--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once or twice every night, serving dinner…" description: "\"“Once or twice every night, serving dinner at the big round table, Enid glanced over her shoulder and caught him looking, and made him blush. Al was Ka..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/jonathan-franzen-801_christmas-party_once-or-twice-every-night-serving-dinner_1995982.jpg" --- # Once or twice every night, serving dinner at the big round… ![“Once or twice every night, serving dinner at the big round table, Enid glanced over her shoulder and caught him looking, and made him blush. Al was Kansan. After two months he found courage to take her skating. They drank cocoa and he told her that human beings were born to suffer. He took her to…” quote by Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/jonathan-franzen-801_christmas-party_once-or-twice-every-night-serving-dinner_1995982.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/jonathan-franzen-801_christmas-party_once-or-twice-every-night-serving-dinner_1995982.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/jonathan-franzen-801_christmas-party_once-or-twice-every-night-serving-dinner_1995982.jpg) > ““Once or twice every night, serving dinner at the big round table, Enid glanced over her shoulder and caught him looking, and made him blush. Al was Kansan. After two months he found courage to take her skating. They drank cocoa and he told her that human beings were born to suffer. He took her to a steel-company Christmas party and told her that the intelligent were doomed to be tormented by the stupid. He was a good dancer and a good earner, however, and she kissed him in the elevator. Soon they were engaged and they chastely rode a night train to McCook, Nebraska, to visit his aged parents. His father kept a slave whom he was married to.”” [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A complex romance explores love, suffering, and societal expectations amid personal and familial challenges. **In simple terms:** Love and hardship intertwine in a turbulent relationship. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability and confront societal pressures. Themes love family society class identity Mood melancholic reflective introspective Type literary fictional When to use this quote - dating - family gatherings - career decisions - travel - social events Key Concepts existentialism social critique human condition Questions to Reflect On - How do personal histories shape relationship dynamics? - What role does societal class play in love? A Different Perspective The narrative may romanticize suffering, overlooking healthy boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christmas party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas-party/) [Cocoa Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cocoa-told-3485145/) [Earner Kissed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earner-kissed-3485146/) [Enid Glanced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enid-glanced-3485144/) [Every night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-night/) [Table Enid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/table-enid-3485147/) [Told Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-human-906409/) [Two months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-months/) ## Related quotes > [I ask again, and I want a better answer, WHAT are you!" He demanded."I told you before, a human rises with the sun, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-leek/i-ask-again-and-i-want-a-better-answer-what-are-you-he-demanded-i/) [Miranda Leek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-leek/) > [“Who else knows about this besides us?” “Just Patti...” “Okay. That should be okay. Is that it?” “And Kaidan,” I added. My eyes darted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-higgins/who-else-knows-about-this-besides-us-just-patti-okay-that-should-be/) [Wendy Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-higgins/) > [“You told some human kid?” I coughed, buying time. “He's Neph, too.” Jonathan LaGrey went rigid and his ruddy cheeks paled. 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Hold a Christmas party every year at which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/regard-yourself-as-a-small-corporation-of-one-take-yourself-off-on/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“There is no real bravery in getting paid to save someone's life. However, there is a large amount of bravery in a nurse break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-alder/there-is-no-real-bravery-in-getting-paid-to-save-someone-s-life/) [Shannon Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-alder/) > [Like my dad, I have a Christmas party most years. I like to celebrate and see as many people as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-graham/like-my-dad-i-have-a-christmas-party-most-years-i-like-to-celebrate/) [Lauren Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-graham/) > [Christmas is a time when everybody wants his past forgotten and his present remembered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-diller/christmas-is-a-time-when-everybody-wants-his-past-forgotten-and-his/) [Phyllis Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-diller/) > [I throw a Christmas party at my house. It's not really a Christmas party, because I don't want to call it a Christmas party.