--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When it comes to love, there are a…" description: "\"“When it comes to love, there are a million theories to explain it. But when it comes to love stories, things are simpler. A love story can never be ab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/jeffrey-eugenides-462_cold-heart_when-it-comes-to-love-there-are-a-millio_1265910.jpg" --- # When it comes to love, there are a million theories to… ![“When it comes to love, there are a million theories to explain it. But when it comes to love stories, things are simpler. A love story can never be about full posession. The happy marriage, the requited love, the desire that never dims-- these are lucky eventualities but they aren't love stories…” quote by Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/jeffrey-eugenides-462_cold-heart_when-it-comes-to-love-there-are-a-millio_1265910.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/jeffrey-eugenides-462_cold-heart_when-it-comes-to-love-there-are-a-millio_1265910.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/jeffrey-eugenides-462_cold-heart_when-it-comes-to-love-there-are-a-millio_1265910.jpg) > ““When it comes to love, there are a million theories to explain it. But when it comes to love stories, things are simpler. A love story can never be about full posession. The happy marriage, the requited love, the desire that never dims-- these are lucky eventualities but they aren't love stories. Love stories depend on disappointment, on unequal births and feuding families, on matrimonial boredom and at least one cold heart. Love stories, nearly without exception, give love a bad name.”” [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love stories thrive on conflict and imperfection, not idealized, harmonious romance. **In simple terms:** Love narratives need drama and flaws. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity in relationships. Themes love conflict family expectations Mood melancholic reflective Type literary critical When to use this quote - marriage counseling - creative writing - relationship therapy - family mediation Key Concepts narrative tension ideal vs reality social constraints Questions to Reflect On - What conflicts make a love story compelling? - How do expectations shape our view of love? A Different Perspective Idealized romance can overlook real challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-heart/) [Happy marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-marriage/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-stories/) [Love story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-story/) ## Related quotes > [“A love story can never be about full possession. The happy marriage, the requited love, the desire that never dims--these are lucky eventualites but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/a-love-story-can-never-be-about-full-possession-the-happy-marriage/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I love stories of love cropping up unexpectedly in life almost as a problem, as something you don't ask for. Something that messes everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/i-love-stories-of-love-cropping-up-unexpectedly-in-life-almost-as-a/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [“The greatest love stories are not those in which love is only spoken, but those in which it is acted upon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/the-greatest-love-stories-are-not-those-in-which-love-is-only-spoken/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [I love stories with love in them. I just prefer those films. Every so often, I come across a film where there's no love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-mcadams/i-love-stories-with-love-in-them-i-just-prefer-those-films-every-so/) [Rachel McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-mcadams/) > [“All my books are weird love stories. I love weird love stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/all-my-books-are-weird-love-stories-i-love-weird-love-stories/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I love storytelling. I love stories, and I love the way in which we connect through stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-kidman/i-love-storytelling-i-love-stories-and-i-love-the-way-in-which-we/) [Nicole Kidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-kidman/) > [“All stories are love stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mcliam-wilson/all-stories-are-love-stories/) Robert McLiam Wilson > [No two love stories are the same though the love factor might be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kay-menon/no-two-love-stories-are-the-same-though-the-love-factor-might-be-the/) [Kay Kay Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kay-menon/) > [I believe all stories are love stories, and there are kinds and kinds of love, so I will always write about love, but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-pritchard/i-believe-all-stories-are-love-stories-and-there-are-kinds-and-kinds/) [Melissa Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-pritchard/) > [“A disproportionate number of stories are love stories – and what is homosexuality but a special narrative of love?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bram/a-disproportionate-number-of-stories-are-love-stories-and-what-is/) [Christopher Bram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bram/) > [“It is perhaps in reading a love story (or in writing one) that we can simultaneously partake of the ecstasy and agony of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/it-is-perhaps-in-reading-a-love-story-or-in-writing-one-that-we-can/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [We're moved by emotions and characters and stories. We love that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-droga/we-re-moved-by-emotions-and-characters-and-stories-we-love-that/) [David Droga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-droga/) > [“The television dramas we grew up on, stories of star-crossed lovers, stories of love overcoming all obstacles, well, they’re all fairy tales, obviously, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/the-television-dramas-we-grew-up-on-stories-of-star-crossed-lovers/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [Ultimately what I try to do is work on stories I love with people I admire, and sometimes they get made and sometimes they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/ultimately-what-i-try-to-do-is-work-on-stories-i-love-with-people-i/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [I love ghost stories, I love to read them, and I love the idea of being haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-perks/i-love-ghost-stories-i-love-to-read-them-and-i-love-the-idea-of-being/) [Micah Perks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-perks/) ## More by Jeffrey Eugenides > [“Only the Lisbon house remained dark, a tunnel, an emptiness, past our smoke and flames.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/only-the-lisbon-house-remained-dark-a-tunnel-an-emptiness-past-our/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“She had just started living like a grown-up and she'd never felt more vulnerable, frightened or confused in her life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/she-had-just-started-living-like-a-grown-up-and-she-d-never-felt-more/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [It's often said that a traumatic experience early in life marks a person forever, pulls her out of line, saying, "Stay there. Don't move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/it-s-often-said-that-a-traumatic-experience-early-in-life-marks-a/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“Adolescents tend to seek love where they can find it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/adolescents-tend-to-seek-love-where-they-can-find-it/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“The window was still open,” Mr Lisbon said. “I don’t think we’d ever remembered to shut it. It was all clear to me. