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Good and bad Quote by Joseph O'Neill

“About Danielle, I remember, my feelings were no more specific than pleasant anxiousness. She hadn’t caught me, obviously enough, at a very erotic moment in my life. I had never been much of a pickup artist—a few ghastly encounters in my twenties had seen to that—and the alternative prospect of a…” quote by Joseph O'Neill
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““About Danielle, I remember, my feelings were no more specific than pleasant anxiousness. She hadn’t caught me, obviously enough, at a very erotic moment in my life. I had never been much of a pickup artist—a few ghastly encounters in my twenties had seen to that—and the alternative prospect of a euphoric romance not only exhausted me but, in fact, struck me as impossible. This wasn’t because of any fidelity to my absent wife or some aversion to sex, which, I like to think, grabs me as much as the next man. No, it was simply that I was uninterested in making, as I saw it, a Xerox of some old emotional state. I was in my mid-thirties, with a marriage more or less behind me. I was no longer vulnerable to curiosity’s enormous momentum. I had nothing new to murmur to another on the subject of myself and not the smallest eagerness about being briefed on Danielle’s supposedly unique trajectory—a curve described under the action, one could safely guess, of the usual material and maternal and soulful longings, a few thwarting tics of character, and luck good and bad. A life seemed like an old story.””

Joseph O'Neill

About This Quote

Source Novel: The Dog Runner, Joseph O'Neill, 2002

The narrator resists repeating past emotional patterns, feeling detached from new romantic possibilities despite lingering desire.

In simple terms: He avoids copying old feelings in new relationships.

Key Takeaway

Stay authentic, avoid repeating past scripts.

Themes

relationships self‑reflection midlife loneliness

Mood

melancholic introspective

Type

literary psychological

When to use this quote

  • dating after divorce
  • midlife career change
  • friendship boundaries
  • personal growth

Key Concepts

identity emotional fatigue

Questions to Reflect On

  • What patterns from your past still influence you?
  • Can you be open to new emotions without fear?
A Different Perspective

May overlook genuine connection by over‑analyzing.

2.2 out of 5 (4 ratings)

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