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-murray/i-throw-a-christmas-party-at-my-house-it-s-not-really-a-christmas/) [Bill Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-murray/) > [I think we felt the pressure more at first than this time around. But still you don't want to let anyone down. I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-romijn/i-think-we-felt-the-pressure-more-at-first-than-this-time-around-but/) [Rebecca Romijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-romijn/) > [“and confused if someone does not appreciate their niceness. Others often sense this and avoid giving them feedback not only, effectively blocking the nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-bryson/and-confused-if-someone-does-not-appreciate-their-niceness-others/) [Kelly Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-bryson/) > [“Later the place was as deserted as Malcolm Muggeridge's Christmas party of fellow intellectuals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-donaldson/later-the-place-was-as-deserted-as-malcolm-muggeridge-s-christmas/) [William Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-donaldson/) > [I gave a Christmas party last year - well, two Christmases ago - where I did a Sam Cooke show. I didn't perform as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/i-gave-a-christmas-party-last-year-well-two-christmases-ago-where-i/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [I was at the vice president's Christmas party. I thought that his speech was spectacular, and I knew that it was a very emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-whitford/i-was-at-the-vice-president-s-christmas-party-i-thought-that-his/) [Bradley Whitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-whitford/) ## More by Jonathan Franzen > [“The fundamental fact about all of us is that we’re alive for a while but will die before long. This fact is the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/the-fundamental-fact-about-all-of-us-is-that-we-re-alive-for-a-while/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Fiction that isn't an author's personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn't worth writing for anything but money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/fiction-that-isn-t-an-author-s-personal-adventure-into-the/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Parents are programmed to want the best for their kids, regardless of what they get in return. That's what love is supposed to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/parents-are-programmed-to-want-the-best-for-their-kids-regardless-of/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Birds were what became of dinosaurs. Those mountains of flesh whose petrified bones were on display at the Museum of Natural History had done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/birds-were-what-became-of-dinosaurs-those-mountains-of-flesh-whose/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Can a better kind of fiction save the world? There’s always some tiny hope (strange things do happen), but the answer is almost certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/can-a-better-kind-of-fiction-save-the-world-there-s-always-some-tiny/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [A big part of me would be very proud never having anything of mine adapted, because if you want the real experience, there's only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/a-big-part-of-me-would-be-very-proud-never-having-anything-of-mine/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Seriously, the world is changing so quickly that if you had any more than 80 years of change I dont see how you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/seriously-the-world-is-changing-so-quickly-that-if-you-had-any-more/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“I'm saying the structure and f the entire culture is flawed, chip said. I'm saying the bureaucracy has arrogated the right to define certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/i-m-saying-the-structure-and-f-the-entire-culture-is-flawed-chip-said/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Integrity's a neutral value. Hyenas have integrity, too. They're pure hyena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/integrity-s-a-neutral-value-hyenas-have-integrity-too-they-re-pure/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“An odd thing about beauty, however, is that it's absence tends not to arouse our sympathy as much as other forms of privation do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/an-odd-thing-about-beauty-however-is-that-it-s-absence-tends-not-to/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [He became another data point in the American experiment of self-government, an experiment statistically skewed from the outset, because it wasn't the people with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/he-became-another-data-point-in-the-american-experiment-of-self/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“It was this motley band of modest peeps and plovers on the beach who reminded me of the human beings I loved best -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/it-was-this-motley-band-of-modest-peeps-and-plovers-on-the-beach-who/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Alfred believed that the real and the true were a minority that the world was bent on exterminating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/alfred-believed-that-the-real-and-the-true-were-a-minority-that-the/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Imagine that human existence is defined by an Ache: the Ache of our not being, each of us, the center of the universe; of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/imagine-that-human-existence-is-defined-by-an-ache-the-ache-of-our/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [The problem was money and the indignities of life without it. Every stroller, cell phone, Yankees cap, and SUV he saw was a