--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At first he told them that everything was…" description: "\"“At first he told them that everything was just the same, that the pink snails were still in the house where he had been born, that the dry herring sti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_human-heart_at-first-he-told-them-that-everything-wa_3097136.jpg" --- # At first he told them that everything was just the same… ![“At first he told them that everything was just the same, that the pink snails were still in the house where he had been born, that the dry herring still had the same taste on a piece of toast, that the waterfalls in the village still took on a perfumed smell at dusk. They were the notebook pages…” quote by Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_human-heart_at-first-he-told-them-that-everything-wa_3097136.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_human-heart_at-first-he-told-them-that-everything-wa_3097136.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_human-heart_at-first-he-told-them-that-everything-wa_3097136.jpg) > ““At first he told them that everything was just the same, that the pink snails were still in the house where he had been born, that the dry herring still had the same taste on a piece of toast, that the waterfalls in the village still took on a perfumed smell at dusk. They were the notebook pages again, woven with the purple scribbling, in which he dedicated a special paragraph to each one. Nevertheless, and although he himself did not seem to notice it, those letters of recuperation and stimulation were slowly changing into pastoral letters of disenchantment. One winter night while the soup was boiling in the fireplace, he missed the heat of the back of his store, the buzzing of the sun on the dusty almond trees, the whistle of the train during the lethargy of siesta time, just as in Macondo he had missed the winter soup in the fireplace, the cries of the coffee vendor, and the fleeting larks of springtime. Upset by two nostalgias facing each other like two mirrors, he lost his marvelous sense of unreality and he ended up recommending to all of them that they leave Macondo, that they forget everything he had taught then about the world and the human heart, that they shit on Horace, and that wherever they might be they always remember that the past was a lie, that memory has no return, that every spring gone by could never be recovered, and that the wildest and most tenacious love was an ephemeral truth in the end. ”” [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on nostalgia, memory, and the futility of clinging to the past, urging acceptance of change. **In simple terms:** Clinging to memory is futile; embrace change. Key Takeaway Let go of past idealizations. Themes memory nostalgia change disillusionment Mood melancholic thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - therapy sessions Key Concepts magical realism existentialism temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile past and present? - What role does nostalgia play in identity? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex emotional processes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Horace Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horace-remember-4903049/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Nostalgias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgias-537482/) [Nostalgias Facing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgias-facing-4903053/) [Remember Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-past/) [Smell Dusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell-dusk-5351755/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Winter night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter-night/) ## Related quotes > [“Upset by two nostalgias facing each other like two mirrors, he lost his marvelous sense of unreality and he ended up recommending to all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/upset-by-two-nostalgias-facing-each-other-like-two-mirrors-he-lost/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Recuerdo que algún día yo le hablé de mi río y una como tormenta se agitó en sus estrañas. No sé si fue mi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-de-burgos/recuerdo-que-alg-n-d-a-yo-le-habl-de-mi-r-o-y-una-como-tormenta-se/) [Julia de Burgos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-de-burgos/) > [There's a point when you're dating someone where you become aware of all the things you kind of thought you couldn't depart from. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-healy/there-s-a-point-when-you-re-dating-someone-where-you-become-aware-of/) [Matthew Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-healy/) > [I sometimes seem to myself to wander around the world merely accumulating material for future nostalgias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-sometimes-seem-to-myself-to-wander-around-the-world-merely/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [Nostalgias were peeled from it long ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-justice/nostalgias-were-peeled-from-it-long-ago/) [Donald Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-justice/) > [“Había llegado a la vejez con todas sus nostalgias vivas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hab-a-llegado-a-la-vejez-con-todas-sus-nostalgias-vivas/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There will be no more nostalgias, Phil decides. From now on I’m living in this moment, then this one, and then this. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catriona-ross/there-will-be-no-more-nostalgias-phil-decides-from-now-on-i-m-living/) [Catriona Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catriona-ross/) > [“And so their memories took on potential, which is of course how our greatest nostalgias are born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-so-their-memories-took-on-potential-which-is-of-course-how-our/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Lighting one candle from another - Winter night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yosa-buson/lighting-one-candle-from-another-winter-night/) [Yosa Buson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yosa-buson/) > [“In the uncertain ebb and flow of time and emotions, much of one's life history is etched in the senses. And things of no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/in-the-uncertain-ebb-and-flow-of-time-and-emotions-much-of-one-s-life/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [“I could have explained that I wanted to walk without Doofus to get some air. But it would be pretty unusual-one might even go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/i-could-have-explained-that-i-wanted-to-walk-without-doofus-to-get/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [“Tsukuru’s mind grew still and tranquil. A quiet feeling, like a frozen tree on a windless winter night. But there was little pain mixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/tsukuru-s-mind-grew-still-and-tranquil-a-quiet-feeling-like-a-frozen/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The winter night blew in with frosty wind, and the street lamps with their sputtering carbons swung restlessly and made the shadows dart back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-winter-night-blew-in-with-frosty-wind-and-the-street-lamps-with/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Walking the streets on winter nights kept him warm, despite the cold nocturnal passions of uprising winds. His footsteps led between trade-marked houses, two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sillitoe/walking-the-streets-on-winter-nights-kept-him-warm-despite-the-cold/) [Alan Sillitoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sillitoe/) > [It was a chilly winter's night; And frost was glitt'ring on theground, And