Book Quote by Marcel Proust
“... we made much less happy by the kindness of a great writer, which strictly speaking we find only in his books, than we suffer from the hostility of a woman whom we have not chosen for her intelligence, but whom we cannot stop ourselves from loving.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: In Search of Lost Time, 1913
We may love a woman’s intellect despite not choosing her, yet her kindness makes us happier than any writer’s books.
In simple terms: Intellectual love outweighs literary pleasure.
Key Takeaway
Value intellectual connection.
Themes
love
intellect
choice
kindness
Mood
melancholic
reflective
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- friendship
- romantic relationships
- literary critique
Key Concepts
philosophy of love
psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- Why do we love unchosen partners?
- Can kindness outweigh intellectual mismatch?
A Different Perspective
Love can be irrational.
![“For her [Françoise], wealth was like a necessary condition without which virtue would lack both merit and charm. She made so little distinction between the two that she came to see their qualities as interchangeable, expecting material comfort from virtue and moral edification from wealth.” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/573/marcel-proust-114_character_for-her-fran-oise-wealth-was-like-a-nece_2687.jpg)
