--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We cannot go backward,' Marco says. 'A…" description: "\"We cannot go backward,' Marco says. 'A great deal is not how it used to be.\" — Erin Morgenstern" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5c/erin-morgenstern-806_backward_we-cannot-go-backward-marco-says-a-great_2512280.png" --- # We cannot go backward,' Marco says. 'A great deal is not… ![“We cannot go backward,' Marco says. 'A great deal is not how it used to be.” quote by Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5c/erin-morgenstern-806_backward_we-cannot-go-backward-marco-says-a-great_2512280.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5c/erin-morgenstern-806_backward_we-cannot-go-backward-marco-says-a-great_2512280.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5c/erin-morgenstern-806_backward_we-cannot-go-backward-marco-says-a-great_2512280.png) > “We cannot go backward,' Marco says. 'A great deal is not how it used to be.” [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character declares that progress cannot revert to the past, emphasizing change over nostalgia. **In simple terms:** We cannot go backward; things change. Key Takeaway Accept change and move forward. Themes change progress nostalgia time Mood reflective hopeful Type literary motivational When to use this quote - career transitions - technological innovation - personal growth - cultural shifts Key Concepts literature philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What are you resisting letting go? - How can you embrace change positively? A Different Perspective Clinging to the past can hinder adaptation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Backward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backward/) [Backward Marco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backward-marco-1167736/) [Deal Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deal-used-1167737/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Marco Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marco-says-1167735/) [Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marcos/) [Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/says/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) ## Related quotes > [Celia, wait,” Marco says, standing but not moving closer to her. “You are breaking my heart. You told me once that I reminded you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/celia-wait-marco-says-standing-but-not-moving-closer-to-her-you-are/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [I speak and speak,” Marco says, “but the listener retains only the words he is expecting. The description of the world to which you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-speak-and-speak-marco-says-but-the-listener-retains-only-the-words/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“I'm not certain I understand the rules," Marco says. "You don't need to understand the rules. You need to follow them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/i-m-not-certain-i-understand-the-rules-marco-says-you-don-t-need-to/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“I think she’s a witch,” Marco says. “And I mean that in the most complimentary manner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/i-think-she-s-a-witch-marco-says-and-i-mean-that-in-the-most/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Marco knows he does not have the time to push her away, so he pulls her close, burying his face in her hair, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/marco-knows-he-does-not-have-the-time-to-push-her-away-so-he-pulls/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Do you remember all of your audiences?" Marco asks. "Not all of them," Celia says. "But I remember the people who look at me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/do-you-remember-all-of-your-audiences-marco-asks-not-all-of-them/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [So proper for a circus girl," Mme. Padva says with with a gleam in her eye. "We shall have to loosen those corset laces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/so-proper-for-a-circus-girl-mme-padva-says-with-with-a-gleam-in-her/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [How are you managing to keep everyone from aging?” Celia asks after a while. “Very carefully,” Marco answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/how-are-you-managing-to-keep-everyone-from-aging-celia-asks-after-a/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [I made a wish on this tree years ago," Marco says. "What did you wish for?" Bailey asks. Marco leans forward and whispers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/i-made-a-wish-on-this-tree-years-ago-marco-says-what-did-you-wish-for/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Celia laughs and a curl of her hair falls across her cheek. Marco tentatively moves to brush it off her face, but before his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/celia-laughs-and-a-curl-of-her-hair-falls-across-her-cheek-marco/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Which tent is your favourite?" he asks. "The Ice Garden," Celia answers, without even pausing to consider. "Why is that?" Marco asks. "Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/which-tent-is-your-favourite-he-asks-the-ice-garden-celia-answers/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Marco moves to close the distance between them, kissing away her tears before catching her lip with his own. As he kisses her, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/marco-moves-to-close-the-distance-between-them-kissing-away-her-tears/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Trapped in silence, Marco traces apologies and adorations across Celia's body with his tongue. Mutely expressing all the things he cannot speak aloud. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/trapped-in-silence-marco-traces-apologies-and-adorations-across-celia/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [ \[ Marco Rubio\] overly ambitious, too young, and I have better hair than he does. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/marco-rubio-overly-ambitious-too-young-and-i-have-better-hair-than-he/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [ If you closed your eyes during that \[Donald Trump\] conference and you didn't pay attention to who was saying those words, it could have… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-diaz-balart/if-you-closed-your-eyes-during-that-donald-trump-conference-and-you/) [Jose Diaz-Balart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-diaz-balart/) ## More by Erin Morgenstern > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“The Burgess sisters arrive together. Tara and Lainie do a little bit of everything. Sometimes dancers, sometimes actresses. Once they were librarians, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/the-burgess-sisters-arrive-together-tara-and-lainie-do-a-little-bit/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“Bedtime stories Eventide Rhapsodies Anthologies of Memory Please enter cautiously and feel free to open what is closed”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/bedtime-stories-eventide-rhapsodies-anthologies-of-memory-please/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“When all of this is over, no matter which one of us wins, I will not let you go so easily. Agreed?