--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: New York was no mere city. It was instead…" description: "\"New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power, the shining and perishab..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/joan-didion-497_cities_new-york-was-no-mere-city-it-was-instead_2696922.jpg" --- # New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely… ![“New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power, the shining and perishable dream itself. To think of 'living' there was to reduce the miraculous to the mundane; one does not 'live' at Xanadu.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/joan-didion-497_cities_new-york-was-no-mere-city-it-was-instead_2696922.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/joan-didion-497_cities_new-york-was-no-mere-city-it-was-instead_2696922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/joan-didion-497_cities_new-york-was-no-mere-city-it-was-instead_2696922.jpg) > “New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power, the shining and perishable dream itself. To think of 'living' there was to reduce the miraculous to the mundane; one does not 'live' at Xanadu.” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. New York is portrayed as an idealized, romantic symbol intertwining love, wealth, and power, making ordinary life feel extraordinary. **In simple terms:** The city is a romantic ideal mixing love, money, and power. Key Takeaway Recognize the mythic allure of places. Themes urban romance idealism power wealth love Mood nostalgic critical Type literary observational When to use this quote - travel writing - city planning - personal ambition Key Concepts cultural critique urban studies Questions to Reflect On - What does New York symbolize for you? - How does romanticizing a place affect your expectations? A Different Perspective Idealizing a city can obscure its realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Infinitely Romantic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinitely-romantic-2702391/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love and money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-and-money/) [Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere/) [Miraculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miraculous/) [Miraculous Mundane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miraculous-mundane-2702392/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Money and power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money-and-power/) [Mundane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mundane/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Nexus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nexus/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Notion Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion-mysterious-2702393/) [Romantic Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romantic-notion-725111/) [Shining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shining/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york/) ## Related quotes > [New York was no mere city. 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I think it's as vital as air and water, and so I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-brown/i-don-t-think-of-community-as-being-a-romantic-notion-i-think-it-s-as/) [Greg Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-brown/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. 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I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. 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I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power, the shining and perishable dream itself. 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