--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And her joy was nearly like sorrow." description: "\"And her joy was nearly like sorrow.\" — John Steinbeck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/john-steinbeck-71_grief_and-her-joy-was-nearly-like-sorrow-23702_2370232.jpg" --- # And her joy was nearly like sorrow. ![“And her joy was nearly like sorrow.” quote by John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/john-steinbeck-71_grief_and-her-joy-was-nearly-like-sorrow-23702_2370232.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/john-steinbeck-71_grief_and-her-joy-was-nearly-like-sorrow-23702_2370232.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/john-steinbeck-71_grief_and-her-joy-was-nearly-like-sorrow-23702_2370232.jpg) > “And her joy was nearly like sorrow.” [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Joy and sorrow can coexist, blurring emotional boundaries. **In simple terms:** Joy can feel like sorrow. Key Takeaway Accept mixed emotions. Themes emotion duality human experience Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal loss - celebrations - artistic expression Key Concepts psychology literature grief Questions to Reflect On - When have you felt joy and sadness together? - What does this reveal about you? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on duality may ignore pure feelings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Joy Nearly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-nearly-5835536/) [Like Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-sorrow-715446/) [Nearly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nearly/) [Nearly Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nearly-like-900390/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) ## Related quotes > [I'm nearly see-through. Like a jellyfish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-ryan/i-m-nearly-see-through-like-a-jellyfish/) [Katherine Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-ryan/) > [I don't get back to Michigan nearly as much as I'd like to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherilyn-fenn/i-don-t-get-back-to-michigan-nearly-as-much-as-i-d-like-to/) [Sherilyn Fenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherilyn-fenn/) > [A picture does a great job, but it's not nearly like being there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/a-picture-does-a-great-job-but-it-s-not-nearly-like-being-there/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [“Will liked to live so that no one could find fault with him, and to do that he had to live as nearly like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/will-liked-to-live-so-that-no-one-could-find-fault-with-him-and-to-do/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [There are some times...when the love for people is strong and warm like a sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/there-are-some-times-when-the-love-for-people-is-strong-and-warm-like/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [There is no university for a Christian, like that of sorrow and trial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/there-is-no-university-for-a-christian-like-that-of-sorrow-and-trial/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“His breath is sweet despite the coffee, but it's laced with something else-something like sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-hathaway/his-breath-is-sweet-despite-the-coffee-but-it-s-laced-with-something/) [Jill Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-hathaway/) > [“Ailis: Mother and Father wouldn't want us to be sad forever. Quinn: How long is enough? Ailis: Maybe it's when you can't stand to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-hilmo/ailis-mother-and-father-wouldn-t-want-us-to-be-sad-forever-quinn-how/) [Tess Hilmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-hilmo/) > [“What sorrow is like to the sorrow of one who is alone? Once I dwelt in the company of the king I loved well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-zimmer-bradley/what-sorrow-is-like-to-the-sorrow-of-one-who-is-alone-once-i-dwelt-in/) [Marion Zimmer Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-zimmer-bradley/) > [“There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. There is a failure here that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/there-is-a-crime-here-that-goes-beyond-denunciation-there-is-a-sorrow/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Well, I git enough sorrow. I like to git away from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/well-i-git-enough-sorrow-i-like-to-git-away-from-it/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Without a song, life is a sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/without-a-song-life-is-a-sorrow/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Sorrow and happiness are the heresies of virtue; joy and anger lead astray from TAO; love and hate cause loss of virtue. The heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/sorrow-and-happiness-are-the-heresies-of-virtue-joy-and-anger-lead/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) ## More by John Steinbeck > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Prayer never brought in no side-meat. Takes a shoat to bring in pork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/prayer-never-brought-in-no-side-meat-takes-a-shoat-to-bring-in-pork/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“And now submarines are armed with mass murder, our silly, only way of deterring mass murder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-submarines-are-armed-with-mass-murder-our-silly-only-way-of/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“He was forever inventing a new way of doing an old thing and doing it better and quicker, but he never in his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/he-was-forever-inventing-a-new-way-of-doing-an-old-thing-and-doing-it/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“You come back a changed man. Samuel, you don’t change him. He changes you. I can see the look of him in your face.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/you-come-back-a-changed-man-samuel-you-don-t-change-him-he-changes/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-find-out-of-long-experience-that-i-admire-all-nations-and-hate-all/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [At about 10 o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the side windows and in and out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/at-about-10-o-clock-in-the-morning-the-sun-threw-a-bright-dust-laden/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Who in his mind has not probe the dark water?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/who-in-his-mind-has-not-probe-the-dark-water/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [People like you to be something, preferably what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/people-like-you-to-be-something-preferably-what-they-are/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“Suddenly he knew joy and sorrow felted into one fabric. Courage and fear were one thing too. He found that he had started to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/suddenly-he-knew-joy-and-sorrow-felted-into-one-fabric-courage-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I am writing this from what we Americans call Yurrp. In Yurrp writers are taken as seriously as Lana Turner's legs are in America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-am-writing-this-from-what-we-americans-call-yurrp-in-yurrp-writers/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I write because I like to write. I find joy in the texture and tone and rhythm of words. It is a satisfaction like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-write-because-i-like-to-write-i-find-joy-in-the-texture-and-tone/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Explore all 1,589 John Steinbeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## More Grief quotes > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“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/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Browse all 8,012 Grief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And her joy was nearly like sorrow.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Steinbeck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-her-joy-was-nearly-like-sorrow/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-her-joy-was-nearly-like-sorrow/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/john-steinbeck-71_grief_and-her-joy-was-nearly-like-sorrow-23702_2370232.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/john-steinbeck-71_grief_and-her-joy-was-nearly-like-sorrow-23702_2370232.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4f/john-steinbeck-71_grief_and-her-joy-was-nearly-like-sorrow-23702_2370232.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And her joy was nearly like sorrow.” — John Steinbeck", "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": "John Steinbeck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And her joy was nearly like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-her-joy-was-nearly-like-sorrow/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-her-joy-was-nearly-like-sorrow/#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 } } ] } ```