--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love is like death. It is fulfillment and…" description: "\"Love is like death. It is fulfillment and an evening after which nothing more may follow.\" — Hermann Hesse" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ed/hermann-hesse-130_death_love-is-like-death-it-is-fulfillment-and_1265988.png" --- # Love is like death. It is fulfillment and an evening after… ![“Love is like death. It is fulfillment and an evening after which nothing more may follow.” quote by Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ed/hermann-hesse-130_death_love-is-like-death-it-is-fulfillment-and_1265988.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ed/hermann-hesse-130_death_love-is-like-death-it-is-fulfillment-and_1265988.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ed/hermann-hesse-130_death_love-is-like-death-it-is-fulfillment-and_1265988.png) > “Love is like death. It is fulfillment and an evening after which nothing more may follow.” [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love mirrors death: it offers fulfillment yet signals an ending. **In simple terms:** Love is like death—fulfilling yet final. Key Takeaway Cherish love while accepting impermanence. Themes love death fulfillment transience Mood poetic melancholy Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - romantic relationships - artistic inspiration - spiritual practice - grief processing Key Concepts philosophy existentialism literature Questions to Reflect On - What does love teach about life’s cycles? - How can you honor love’s impermanence? A Different Perspective Love can persist beyond physical loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Fulfillment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fulfillment/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Do not seek death. Death will find you. But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/do-not-seek-death-death-will-find-you-but-seek-the-road-which-makes/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Love is like death, it must come to us all, but to each his own unique way and time, sometimes it will be avoided,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-death-it-must-come-to-us-all-but-to-each-his-own-unique/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Falling in love is like death... they are both facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-papas/falling-in-love-is-like-death-they-are-both-facts/) Irene Papas > [“There is a theory that when a planet, like our earth for example, has manifested every form of life, when it has fulfilled itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/there-is-a-theory-that-when-a-planet-like-our-earth-for-example-has/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Only those persons who have lived, really lived, are ready, welcoming, receptive, thankful to death. Then death is not the enemy. Then death becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/only-those-persons-who-have-lived-really-lived-are-ready-welcoming/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The love of God is like himself – equal, constant, not capable of augmentation or diminution; our love is like ourselves – unequal, increasing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/the-love-of-god-is-like-himself-equal-constant-not-capable-of/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [Love is like falconry," he said. "Don't you think that's true, Cleveland?" "Never say love is like anything." said Cleveland. "It isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/love-is-like-falconry-he-said-don-t-you-think-that-s-true-cleveland/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Love is like air we can't see it but feel it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blackie/love-is-like-air-we-can-t-see-it-but-feel-it/) Blackie > [Do you ever just put your arms out and just spin and spin and spin? Well, that's what love is like; everything inside of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/do-you-ever-just-put-your-arms-out-and-just-spin-and-spin-and-spin/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [Love is like those second-rate hotels where all the luxury is in the lobby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-jean-toulet/love-is-like-those-second-rate-hotels-where-all-the-luxury-is-in-the/) Paul-Jean Toulet > [You cannot compel someone to love. Love is like the wind. It comes when it does, it stops when it does, it changes direction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-cannot-compel-someone-to-love-love-is-like-the-wind-it-comes-when/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Perhaps love is like a resting place, a shelter from the storm. It exists to give you comfort, it is there to keep you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/perhaps-love-is-like-a-resting-place-a-shelter-from-the-storm-it/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [If falling in love is like taking off or flying, then love is like landing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayala-malakh-pines/if-falling-in-love-is-like-taking-off-or-flying-then-love-is-like/) Ayala Malakh-Pines > [True love is like religion. It is full of devotion and free of doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/true-love-is-like-religion-it-is-full-of-devotion-and-free-of-doubt/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Hermann Hesse > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“The mistaken and unhappy notion that a man is an enduring unity is known to you. It is also known to you that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-mistaken-and-unhappy-notion-that-a-man-is-an-enduring-unity-is/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-bird-fights-its-way-out-of-the-egg-the-egg-is-the-world-who-would/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/everything-becomes-a-little-different-as-soon-as-it-is-spoken-out-loud/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“..it is useless for you to build walls and dormitories and chapels and churches. Death looks through the window and laughs..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-is-useless-for-you-to-build-walls-and-dormitories-and-chapels-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“When the world is at peace, when all things are tranquil and all men obey their superiors in all their courses, then music can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-the-world-is-at-peace-when-all-things-are-tranquil-and-all-men/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A mere nothing suffices — and the lightning strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-mere-nothing-suffices-and-the-lightning-strikes/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“And if time is not real, then the dividing line that seems to lie between this world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-if-time-is-not-real-then-the-dividing-line-that-seems-to-lie/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/were-not-the-gods-forms-created-like-me-and-you-mortal-transient/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) [Explore all 951 Hermann Hesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love is like death. It is fulfillment and an evening after which nothing more may follow.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hermann Hesse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/love-is-like-death-it-is-fulfillment-and-an-evening-after-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/love-is-like-death-it-is-fulfillment-and-an-evening-after-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ed/hermann-hesse-130_death_love-is-like-death-it-is-fulfillment-and_1265988.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ed/hermann-hesse-130_death_love-is-like-death-it-is-fulfillment-and_1265988.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ed/hermann-hesse-130_death_love-is-like-death-it-is-fulfillment-and_1265988.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Love is like death. It is fulfillment and an evening after which nothing more may follow.” — Hermann Hesse", "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": "Hermann Hesse", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Love is like death. It is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/love-is-like-death-it-is-fulfillment-and-an-evening-after-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/love-is-like-death-it-is-fulfillment-and-an-evening-after-which/#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 } } ] } ```