--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It feels good, honey, but it isn't love." description: "\"It feels good, honey, but it isn't love.\" — Joyce Carol Oates" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dee/joyce-carol-oates-344_feel-good_it-feels-good-honey-but-it-isn-t-love-29_2987116.png" --- # It feels good, honey, but it isn't love. ![“It feels good, honey, but it isn't love.” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dee/joyce-carol-oates-344_feel-good_it-feels-good-honey-but-it-isn-t-love-29_2987116.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dee/joyce-carol-oates-344_feel-good_it-feels-good-honey-but-it-isn-t-love-29_2987116.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dee/joyce-carol-oates-344_feel-good_it-feels-good-honey-but-it-isn-t-love-29_2987116.png) > “It feels good, honey, but it isn't love.” [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker distinguishes between physical pleasure and genuine love, indicating that intimacy alone isn’t sufficient for love. **In simple terms:** Physical intimacy isn’t love. Key Takeaway Seek deeper emotional connection. Themes love intimacy authenticity Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - dating - marriage - friendship Key Concepts emotional intelligence relationships Questions to Reflect On - What defines love for you? - How do you nurture emotional intimacy? A Different Perspective Love requires more than physical closeness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Honey isn't really that good for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erykah-badu/honey-isn-t-really-that-good-for-you/) [Erykah Badu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erykah-badu/) > [As a revolutionary, I don't just want to sit by and say, "Oh this feels good, let's just do it." I'm going to die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/as-a-revolutionary-i-don-t-just-want-to-sit-by-and-say-oh-this-feels/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [People don't really give me much anymore, and for good reason. 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I like talking to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sandler/when-i-do-stand-up-shows-at-colleges-girls-will-talk-to-me-after-the/) [Adam Sandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sandler/) > ["Happy" feels good... I just like when stuff feels good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pharrell-williams/happy-feels-good-i-just-like-when-stuff-feels-good/) [Pharrell Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pharrell-williams/) > [It's always nice when people appreciate your work because it means you've affected them, which is great. And so that feels good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-dunst/it-s-always-nice-when-people-appreciate-your-work-because-it-means/) [Kirsten Dunst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-dunst/) > [Life is currently quite frustrating. However, it feels good to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-halvorsen/life-is-currently-quite-frustrating-however-it-feels-good-to-be-alive/) [Eric Halvorsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-halvorsen/) > [This feels good, being back in Michigan... You know, the trees are the right height.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/this-feels-good-being-back-in-michigan-you-know-the-trees-are-the/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [I will never probably have the mathematical foundation to truly understand what string theorists are talking about, but it feels good, just for its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-spaihts/i-will-never-probably-have-the-mathematical-foundation-to-truly/) [Jon Spaihts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-spaihts/) > [A winning team feels good and keeps winning. A team that hasn't won in a while gets demotivated and keeps losing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-altman/a-winning-team-feels-good-and-keeps-winning-a-team-that-hasn-t-won-in/) [Sam Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-altman/) > [Put aside ambition for public recognition, and simply do what you do because it feels good inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/put-aside-ambition-for-public-recognition-and-simply-do-what-you-do/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Sometimes you have to steer away from the crowd in order to be a better person. It's not always easy, that's for sure. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-elkeles/sometimes-you-have-to-steer-away-from-the-crowd-in-order-to-be-a/) [Simone Elkeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-elkeles/) > [Anytime you've played in a place and you get a win against your old team, it feels good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-joseph/anytime-you-ve-played-in-a-place-and-you-get-a-win-against-your-old/) [Curtis Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-joseph/) ## More by Joyce Carol Oates > [“A woman who has lost her husband is invalid, thus an invalid. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-woman-who-has-lost-her-husband-is-invalid-thus-an-invalid-in/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/running-if-there-s-any-activity-happier-more-exhilarating-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [You need so much energy and encouragement to write that if someone says something negative, some of that energy goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/you-need-so-much-energy-and-encouragement-to-write-that-if-someone/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I learned long ago that being Lewis Carroll was infinitely more exciting than being Alice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-learned-long-ago-that-being-lewis-carroll-was-infinitely-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Paradox: how do we know what we have failed to see because we have no language to express it, thus we cannot know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/paradox-how-do-we-know-what-we-have-failed-to-see-because-we-have-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [At all crucial moments in our lives we want to speak without knowing what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/at-all-crucial-moments-in-our-lives-we-want-to-speak-without-knowing/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [A writer’s life is in his work, and that is the place to find him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-writer-s-life-is-in-his-work-and-that-is-the-place-to-find-him/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The challenge is to resist circumstances. Any idiot can be happy in a happy place, but moral courage is required to be happy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-challenge-is-to-resist-circumstances-any-idiot-can-be-happy-in-a/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Did you know, Marianne: how by breaking the code that day, you broke it forever? For us all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/did-you-know-marianne-how-by-breaking-the-code-that-day-you-broke-it/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > ['The Accursed' is very much a novel about social injustice as the consequence of the terrible, tragic division of classes - the exploitation not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-accursed-is-very-much-a-novel-about-social-injustice-as-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/keep-a-light-hopeful-heart-but-expect-the-worst/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. Certain subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-think-that-writer-s-block-exists-really-i-think-that-when-you/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [... such speculation is like staring into the hot white sun. you know the sun is there but you can't see a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/such-speculation-is-like-staring-into-the-hot-white-sun-you-know-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Explore all 658 Joyce Carol Oates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## More Feel good quotes > [Good girls don't hurt other people's feelings. Good girls are not overly aggressive, competitive, or boastful. Good girls please others. 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Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/life-is-not-a-pg-feel-good-movie-real-life-often-ends-badly/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [I always suggest that when you're going through cancer to find something in your day that makes you feel centered and that makes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/i-always-suggest-that-when-you-re-going-through-cancer-to-find/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [It wasn't like, 'I'ma lose weight and start doing dramas.' I wanted to be healthier, and that was the impetus for wanting to lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-hill/it-wasn-t-like-i-ma-lose-weight-and-start-doing-dramas-i-wanted-to-be/) [Jonah Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-hill/) > [I like pie! Pie with proper pastry and a meaty filling always works. It just makes you feel good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-whaite/i-like-pie-pie-with-proper-pastry-and-a-meaty-filling-always-works-it/) [John Whaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-whaite/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I don't feel I'm as good a mum as my mum was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/i-don-t-feel-i-m-as-good-a-mum-as-my-mum-was/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [I love Muji pens. 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But I want to feel good, and I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arden-myrin/i-don-t-need-to-be-on-the-cover-of-maxim-but-i-want-to-feel-good-and/) [Arden Myrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arden-myrin/) Browse all 2,333 Feel good quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It feels good, honey, but it isn't love.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joyce Carol Oates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/it-feels-good-honey-but-it-isn-t-love/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feel good" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/it-feels-good-honey-but-it-isn-t-love/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dee/joyce-carol-oates-344_feel-good_it-feels-good-honey-but-it-isn-t-love-29_2987116.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dee/joyce-carol-oates-344_feel-good_it-feels-good-honey-but-it-isn-t-love-29_2987116.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dee/joyce-carol-oates-344_feel-good_it-feels-good-honey-but-it-isn-t-love-29_2987116.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It feels good, honey, but it isn't love.” — Joyce Carol Oates", "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": "Joyce Carol Oates", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It feels good, honey, but it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/it-feels-good-honey-but-it-isn-t-love/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/it-feels-good-honey-but-it-isn-t-love/#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 } } ] } ```