--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can you imagine having a love affair…" description: "\"Can you imagine having a love affair going on and on decade after decade? Macabre.\" — Gore Vidal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/gore-vidal-466_affair_can-you-imagine-having-a-love-affair-goi_359762.jpg" --- # Can you imagine having a love affair going on and on… ![“Can you imagine having a love affair going on and on decade after decade? Macabre.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/gore-vidal-466_affair_can-you-imagine-having-a-love-affair-goi_359762.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/gore-vidal-466_affair_can-you-imagine-having-a-love-affair-goi_359762.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/gore-vidal-466_affair_can-you-imagine-having-a-love-affair-goi_359762.jpg) > “Can you imagine having a love affair going on and on decade after decade? Macabre.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A cynical view of endless romantic entanglements, highlighting their emptiness and darkness. **In simple terms:** Endless love affairs become bleak and macabre. Key Takeaway Beware of perpetual passion without growth. Themes love loneliness despair time morality Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - long‑term relationships - serial monogamy - creative writing - cultural critique Key Concepts existentialism nihilism human nature Questions to Reflect On - What does a love affair that never ends reveal about our need for connection? - How can one find meaning beyond endless romance? A Different Perspective May romanticize continuity, ignoring emotional stagnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-affair/) [Macabre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/macabre/) ## Related quotes > [I can't imagine not having a reason to get out of bed at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-daniels/i-can-t-imagine-not-having-a-reason-to-get-out-of-bed-at-night/) [Charlie Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-daniels/) > [“intolerable, because then I imagine you having sex and that, inevitably, makes me want to kill myself, and everyone in this family. And everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/intolerable-because-then-i-imagine-you-having-sex-and-that-inevitably/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [Sometimes you only forgive someone because you can't imagine not having them in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-you-only-forgive-someone-because-you-can-t-imagine-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't even imagine having twins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-youn/i-can-t-even-imagine-having-twins/) [Monica Youn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-youn/) > [As long as I'm living, I can't imagine not having new material because I always have new thoughts. I wake up and I'm like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robby-hoffman/as-long-as-i-m-living-i-can-t-imagine-not-having-new-material-because/) [Robby Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robby-hoffman/) > [I can imagine anything except having no imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/i-can-imagine-anything-except-having-no-imagination/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [I think the reason why I see life as this never-ending struggle is because I imagine it having endless potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamasi-washington/i-think-the-reason-why-i-see-life-as-this-never-ending-struggle-is/) [Kamasi Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamasi-washington/) > [I wake up so full of life and feeling so alive and so full of joy when I get to go to a set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-swank/i-wake-up-so-full-of-life-and-feeling-so-alive-and-so-full-of-joy/) [Hilary Swank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-swank/) > [“Anyway, who’d ever want to be totally normal? Imagine having no quirks or idiosyncrasies. It’s what makes us us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rayner/anyway-who-d-ever-want-to-be-totally-normal-imagine-having-no-quirks/) [Sarah Rayner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rayner/) > [I just can't see myself as a trophy wife. I can't imagine not having my own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-mellon/i-just-can-t-see-myself-as-a-trophy-wife-i-can-t-imagine-not-having/) [Tamara Mellon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-mellon/) > [I'm a girl and I love being a girl. Couldn't imagine having a penis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-a-girl-and-i-love-being-a-girl-couldn-t-imagine-having-a-penis/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just can't imagine not having something to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-daniels/i-just-can-t-imagine-not-having-something-to-do/) [Charlie Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-daniels/) > [“You know what happens to people who longingly imagine having things they can’t afford?” “Happy dreams?” “A life of crime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-robb/you-know-what-happens-to-people-who-longingly-imagine-having-things/) [J.D. Robb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-robb/) > [“Imagine having a city full of things that no other city had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/imagine-having-a-city-full-of-things-that-no-other-city-had/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I couldn't imagine not having clean water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-tucker/i-couldn-t-imagine-not-having-clean-water/) [Chris Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-tucker/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## 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": "Can you imagine having a love affair going on and on decade after decade? Macabre.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gore Vidal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/can-you-imagine-having-a-love-affair-going-on-and-on-decade-after/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affair" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/can-you-imagine-having-a-love-affair-going-on-and-on-decade-after/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/gore-vidal-466_affair_can-you-imagine-having-a-love-affair-goi_359762.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/gore-vidal-466_affair_can-you-imagine-having-a-love-affair-goi_359762.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/gore-vidal-466_affair_can-you-imagine-having-a-love-affair-goi_359762.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Can you imagine having a love affair going on and on decade after decade? Macabre.” — Gore Vidal", "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": "Gore Vidal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Can you imagine having a love...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/can-you-imagine-having-a-love-affair-going-on-and-on-decade-after/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/can-you-imagine-having-a-love-affair-going-on-and-on-decade-after/#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 } } ] } ```