---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love, she felt, ought to come all at…"
description: "\"“Love, she felt, ought to come all at once, with great thunderclaps and flashes of lightning; it was like a storm bursting upon life from the sky, upro..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/gustave-flaubert-354_life_love-she-felt-ought-to-come-all-at-once_1827639.jpg"
---

#  Love, she felt, ought to come all at once, with great…

![“Love, she felt, ought to come all at once, with great thunderclaps and flashes of lightning; it was like a storm bursting upon life from the sky, uprooting it, overwhelming the will, and sweeping the heart into the abyss. It did not occur to her that rain forms puddles on a flat roof when the…” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/gustave-flaubert-354_life_love-she-felt-ought-to-come-all-at-once_1827639.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/gustave-flaubert-354_life_love-she-felt-ought-to-come-all-at-once_1827639.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/gustave-flaubert-354_life_love-she-felt-ought-to-come-all-at-once_1827639.jpg)

> ““Love, she felt, ought to come all at once, with great thunderclaps and flashes of lightning; it was like a storm bursting upon life from the sky, uprooting it, overwhelming the will, and sweeping the heart into the abyss. It did not occur to her that rain forms puddles on a flat roof when the drainpipes are clogged, and she would have continued to feel secure if she had not suddenly discovered a crack in the wall.””

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Love is portrayed as an overwhelming, sudden force that can upend a person's life and emotions.

**In simple terms:** Love can hit like a storm, shaking everything.

Key Takeaway

Expect love to be powerful and transformative.

Themes

love passion disruption vulnerability

Mood

intense dramatic reflective

Type

literary emotional

When to use this quote

- relationships
- personal growth
- emotional crisis

Key Concepts

romanticism emotional intensity psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you prepare for intense emotional changes?
- Can love be both destructive and enriching?

A Different Perspective

Love may be fleeting and can leave emptiness after the storm.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bursting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bursting/) [Bursting Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bursting-life-832397/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Like Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-storm-304523/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Storm Bursting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storm-bursting-2247798/) [Sweeping Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweeping-heart-2247799/)

## Related quotes

> [Every single morning I wake with a bang,' he said. 'It's as though the fact that I am alive is injected into me; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/every-single-morning-i-wake-with-a-bang-he-said-it-s-as-though-the/)

[Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/)

> [Why should I be weary when every cell of my body is bursting with life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/why-should-i-be-weary-when-every-cell-of-my-body-is-bursting-with-life/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [The bustle in a house The morning after death Is solemnest of industries Enacted upon earth,-- The sweeping up the heart, And putting love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/the-bustle-in-a-house-the-morning-after-death-is-solemnest-of/)

[Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/)

> [Anger is like a storm rising up from the bottom of your consciousness. When you feel it coming, turn your focus to your breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anger-is-like-a-storm-rising-up-from-the-bottom-of-your-consciousness/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When you are going through a rough time..What may seem like a storm to you, sometimes the only storm that's going on is inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-malabago/when-you-are-going-through-a-rough-time-what-may-seem-like-a-storm-to/)

[Regina Malabago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-malabago/)

> [“You taste like a storm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassia-leo/you-taste-like-a-storm/)

[Cassia Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassia-leo/)

> [“Our time together feels like a storm, like wild wind and rain, like something too big to handle but too powerful to escape. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/our-time-together-feels-like-a-storm-like-wild-wind-and-rain-like/)

[Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/)

> [Every heartache will fade away. Just like every storm runs out of rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-heartache-will-fade-away-just-like-every-storm-runs-out-of-rain/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“His kiss swept through me like a storm... ... Leaving a mark that would never fade.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shigeyoshi-takagi/his-kiss-swept-through-me-like-a-storm-leaving-a-mark-that-would/)

[Shigeyoshi Takagi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shigeyoshi-takagi/)

> [“all. I like a little rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the Atmosphere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/all-i-like-a-little-rebellion-now-and-then-it-is-like-a-storm-in-the/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [“Like a wind, like a storm, like a fire, like an earthquake, like a mud slide, like a deluge, like a tree falling, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/like-a-wind-like-a-storm-like-a-fire-like-an-earthquake-like-a-mud/)

[Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/)

> [“Our time together feels like a storm, like a wild wind and rain, like something too big to handle but too powerful to escape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/our-time-together-feels-like-a-storm-like-a-wild-wind-and-rain-like/)

[Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/)

> [“Fitz, you are angry. I can feel it like storm waves lashing my shores.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/fitz-you-are-angry-i-can-feel-it-like-storm-waves-lashing-my-shores/)

[Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/)

