--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The noblest relationship is marriage…" description: "\"The noblest relationship is marriage, that is, love. Its nobility resides in its altruism, the desire to serve another beyond all the pleasures of the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c20/john-fowles-816_age_the-noblest-relationship-is-marriage-tha_1961542.jpg" --- # The noblest relationship is marriage, that is, love. Its… ![“The noblest relationship is marriage, that is, love. Its nobility resides in its altruism, the desire to serve another beyond all the pleasures of the relationship; and in its refusal ever to regard the other as a thing, an object, a utilizability. Sex is an exchange of pleasures, of needs; love…” quote by John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c20/john-fowles-816_age_the-noblest-relationship-is-marriage-tha_1961542.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c20/john-fowles-816_age_the-noblest-relationship-is-marriage-tha_1961542.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c20/john-fowles-816_age_the-noblest-relationship-is-marriage-tha_1961542.jpg) > “The noblest relationship is marriage, that is, love. Its nobility resides in its altruism, the desire to serve another beyond all the pleasures of the relationship; and in its refusal ever to regard the other as a thing, an object, a utilizability. Sex is an exchange of pleasures, of needs; love is a giving without return. It is this giving without return, this helping without reward, this surplus of pure good, that identifies the uniqueness of man as well as the true nature of the true marriage. This is the quintessence the great alchemy of sex is for.” [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Marriage is portrayed as a selfless partnership where love transcends personal pleasure, emphasizing service and seeing the partner as a person, not an object. **In simple terms:** Marriage is selfless love and service. Key Takeaway Cultivate selfless love in relationships. Themes love marriage altruism service humanity Mood reflective hopeful serene Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - marriage counseling - relationship building - personal growth - spiritual practice Key Concepts selflessness ethical partnership philosophical view Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice selfless love without losing self? - What boundaries protect healthy altruism? A Different Perspective Love without expectation can be challenging when personal needs conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Alchemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemy/) [Altruism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altruism/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Nobility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobility/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Quintessence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quintessence/) [Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship/) [Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships/) [Rewards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewards/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [True nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-nature/) [Uniqueness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uniqueness/) ## Related quotes > [Base men being in love have then a nobility in their natures more than is native to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/base-men-being-in-love-have-then-a-nobility-in-their-natures-more/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There was something better in life than this rubbish, if only he could get to it—love—nobility—big spaces where passion clasped peace, spaces no science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-was-something-better-in-life-than-this-rubbish-if-only-he-could/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Do I think it was inherent nobility that brought us out here?” He shook his head. “Maybe. 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It is the quintessence of life. It is the basic truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/it-seems-not-to-have-been-written-it-is-the-quintessence-of-life-it/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [Man is a microcosm, or a little world, because he is an extract from all the stars and planets of the whole firmament, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/man-is-a-microcosm-or-a-little-world-because-he-is-an-extract-from/) [Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/) > [Letter-writing on the part of a busy man or woman is the quintessence of generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/letter-writing-on-the-part-of-a-busy-man-or-woman-is-the-quintessence/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) ## More by John Fowles > [I am infinitely strange to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-am-infinitely-strange-to-myself/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [I do not plan my fiction any more than I normally plan woodland walks; I follow the path that seems most promising at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-do-not-plan-my-fiction-any-more-than-i-normally-plan-woodland-walks/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“The sky is absolutely empty. 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It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/liking-other-people-is-an-illusion-we-have-to-cherish-in-ourselves-if/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Do you know that every great thing in the history of art and every beautiful thing in life is actually what you call nasty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/do-you-know-that-every-great-thing-in-the-history-of-art-and-every/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Yet this distance, all those abysses unbridged and then unbridgeable by radio, television, cheap travel and the rest, was not wholly bad. People knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/yet-this-distance-all-those-abysses-unbridged-and-then-unbridgeable/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) [Explore all 341 John Fowles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." 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But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The noblest relationship is marriage, that is, love. Its nobility resides in its altruism, the desire to serve another beyond all the pleasures of the relationship; and in its refusal ever to regard the other as a thing, an object, a utilizability. Sex is an exchange of pleasures, of needs; love is a giving without return. It is this giving without return, this helping without reward, this surplus of pure good, that identifies the uniqueness of man as well as the true nature of the true marriage. 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