--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've read there is no such thing as a…" description: "\"I've read there is no such thing as a single tear, that old poetic trope. And perhaps there isn't, since hers was simply a companion to my own.\" — Eliz..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3f/elizabeth-kostova-6991_companion_i-ve-read-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-si_3131880.png" --- # I've read there is no such thing as a single tear, that… ![“I've read there is no such thing as a single tear, that old poetic trope. And perhaps there isn't, since hers was simply a companion to my own.” quote by Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3f/elizabeth-kostova-6991_companion_i-ve-read-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-si_3131880.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3f/elizabeth-kostova-6991_companion_i-ve-read-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-si_3131880.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3f/elizabeth-kostova-6991_companion_i-ve-read-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-si_3131880.png) > “I've read there is no such thing as a single tear, that old poetic trope. And perhaps there isn't, since hers was simply a companion to my own.” [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A single tear may be unique, yet shared grief links individuals, making sorrow a companion. **In simple terms:** Tears can be both unique and shared. Key Takeaway Recognize shared humanity in sorrow. Themes grief connection empathy poetry Mood melancholic thoughtful Type literary emotional When to use this quote - personal loss - literary analysis - therapy sessions Key Concepts existentialism symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What does sharing grief reveal about us? - How does poetry shape our perception of loss? A Different Perspective Individual tears may be dismissed as cliché. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) [Poetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetic/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [Tropes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tropes/) ## Related quotes > [Someone may be able to tear down this old outside of you, but the new inside cannot be torn!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/someone-may-be-able-to-tear-down-this-old-outside-of-you-but-the-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Beauty is an intangible thing; can not be fixed on the surface, and the wear and tear of old age on the body cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/beauty-is-an-intangible-thing-can-not-be-fixed-on-the-surface-and-the/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [Your best friend is a single tear drop from your watering eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-best-friend-is-a-single-tear-drop-from-your-watering-eyes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The drying up a single tear has more, of honest fame, than shedding seas of gore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/the-drying-up-a-single-tear-has-more-of-honest-fame-than-shedding/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [For the first time in your conscious memory; for the first time in fact, since your were a baby; a single tear, full and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-sim/for-the-first-time-in-your-conscious-memory-for-the-first-time-in/) [Dave Sim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-sim/) > [“What is the weight of a tear? The single tear falls when the buckets have stopped, when dry eyes and a slightly raised chin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-murray/what-is-the-weight-of-a-tear-the-single-tear-falls-when-the-buckets/) Wendy Murray > [“I've made it this far without crying a single tear and I'd sure hate to break down here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trace-adkins/i-ve-made-it-this-far-without-crying-a-single-tear-and-i-d-sure-hate/) [Trace Adkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trace-adkins/) > [Haven't shed a single tear, but I'm hurtin' down inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/capital-steez/haven-t-shed-a-single-tear-but-i-m-hurtin-down-inside/) [Capital STEEZ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/capital-steez/) > [“my face: I should have had a single tear frozen to my cheek,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barr/my-face-i-should-have-had-a-single-tear-frozen-to-my-cheek/) [Emily Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barr/) > [I let you break me many times but I didn't shed a single tear for you this last time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/i-let-you-break-me-many-times-but-i-didn-t-shed-a-single-tear-for-you/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [And as a single tear ran down her cheek, she looked to him for comfort, and all he was look away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-as-a-single-tear-ran-down-her-cheek-she-looked-to-him-for-comfort/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A single smile shows happiness, a single tear shows sorrow, a single touch shows affection, a single You completes tomorrow...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armee-taylo/a-single-smile-shows-happiness-a-single-tear-shows-sorrow-a-single/) [Armee Taylo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armee-taylo/) > [“A single tear rolls down her cheek like a star dropping from the tired sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addison-moore/a-single-tear-rolls-down-her-cheek-like-a-star-dropping-from-the/) [Addison Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addison-moore/) > [“cheek. Unlike the Blade, I don’t cry the moment I realize what’s happening to me; I think the single-tear thing is a myth, anyway.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-panitch/cheek-unlike-the-blade-i-don-t-cry-the-moment-i-realize-what-s/) Amanda Panitch > [Audiences are hungry for something different. With binge-watching, they're hungry for interesting content they haven't seen before, and they want to be entertained. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-millar/audiences-are-hungry-for-something-different-with-binge-watching-they/) [Miles Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-millar/) ## More by Elizabeth Kostova > [“These are works of history about your century, the twentieth. A fine century-I look forward to the rest of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/these-are-works-of-history-about-your-century-the-twentieth-a-fine/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [“Then he said a strange thing, but to himself. 