--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A love affair is like a short story--it…" description: "\"A love affair is like a short story--it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning was easy, the middle might drag, invaded by commonplace, b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_affair_a-love-affair-is-like-a-short-story-it-h_1718542.jpg" --- # A love affair is like a short story--it has a beginning, a… ![“A love affair is like a short story--it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning was easy, the middle might drag, invaded by commonplace, but the end, instead of being decisive and well knit with that element of revelatory surprise as a well-written story should be, it usually…” quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_affair_a-love-affair-is-like-a-short-story-it-h_1718542.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_affair_a-love-affair-is-like-a-short-story-it-h_1718542.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_affair_a-love-affair-is-like-a-short-story-it-h_1718542.jpg) > “A love affair is like a short story--it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning was easy, the middle might drag, invaded by commonplace, but the end, instead of being decisive and well knit with that element of revelatory surprise as a well-written story should be, it usually dissipated in a succession of messy and humiliating anticlimaxes.” [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love often follows a narrative arc, starting easy, becoming tedious, and ending anticlimactically. **In simple terms:** Love can feel like a story with a weak ending. Key Takeaway Accept that love may not follow a perfect plot. Themes love relationships storytelling Mood reflective melancholy Type analytical literary When to use this quote - dating - long‑term partnership - breakups - relationship counseling Key Concepts narrative arc anticlimax expectation Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle the “anticlimax” in a relationship? - Can you find meaning in a flawed ending? A Different Perspective Not all relationships resolve neatly; messy endings are common. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-affair/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Succession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succession/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) ## Related quotes > [The End of the Affair is almost like a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-jordan/the-end-of-the-affair-is-almost-like-a-play/) [Neil Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-jordan/) > [I would try to write my own story about some East Coast suburbanite having an affair or something like that. So I did that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-ray-pollock/i-would-try-to-write-my-own-story-about-some-east-coast-suburbanite/) [Donald Ray Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-ray-pollock/) > [My favorite roles usually have to do with the story, if it's a good story I usually enjoy doing the character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-bridges/my-favorite-roles-usually-have-to-do-with-the-story-if-it-s-a-good/) [Beau Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-bridges/) > [Always listen to both sides of the story. Its usually the ones you believed, who turn out to be the biggest liars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/always-listen-to-both-sides-of-the-story-its-usually-the-ones-you/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [When I say, 'It's a long story,' it usually means I just don't want to tell you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-say-it-s-a-long-story-it-usually-means-i-just-don-t-want-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My fiction is based on both my own experience transformed, altered, juggled and changed to suit the demands of composition, character, and plot. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-major/my-fiction-is-based-on-both-my-own-experience-transformed-altered/) [Clarence Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-major/) > [For the source of the short story is usually lyrical. And all writers speak from, and speak to, emotions eternally the same in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/for-the-source-of-the-short-story-is-usually-lyrical-and-all-writers/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [When I say 'Its a long story,' it usually means that I just don't want you to know all of my business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-say-its-a-long-story-it-usually-means-that-i-just-don-t-want/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I begin to write a story, I usually know how things will end. It's the journey toward that point I must discover. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-willis-holt/when-i-begin-to-write-a-story-i-usually-know-how-things-will-end-it-s/) [Kimberly Willis Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-willis-holt/) > [In commercial fiction especially, everything in the story usually contributes directly to the plot The shorter the story, the truer this is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-kress/in-commercial-fiction-especially-everything-in-the-story-usually/) [Nancy Kress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-kress/) > [I don't know if make a conscious effort to vary the characters and subjects that I write about, but I do find myself keeping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-sneed/i-don-t-know-if-make-a-conscious-effort-to-vary-the-characters-and/) [Christine Sneed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-sneed/) > [The writing is really important in books that affect me. I read for the writing. The story is usually of less interest to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/the-writing-is-really-important-in-books-that-affect-me-i-read-for/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [With me, a story usually begins with a single idea or mental picture. The writing of the story is simply a matter of working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/with-me-a-story-usually-begins-with-a-single-idea-or-mental-picture/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [If I like a particular character or story, I usually say yes to the film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajkummar-rao/if-i-like-a-particular-character-or-story-i-usually-say-yes-to-the/) [Rajkummar Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajkummar-rao/) > [We live in a culture that does not encourage women to be epic heroes of their own Big Stories but the mothers and lovers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-musk/we-live-in-a-culture-that-does-not-encourage-women-to-be-epic-heroes/) [Justine Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-musk/) ## More by F. Scott Fitzgerald > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-a-ripe-mystery-about-it-a-hint-of-bedrooms-upstairs-more/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I found something! Courage--just that; courage as a rule of life and something to cling to always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-found-something-courage-just-that-courage-as-a-rule-of-life-and/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Life is a series of successful gestures...