-remain-love-don-t-give-it-any-name-the/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Don't love the person who enjoys with you..!! Love the person who really suffers without you..!! Bcoz the pain of real love can never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-love-the-person-who-enjoys-with-you-love-the-person-who-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The word "love" is most often defined as a noun, yet al the more astute theorists of love acknowledge that we would all love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/the-word-love-is-most-often-defined-as-a-noun-yet-al-the-more-astute/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [“Love-real love-can’t be defined. It just is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-scott/love-real-love-can-t-be-defined-it-just-is/) [Elizabeth Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-scott/) > [Love is something not to be defined or to labelled as right or wrong. Its comes by itself and makes its own way in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/love-is-something-not-to-be-defined-or-to-labelled-as-right-or-wrong/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The pain of love can never be defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anmol-andore/the-pain-of-love-can-never-be-defined/) [Anmol Andore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anmol-andore/) > [People say some love is rare and some love is kind well I know for a fact that our love cannot be defined. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arcine-arciniegas/people-say-some-love-is-rare-and-some-love-is-kind-well-i-know-for-a/) [Arcine Arciniegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arcine-arciniegas/) > [Love can not be defined by a book nor by words…you have to feel it with all your heart …](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/love-can-not-be-defined-by-a-book-nor-by-words-you-have-to-feel-it/) [Butterfly\_Kisses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/butterfly-kisses/) > [Love is sweet, and can be kind. Love may never be defined. You think you have found the answer based on your heart. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-warner/love-is-sweet-and-can-be-kind-love-may-never-be-defined-you-think-you/) [Shelby Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-warner/) > [“I love how everything must always be defined. Gay, straight, bi. Why can’t people just fuck whoever they want without feeling the need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-kennedy/i-love-how-everything-must-always-be-defined-gay-straight-bi-why-can/) [Elle Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-kennedy/) > [Love is something that cannot be defined in words. Love can only be felt deep down in our heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/love-is-something-that-cannot-be-defined-in-words-love-can-only-be/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) ## More by Dennis Cooper > [Why is it I feel a new nostalgia for the era of the guillotine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/why-is-it-i-feel-a-new-nostalgia-for-the-era-of-the-guillotine/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [A lot of writers do think of their characters as living beings. I know that's the way people think. That's why I try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/a-lot-of-writers-do-think-of-their-characters-as-living-beings-i-know/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [“Emotional. Out of his mind grateful. Anything goes. I love you, I love you, I love you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/emotional-out-of-his-mind-grateful-anything-goes-i-love-you-i-love/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [Before I decided to concentrate on writing, I drew pictures and painted, and made Super 8 experimental movies. I was the singer in three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/before-i-decided-to-concentrate-on-writing-i-drew-pictures-and/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [Cult writer. It's a weird term because it's complimentary but condescending at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/cult-writer-it-s-a-weird-term-because-it-s-complimentary-but/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [I think pornography is a very rich medium, and I've studied it closely and learned quite a lot as a writer from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/i-think-pornography-is-a-very-rich-medium-and-i-ve-studied-it-closely/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [My novels tend to take a long time to become exactly what they're going to be. They're fluid messes until I've done a ton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/my-novels-tend-to-take-a-long-time-to-become-exactly-what-they-re/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [I was thinking a lot about music, about how music is mixed and how everything is happening at the same time; it just amounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/i-was-thinking-a-lot-about-music-about-how-music-is-mixed-and-how/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [“When a child grows old enough to know J.R.R. Tolkien was just staring at a typewriter, the truth can be a wounding exposé.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/when-a-child-grows-old-enough-to-know-j-r-r-tolkien-was-just-staring/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [“I'm a talentless but popular young singer and I have the feeling someone is watching me. I use the term loosely because I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/i-m-a-talentless-but-popular-young-singer-and-i-have-the-feeling/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [“But here I am blocking the view of this simple scene, like a director who accidentally walks in front of his own projector, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/but-here-i-am-blocking-the-view-of-this-simple-scene-like-a-director/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [When I read Spencer Madsen’s poetry, I not only feel awe because he’s so good, one of the best, but I also think about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/when-i-read-spencer-madsen-s-poetry-i-not-only-feel-awe-because-he-s/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [“When I started writing I was a sick teenaged fuck inside who partly thought I was the new Marquis de Sade, a body doomed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/when-i-started-writing-i-was-a-sick-teenaged-fuck-inside-who-partly/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) > [I want to love someone so selflessly that he would never even think about going away. I suppose that's what most people want. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-cooper/i-want-to-love-someone-so-selflessly-that-he-would-never-even-think/) [Dennis Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) [Explore all 15 Dennis Cooper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-cooper/) ## More 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. 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