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/when-all-of-this-is-over-no-matter-which-one-of-us-wins-i-will-not/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“Even the ground beneath his feet feels unsatisfying to his boots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/even-the-ground-beneath-his-feet-feels-unsatisfying-to-his-boots/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“Why haven’t you asked me how I do my tricks?” Celia asks, once they have reached the point where she is certain he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/why-haven-t-you-asked-me-how-i-do-my-tricks-celia-asks-once-they-have/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [And there are really never endings, happy or otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/and-there-are-really-never-endings-happy-or-otherwise/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [I binge write. I think it's because I started seriously writing by participating in National Novel Writing Month, an online-based challenge to write 50,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/i-binge-write-i-think-it-s-because-i-started-seriously-writing-by/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [I have absurdly vivid dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/i-have-absurdly-vivid-dreams/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [I made a wish on this tree years ago," Marco says. "What did you wish for?" Bailey asks. Marco leans forward and whispers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/i-made-a-wish-on-this-tree-years-ago-marco-says-what-did-you-wish-for/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“He reads histories and mythologies and fairy tales, wondering why it seems that only girls are ever swept away from their mundane lives on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/he-reads-histories-and-mythologies-and-fairy-tales-wondering-why-it/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“Behind him, the sheep, left to their own devices, decide to wander through the open gate into the field beyond.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/behind-him-the-sheep-left-to-their-own-devices-decide-to-wander/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Marco moves to close the distance between them, kissing away her tears before catching her lip with his own. As he kisses her, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/marco-moves-to-close-the-distance-between-them-kissing-away-her-tears/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“«Importa más ser que parecer.»”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/importa-m-s-ser-que-parecer/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [And before he can tell her to tell Widget goodbye for him if need be, she leans forward and kisses him, not on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/and-before-he-can-tell-her-to-tell-widget-goodbye-for-him-if-need-be/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) [Explore all 339 Erin Morgenstern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) ## More Backward quotes > [I hate looking backward, but every once in a while it sneaks up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-lancaster/i-hate-looking-backward-but-every-once-in-a-while-it-sneaks-up-on-you/) [Burt Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-lancaster/) > [“Thus the thoughtless drift backward toward slavery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-g-woodson/thus-the-thoughtless-drift-backward-toward-slavery/) [Carter G. Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-g-woodson/) > [“Whoever said that the past isn’t dead had it backward. It’s the future that’s already dead, already played out. This whole night has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/whoever-said-that-the-past-isn-t-dead-had-it-backward-it-s-the-future/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honestly-if-you-were-any-slower-you-d-be-going-backward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I learn things in a backward way. I learn all those limitations, and slowly my brain soaks them up, and if things go right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-odenkirk/i-learn-things-in-a-backward-way-i-learn-all-those-limitations-and/) [Bob Odenkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-odenkirk/) > [“It took us a while to discover that we do effectively think, but that we more readily narrate backward in order to give ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-took-us-a-while-to-discover-that-we-do-effectively-think-but-that/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Our habit of wishing backward from what is to what might have been is the soft but persistent tapping that cracks the crystal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/our-habit-of-wishing-backward-from-what-is-to-what-might-have-been-is/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The thing I love most about my job is watching people age backward, becoming more lively and energetic as they free themselves from situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/the-thing-i-love-most-about-my-job-is-watching-people-age-backward/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“Dreaming her way backward in time, resurrecting images, the young girl realized, with wonder, that the absent are always present, that you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/dreaming-her-way-backward-in-time-resurrecting-images-the-young-girl/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Us ballplayers do things backward. First we play, then we retire and go to work. —CHARLIE GEHRINGER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-wilde/us-ballplayers-do-things-backward-first-we-play-then-we-retire-and-go-2/) [Lori Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-wilde/) > [This was the Darker Life, where every truth was written backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/this-was-the-darker-life-where-every-truth-was-written-backward/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!I am so weary of toil and of tears,-Toil without recompense, tears all in vain!Take them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chase-allen/backward-flow-backward-o-tide-of-the-years-i-am-so-weary-of-toil-and/) [Elizabeth Chase Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chase-allen/) > [I loved you backward and forward in time. I loved you beyond boundaries of time and space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/i-loved-you-backward-and-forward-in-time-i-loved-you-beyond/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead; that is where your future lies. Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/nobody-gets-to-live-life-backward-look-ahead-that-is-where-your/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [“Life, too, is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward." from CUTTING FOR STONE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) [Browse all 340 Backward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backward/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We cannot go backward,' Marco says. 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