Courage Quote by Lorrie Moore
““Observing others go through them, he used to admire midlife crises, the courage and shamelessness and existential daring of them, but after he'd watched his own wife, a respectable nursery school teacher, produce and star in a full-blown one of her own, he found the sufferers of such crises not only self-indulgent but greedy and demented, and he wished them all weird unnatural deaths with various contraptions easily found in garages.””
About This Quote
The narrator's admiration for dramatic personal upheavals turns to contempt after witnessing his wife's own crisis, seeing such crises as selfish and destructive.
In simple terms: From admiration to revulsion over personal crises.
Key Takeaway
Crisis can be both alluring and abhorrent.
Themes
midlife crisis
courage
self-indulgence
greed
existential daring
Mood
cynical
disgusted
darkly humorous
Type
literary
satirical
When to use this quote
- witnessing a spouse's breakdown
- reflecting on personal values
- seeing crisis as spectacle
Key Concepts
personal transformation
marital observation
moral judgment
Practical Applications
- psychological analysis of crisis
- cultural critique of self-absorption
Questions to Reflect On
- What does this shift reveal about societal attitudes toward personal upheaval?
- How might empathy change the narrator's perception?
A Different Perspective
Some view crises as opportunities for growth, not merely selfish acts.
