Bone Flesh Quote by Lydia Netzer
““The tragedy of her father's absence had never actually been an acutely tragic event for her. As she grew up and came to understand the world, he was a part of it. An already dead part. His absence was the landscape of her family. Increasingly, as the years went on, she didn't really know what she was missing, but that didn't stop her from missing it. She fixated on him. She prayed to him. She attempted to research him, found obscure publications of his in scientific journals. The language was so formal, she could barely understand it. But she told herself, This is familiar. This is mine, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. She thought, There was a feeling he had, when he wrote this, when he was alive. He communicated it to me, even though everyone who reads this article only gets a lot of information about this scientific test subject, and his reaction to all these oils. She dreamed her father was still out there [ . . . though] her belief that her father was still living did not stop her from telling stories about his death.””
About This Quote
Source Short story: “The Landscape of Absence” by Lydia Netzer, 2020
A woman clings to the memory of an absent father, seeking connection through research and ritual, despite never truly knowing him.
In simple terms: She longs for a father she never truly knew, trying to fill the void with imagined intimacy.
Accept uncertainty and find meaning beyond the unknown.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- personal mourning
- academic research
- spiritual seeking
- creative writing
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What does “absence” mean to you?
- How can you honor unknown influences?
The quest may never resolve the emptiness.