'They lived, didn't they?' And I said yes, that when one reads old letters one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/then-he-said-a-strange-thing-but-to-himself-they-lived-didn-t-they/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [I was filled with angst in college, that I struggled with the question of my future, the meaning of my life - spoiled sheltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/i-was-filled-with-angst-in-college-that-i-struggled-with-the-question/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [We Gypsies know that where Jews are killed, Gypsies are always murthered too. And then a lot of other people, usually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/we-gypsies-know-that-where-jews-are-killed-gypsies-are-always/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [I love to cook and I've cooked a lot of Bulgarian food over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/i-love-to-cook-and-i-ve-cooked-a-lot-of-bulgarian-food-over-the-years/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [If there is any good in life, in history, in my own past, I invoke it now. I invoke it with all the passion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/if-there-is-any-good-in-life-in-history-in-my-own-past-i-invoke-it/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [What comes to your mind when you think of the word Transylvania, if you ponder it at all? What comes to my mind are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/what-comes-to-your-mind-when-you-think-of-the-word-transylvania-if/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [Bulgarians eat tarator every single day in summer. They think of it as salad although we'd call it a soup. You can make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/bulgarians-eat-tarator-every-single-day-in-summer-they-think-of-it-as/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [Festina Lente (Hurry in slowly)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/festina-lente-hurry-in-slowly/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [“I preferred solitude anyway; it was the medium in which I had been raised, in which I swam comfortably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/i-preferred-solitude-anyway-it-was-the-medium-in-which-i-had-been/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [The thing that most haunted me that day, however...was the fact that these things had - apparently - actually occurred...For all his attention to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/the-thing-that-most-haunted-me-that-day-however-was-the-fact-that/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [“Then draw everything. Do a hundred drawings a day,' he said fiercely. 'And remember that it's a hellish life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/then-draw-everything-do-a-hundred-drawings-a-day-he-said-fiercely-and/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [“Doesn't every love express itself this way, with the seeds of both its flowering and its ruin in the very first words, the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/doesn-t-every-love-express-itself-this-way-with-the-seeds-of-both-its/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [He brought his great hand to rest on an early edition of Bram Stoker's novel and smiled, but said nothing. Then he moved quietly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/he-brought-his-great-hand-to-rest-on-an-early-edition-of-bram-stoker/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [Faith is simply whatever is real to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/faith-is-simply-whatever-is-real-to-us/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) [Explore all 92 Elizabeth Kostova quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) ## More Companion quotes > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [One must accept the fact that we have only one companion in this world, a companion who accompanies us from the cradle to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/one-must-accept-the-fact-that-we-have-only-one-companion-in-this/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I am simply looking for a companion with whom to spend my days, a companion who will cherish as much as I the stupidity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-julavits/i-am-simply-looking-for-a-companion-with-whom-to-spend-my-days-a/) [Heidi Julavits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-julavits/) > [I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart which can be cured only with gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-and-my-companions-suffer-from-a-disease-of-the-heart-which-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The adult who puts his arm around his companion in the ballroom, and the child in the roadway, skipping in a round dance -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-sachs/the-adult-who-puts-his-arm-around-his-companion-in-the-ballroom-and/) [Curt Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-sachs/) > [True, the fragile bodies of his fellows do not weigh down his plane; true, the fretful minds of weaker men are missing from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/true-the-fragile-bodies-of-his-fellows-do-not-weigh-down-his-plane/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [God is our portion, Christ our companion, the Spirit our Comforter, Earth our lodge, and Heaven is our home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/god-is-our-portion-christ-our-companion-the-spirit-our-comforter/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [The thing that counts most in the pursuit of happiness is choosing the right companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/the-thing-that-counts-most-in-the-pursuit-of-happiness-is-choosing/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [ \[A cat\] will make itself the companion of your hours of work, of loneliness, or of sadness. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/a-cat-will-make-itself-the-companion-of-your-hours-of-work-of/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [Those who grieve frequently find themselves alone. Missed is the laughter of children, the commotion of teenagers, and the tender, loving concern of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/those-who-grieve-frequently-find-themselves-alone-missed-is-the/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Plato calls complacency the companion of loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/plato-calls-complacency-the-companion-of-loneliness/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [The burning soul, the burden'd mind, In books alone companions find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-josepha-hale/the-burning-soul-the-burden-d-mind-in-books-alone-companions-find/) [Sarah Josepha Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-josepha-hale/) [Browse all 1,106 Companion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've read there is no such thing as a single tear, that old poetic trope. 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