evening stars were twinkling bright;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barnes/it-was-a-chilly-winter-s-night-and-frost-was-glitt-ring-on-theground/) [William Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barnes/) ## More by Gabriel García Márquez > [“The Captain looked at Fermina Daza and saw on her eyelashes the first glimmer of wintry frost. Then he looked at Florentino Ariza, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/the-captain-looked-at-fermina-daza-and-saw-on-her-eyelashes-the-first/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Courage did not come from the need to survive, or from a brute indifference inherited from someone else, but from a driving need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/courage-did-not-come-from-the-need-to-survive-or-from-a-brute/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“He aprendido que un hombre sólo tiene derecho a mirar a otro hacia abajo cuando ha de ayudarle a levantarse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-aprendido-que-un-hombre-s-lo-tiene-derecho-a-mirar-a-otro-hacia/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [From the moment I wrote 'Leaf Storm' I realized I wanted to be a writer and that nobody could stop me and that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/from-the-moment-i-wrote-leaf-storm-i-realized-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Berhentilah sepi, hidup ini pendek.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/berhentilah-sepi-hidup-ini-pendek/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“They were people whose lives were slow, who did not see themselves growing old, or falling sick, or dying, but who disappeared little by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/they-were-people-whose-lives-were-slow-who-did-not-see-themselves/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“I didn't do any of what they told me,' she said, 'because the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-didn-t-do-any-of-what-they-told-me-she-said-because-the-more-i/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [He thought about his people without sentimentalily, with a strick closing of his accounts with life, beginning to understand how much he really loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-thought-about-his-people-without-sentimentalily-with-a-strick/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Why were you so old when we met? I answered with the truth: Age isn't how old you are but how old you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/why-were-you-so-old-when-we-met-i-answered-with-the-truth-age-isn-t/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Between the covers of the books that no one had ever read again, in the old parchments damaged by dampness, a livid flower had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/between-the-covers-of-the-books-that-no-one-had-ever-read-again-in/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Fear had absorbed her completely and remained there, fixed, tenacious, almost corporeal, as if it were some invisible person who had made up his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/fear-had-absorbed-her-completely-and-remained-there-fixed-tenacious/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Today I know I was right. The adolescents of my generation, greedy for life, forgot in body and soul about their hopes for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/today-i-know-i-was-right-the-adolescents-of-my-generation-greedy-for/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“...It was then, for the first time, that she understood above all her virtues what was in command was the vanity of a metaphysical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/it-was-then-for-the-first-time-that-she-understood-above-all-her/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) [Explore all 872 Gabriel García Márquez quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) ## More Human heart quotes > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“God delights in beauty, Islam teaches at its core, and is beauty. Beauty is in creation, not destruction, and in balance. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-tippett/god-delights-in-beauty-islam-teaches-at-its-core-and-is-beauty-beauty/) [Krista Tippett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-tippett/) > [“human heart only sweetens when broken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/human-heart-only-sweetens-when-broken/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble. Sometimes both are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/the-heart-s-blind-it-s-the-head-that-causes-all-the-trouble-sometimes/) [K. 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You mean that an innocent lie for the sake of a good joke is harmless, and does not offend the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-quite-understand-you-you-mean-that-an-innocent-lie-for-the-sake-of/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) [Browse all 1,381 Human heart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At first he told them that everything was just the same, that the pink snails were still in the house where he had been born, that the dry herring still had the same taste on a piece of toast, that the waterfalls in the village still took on a perfumed smell at dusk. They were the notebook pages again, woven with the purple scribbling, in which he dedicated a special paragraph to each one. Nevertheless, and although he himself did not seem to notice it, those letters of recuperation and stimulation were slowly changing into pastoral letters of disenchantment. One winter night while the soup was boiling in the fireplace, he missed the heat of the back of his store, the buzzing of the sun on the dusty almond trees, the whistle of the train during the lethargy of siesta time, just as in Macondo he had missed the winter soup in the fireplace, the cries of the coffee vendor, and the fleeting larks of springtime. Upset by two nostalgias facing each other like two mirrors, he lost his marvelous sense of unreality and he ended up recommending to all of them that they leave Macondo, that they forget everything he had taught then about the world and the human heart, that they shit on Horace, and that wherever they might be they always remember that the past was a lie, that memory has no return, that every spring gone by could never be recovered, and that the wildest and most tenacious love was an ephemeral truth in the end. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gabriel García Márquez" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/at-first-he-told-them-that-everything-was-just-the-same-that-the-pink/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human heart" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/at-first-he-told-them-that-everything-was-just-the-same-that-the-pink/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_human-heart_at-first-he-told-them-that-everything-wa_3097136.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_human-heart_at-first-he-told-them-that-everything-wa_3097136.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_human-heart_at-first-he-told-them-that-everything-wa_3097136.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At first he told them that everything was just the same, that the pink snails were still in the house where…” — Gabriel García Márquez", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gabriel García Márquez", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“At first he told them that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/at-first-he-told-them-that-everything-was-just-the-same-that-the-pink/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/at-first-he-told-them-that-everything-was-just-the-same-that-the-pink/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```