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/the-window-was-still-open-mr-lisbon-said-i-don-t-think-we-d-ever/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I was aware that you weren't supposed to write about suburbia, that it was undignified in some way, the subject matter not momentous enough.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-was-aware-that-you-weren-t-supposed-to-write-about-suburbia-that-it/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“Dr. Armonson stitched up her wrist wounds. Within five minutes of the transfusion he declared her out of danger. Chucking her under the chin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/dr-armonson-stitched-up-her-wrist-wounds-within-five-minutes-of-the/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“I don't approve of women driving, mind you. And now they get to vote!" He grumbled to himself. "Remember that play we saw ("The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-don-t-approve-of-women-driving-mind-you-and-now-they-get-to-vote-he/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“Her face was calm, but inside she was tense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/her-face-was-calm-but-inside-she-was-tense/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I know that attaching memories to books may be going out of the world, but while it lasts, it's a strong record of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-know-that-attaching-memories-to-books-may-be-going-out-of-the-world/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I spend most of every day writing. I like to write every day if I can. I don't start extremely early.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-spend-most-of-every-day-writing-i-like-to-write-every-day-if-i-can/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [Maybe the best proof that the language is patriarchal is that it oversimplifies feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/maybe-the-best-proof-that-the-language-is-patriarchal-is-that-it/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [We knew that Cecilia had killed herself because she was a misfit, because the beyond called to her, and we knew that her sisters,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/we-knew-that-cecilia-had-killed-herself-because-she-was-a-misfit/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [You can tell when something's not moving forward anymore. When the doubts you have about it don't go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/you-can-tell-when-something-s-not-moving-forward-anymore-when-the/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [Normality wasn't normal. It couldn't be. If normality were normal, everybody could leave it alone. They could sit back and let normality manifest itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/normality-wasn-t-normal-it-couldn-t-be-if-normality-were-normal/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Explore all 516 Jeffrey Eugenides quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) ## More Cold heart quotes > [You have been deceived by your own cold heart - a curse upon your house and all within it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beauty-and-the-beast/you-have-been-deceived-by-your-own-cold-heart-a-curse-upon-your-house/) Beauty And The Beast > [“On the scheme of this barbarous philosophy,” Burke wrote in the Reflections, “which is the offspring of cold hearts and muddy understandings, and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-levin/on-the-scheme-of-this-barbarous-philosophy-burke-wrote-in-the/) [Yuval Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-levin/) > [As far as I remember, even younger than eight, I have always been guided by reason. Not cold reason, but that which leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-claude/as-far-as-i-remember-even-younger-than-eight-i-have-always-been/) [Albert Claude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-claude/) > [We sometimes freeze the specimen with liquid nitrogen, which is extremely cold, you know. This is another technique we use now - but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennart-nilsson/we-sometimes-freeze-the-specimen-with-liquid-nitrogen-which-is/) [Lennart Nilsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennart-nilsson/) > [Fear both the heat and the cold of your heart, and try to have patience, if you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-both-the-heat-and-the-cold-of-your-heart-and-try-to-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The muse of memories past inspires smiles on many a sad faces, tears on many a dry cheek, and warmth of love inside so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/the-muse-of-memories-past-inspires-smiles-on-many-a-sad-faces-tears/) [Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/) > [“Let’s take this out just a little bit further passed the breakers into some really deep water. Let’s talk about love. Yeah. The love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-w-allison/let-s-take-this-out-just-a-little-bit-further-passed-the-breakers/) [Calvin W. Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-w-allison/) > [“Poor Victor! poor Victor!” she thought; and then she tried mentally to project herself into the situation of the wretched, remorseful Frenchwoman, the coquette…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-broughton/poor-victor-poor-victor-she-thought-and-then-she-tried-mentally-to/) [Rhoda Broughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-broughton/) > [“If you would wait and’ve won my heart Still we know the end is yet to come there’s no hiding we cant escape the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irome/if-you-would-wait-and-ve-won-my-heart-still-we-know-the-end-is-yet-to/) Irome > [“Season's Greetings by Stewart Stafford Season's Greetings To those we are needing, While I am leading The Festive charge. Christmas love is fleeting, The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/season-s-greetings-by-stewart-stafford-season-s-greetings-to-those-we/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [Of two hearts one is always warm and one is always cold: the cold heart is more precious than diamonds: the warm heart has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/of-two-hearts-one-is-always-warm-and-one-is-always-cold-the-cold/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [My favorite song he ever wrote was 'Cold Cold Heart.' If you think about it, the lyric to 'Cold Cold Heart,' see how many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-helms/my-favorite-song-he-ever-wrote-was-cold-cold-heart-if-you-think-about/) Don Helms > [Professor Cold Heart: Whats that? Little friendly fuzzies? With things on their tummies? In my kingdom? Disgusting, isnt it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-care-bears/professor-cold-heart-whats-that-little-friendly-fuzzies-with-things/) The Care Bears > [When Paris sneezes, Europe catches a cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klemens-von-metternich/when-paris-sneezes-europe-catches-a-cold/) [Klemens von Metternich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klemens-von-metternich/) > [“women who are willing to be involved with married men are selfish. Shallow. Destroying a family is a terrible thing to do. Only someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mehl/women-who-are-willing-to-be-involved-with-married-men-are-selfish/) [Nancy Mehl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mehl/) [Browse all 129 Cold heart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-heart/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When it comes to love, there are a million theories to explain it. But when it comes to love stories, things are simpler. 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