torment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/the-problem-was-money-and-the-indignities-of-life-without-it-every/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) [Explore all 345 Jonathan Franzen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) ## More Christmas party quotes > [I was at the vice president's Christmas party. I thought that his speech was spectacular, and I knew that it was a very emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-whitford/i-was-at-the-vice-president-s-christmas-party-i-thought-that-his/) [Bradley Whitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-whitford/) > [I gave a Christmas party last year - well, two Christmases ago - where I did a Sam Cooke show. I didn't perform as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/i-gave-a-christmas-party-last-year-well-two-christmases-ago-where-i/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [“Later the place was as deserted as Malcolm Muggeridge's Christmas party of fellow intellectuals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-donaldson/later-the-place-was-as-deserted-as-malcolm-muggeridge-s-christmas/) [William Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-donaldson/) > [“and confused if someone does not appreciate their niceness. Others often sense this and avoid giving them feedback not only, effectively blocking the nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-bryson/and-confused-if-someone-does-not-appreciate-their-niceness-others/) [Kelly Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-bryson/) > [I think we felt the pressure more at first than this time around. But still you don't want to let anyone down. I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-romijn/i-think-we-felt-the-pressure-more-at-first-than-this-time-around-but/) [Rebecca Romijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-romijn/) > [I throw a Christmas party at my house. It's not really a Christmas party, because I don't want to call it a Christmas party.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-murray/i-throw-a-christmas-party-at-my-house-it-s-not-really-a-christmas/) [Bill Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-murray/) > [Christmas is a time when everybody wants his past forgotten and his present remembered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-diller/christmas-is-a-time-when-everybody-wants-his-past-forgotten-and-his/) [Phyllis Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-diller/) > [Like my dad, I have a Christmas party most years. I like to celebrate and see as many people as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-graham/like-my-dad-i-have-a-christmas-party-most-years-i-like-to-celebrate/) [Lauren Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-graham/) > [“There is no real bravery in getting paid to save someone's life. However, there is a large amount of bravery in a nurse break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-alder/there-is-no-real-bravery-in-getting-paid-to-save-someone-s-life/) [Shannon Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-alder/) > [Regard yourself as a small corporation of one. Take yourself off on team-building exercises (long walks). Hold a Christmas party every year at which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/regard-yourself-as-a-small-corporation-of-one-take-yourself-off-on/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [An Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman were invited to a Christmas party. The Englishman brought a bag of tinsel, the Scotsman brought a bag of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-carson/an-englishman-irishman-and-scotsman-were-invited-to-a-christmas-party/) [Frank Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-carson/) > [The concerted effort to minimize Christmas has resulted in it being our national Happy Holiday holiday. The Christmas season is now the holiday season.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyn-nofziger/the-concerted-effort-to-minimize-christmas-has-resulted-in-it-being/) [Lyn Nofziger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyn-nofziger/) > [Make an effort to attend every Christmas party you're invited to, even if you can only stay a few minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/make-an-effort-to-attend-every-christmas-party-you-re-invited-to-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Christmas begins about the first of December with an office party and ends when you finally realize what you spent, around April fifteenth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/christmas-begins-about-the-first-of-december-with-an-office-party-and/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [One time I asked Brasky to dress up as Santa for a Christmas party I was having for my children. Anyway, Brasky shows up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-brasky/one-time-i-asked-brasky-to-dress-up-as-santa-for-a-christmas-party-i/) [Bill Brasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-brasky/) [Browse all 50 Christmas party quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christmas-party/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Once or twice every night, serving dinner at the big round table, Enid glanced over her shoulder and caught him looking, and made him blush. Al was Kansan. After two months he found courage to take her skating. They drank cocoa and he told her that human beings were born to suffer. He took her to a steel-company Christmas party and told her that the intelligent were doomed to be tormented by the stupid. He was a good dancer and a good earner, however, and she kissed him in the elevator. Soon they were engaged and they chastely rode a night train to McCook, Nebraska, to visit his aged parents. 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