> [It's like a storm That cuts a path It breaks your will It feels like that You think you're lost But you're not lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rascal-flatts/it-s-like-a-storm-that-cuts-a-path-it-breaks-your-will-it-feels-like/)

[Rascal Flatts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rascal-flatts/)

> [Its nothing like us, its nothing like you and me. together through the storm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belieber/its-nothing-like-us-its-nothing-like-you-and-me-together-through-the/)

[Belieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belieber/)

## More by Gustave Flaubert

> [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

> [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/)

[Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

[Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/)

## More Bursting quotes

> [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/)

[Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/)

> [The spring came suddenly, bursting upon the world as a child bursts into a room, with a laugh and a shout and hands full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-spring-came-suddenly-bursting-upon-the-world-as-a-child-bursts/)

[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/)

> [All the earth is at rest and is quiet: they are bursting into song. Even the trees of the wood are glad over you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah/all-the-earth-is-at-rest-and-is-quiet-they-are-bursting-into-song/)

[Isaiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah/)

> [Early humans, bursting with questions about Nature but with limited understanding of its dynamics, explained things in terms of supernatural persons and person-animals who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/early-humans-bursting-with-questions-about-nature-but-with-limited/)

[Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/)

> [The energy of the stars becomes us. We become the energy of the stars. Stardust and spirit unite and we begin: one with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/the-energy-of-the-stars-becomes-us-we-become-the-energy-of-the-stars/)

[Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/)

> [And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-saint/and-people-who-do-not-know-the-lord-ask-why-in-the-world-we-waste-our/)

[Nate Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-saint/)

> [“I have my own way to walk and for some reason or other Zen is right in the middle of it wherever I go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-have-my-own-way-to-walk-and-for-some-reason-or-other-zen-is-right/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [“That was how she felt, right then. As if there was too much of her, as if her skin was tight with muchness. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/that-was-how-she-felt-right-then-as-if-there-was-too-much-of-her-as/)

[Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/)

> [“When you make love you're using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don't give a damn for anything. They can't bear you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-you-make-love-you-re-using-up-energy-and-afterwards-you-feel/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [For what is the program of the bourgeois parties? A bad poem on springtime, filled to bursting with metaphors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/for-what-is-the-program-of-the-bourgeois-parties-a-bad-poem-on/)

[Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/)

> [I mean, when you think about it, it's 'bombs bursting in air,' 'rocket's red glare,' it's all kinds of - you know a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-press/i-mean-when-you-think-about-it-it-s-bombs-bursting-in-air-rocket-s/)

[Bill Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-press/)

> [There are more ideas on earth than intellectuals imagine. And these ideas are more active, stronger, more resistant, more passionate than politicians think. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/there-are-more-ideas-on-earth-than-intellectuals-imagine-and-these/)

[Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/)

> [I'm just constantly on the verge of bursting into tears with joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-waller-bridge/i-m-just-constantly-on-the-verge-of-bursting-into-tears-with-joy/)

[Phoebe Waller-Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-waller-bridge/)

> [Look at the sky. It’s not dark and black and without character. The black is, in fact deep blue. And over there: lighter blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-curtis/look-at-the-sky-it-s-not-dark-and-black-and-without-character-the/)

[Richard Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-curtis/)

> [Every day I discover more and more beautiful things. It’s enough to drive one mad. I have such a desire to do everything, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/every-day-i-discover-more-and-more-beautiful-things-it-s-enough-to/)

[Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/)

[Browse all 207 Bursting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bursting/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Love, she felt, ought to come all at once, with great thunderclaps and flashes of lightning; it was like a storm bursting upon life from the sky, uprooting it, overwhelming the will, and sweeping the heart into the abyss. It did not occur to her that rain forms puddles on a flat roof when the drainpipes are clogged, and she would have continued to feel secure if she had not suddenly discovered a crack in the wall.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Gustave Flaubert"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-she-felt-ought-to-come-all-at-once-with-great-thunderclaps-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bursting"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-she-felt-ought-to-come-all-at-once-with-great-thunderclaps-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/gustave-flaubert-354_life_love-she-felt-ought-to-come-all-at-once_1827639.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/gustave-flaubert-354_life_love-she-felt-ought-to-come-all-at-once_1827639.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/gustave-flaubert-354_life_love-she-felt-ought-to-come-all-at-once_1827639.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Love, she felt, ought to come all at once, with great thunderclaps and flashes of lightning; it was like a…” — Gustave Flaubert",
                "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": "Gustave Flaubert",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Love, she felt, ought to come...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-she-felt-ought-to-come-all-at-once-with-great-thunderclaps-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-she-felt-ought-to-come-all-at-once-with-great-thunderclaps-and/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
