Poetry Quote by John Fowles
““There were just all those evenings we sat together and it doesn't seem possible that it will never be again. It was like we were the only two people in the world. No one will ever understand how happy we were...I could sit there all night watching her, just the shape of her head and the way the hair fell from it with a special curve, so graceful it was, like the shape of a swallow-tail. It was like a veil or a cloud, it would lie like silk strands all untidy and loose but lovely over her shoulders, I wish I had words to describe it like a poet would or an artist. She had a way of throwing it back when it had fallen too much forward, it was just a simple natural movement. Sometimes I wanted to say to her, please do it again, please let your hair fall forward and toss it back. Only of course it would have been stupid. Everything she did was delicate like that. Just turning a page. Standing up or sitting down, drinking, smoking, anything. Even when she did things considered ugly, like yawning or stretching, she made it seem pretty. The truth was she couldn't do ugly things. She was too beautiful.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The French Lieutenant's Woman, 1969
The passage describes an intense, idealized love that elevates ordinary moments into poetic beauty, suggesting that true affection transforms perception.
In simple terms: Love makes everyday moments feel poetic.
Love transforms perception.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- relationships
- artistic inspiration
- writing
- visual appreciation
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does love change how you see ordinary things?
- Can beauty be found in mundane moments?
May romanticize unrealistic standards.