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/life-is-a-series-of-successful-gestures/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Another dawn flung itself across the river; a belated taxi hurried along the street, its lamps still shining like burning eyes in a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/another-dawn-flung-itself-across-the-river-a-belated-taxi-hurried/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“She plucked a twig and broke it, but she found no spring in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/she-plucked-a-twig-and-broke-it-but-she-found-no-spring-in-it/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“I'm one of those people who go through the world giving other people thrills but getting few myself except those I read into men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-m-one-of-those-people-who-go-through-the-world-giving-other-people/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The Montana sunset lay between the mountains like a giant bruise from which darkened arteries spread across a poisoned sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-montana-sunset-lay-between-the-mountains-like-a-giant-bruise-from/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“You loved me too?" he repeated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/you-loved-me-too-he-repeated/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“He was good looking, "sort of distinguished when he wants to be", had a line, and was properly inconstant. In fact, he summed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/he-was-good-looking-sort-of-distinguished-when-he-wants-to-be-had-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [What are you going to do? "Can't say - run for president, write -" "Greenwich Village?" "Good heavens, no - I said write -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-are-you-going-to-do-can-t-say-run-for-president-write-greenwich/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“The latter was considered a good fellow and a fine leader, until a year later, when he disappeared with a mess fund of eleven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-latter-was-considered-a-good-fellow-and-a-fine-leader-until-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/it-eluded-us-then-but-that-s-no-matter-tomorrow-we-will-run-faster/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Explore all 1,568 F. Scott Fitzgerald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More Affair quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Our guiding principle was that design is neither an intellectual nor a material affair, but simply an integral part of the stuff of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-gropius/our-guiding-principle-was-that-design-is-neither-an-intellectual-nor/) [Walter Gropius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-gropius/) > [I wonder if it's possible to have a love affair that lasts forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-wonder-if-it-s-possible-to-have-a-love-affair-that-lasts-forever/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [For a young man to start his career with a love affair with an older woman was quite de rigueur ... Of course, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vita-sackville-west/for-a-young-man-to-start-his-career-with-a-love-affair-with-an-older/) [Vita Sackville-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vita-sackville-west/) > [As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-long-as-the-state-permits-itself-to-interfere-in-the-affairs-of/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Love is mainly an affair of short spasms. If these spasms disappoint us, love dies. It is very seldom that it weathers the experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/love-is-mainly-an-affair-of-short-spasms-if-these-spasms-disappoint/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [My hope does not rest in the affairs of this world. It rests in Christ who is coming again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/my-hope-does-not-rest-in-the-affairs-of-this-world-it-rests-in-christ/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. The Eisenhower administration believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/in-1953-the-united-states-played-a-significant-role-in-orchestrating/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Not everyone likes the stable, gradual rise of our country. There are some who are using the democratic ideology to interfere in our internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/not-everyone-likes-the-stable-gradual-rise-of-our-country-there-are/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [The archives recall not one single incriminating incident, not one drunken escapade, not one reported affair, not one spat with a team-mate or reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-atherton/the-archives-recall-not-one-single-incriminating-incident-not-one/) Michael Atherton > [“I ripped the sketch from the wall. "Liar." Edward looked more ravaged than usual. "That is a terrible word, coming from you." "Yup." "And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/i-ripped-the-sketch-from-the-wall-liar-edward-looked-more-ravaged/) [Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/) > [For some people, a one-night stand doesn't make any difference in a seven-year love affair. I don't believe the degree of betrayal is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/for-some-people-a-one-night-stand-doesn-t-make-any-difference-in-a/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [And what is literature, Rabo," he said, "but an insider's newsletter about affairs relating to molecules, of no importance to anything in the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-what-is-literature-rabo-he-said-but-an-insider-s-newsletter-about/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Browse all 2,218 Affair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A love affair is like a short story--it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. 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