--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The kiss was innocent--innocent…" description: "\"The kiss was innocent--innocent enough--but it was also full of something not unlike what Virginia wants from London, from life; it was full of a love ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/michael-cunningham-1120_afternoon_the-kiss-was-innocent-innocent-enough-bu_1885642.jpg" --- # The kiss was innocent--innocent enough--but it was also… ![“The kiss was innocent--innocent enough--but it was also full of something not unlike what Virginia wants from London, from life; it was full of a love complex and ravenous, ancient, neither this nor that. It will serve as this afternoon's manifestation of the central mystery itself, the elusive…” quote by Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/michael-cunningham-1120_afternoon_the-kiss-was-innocent-innocent-enough-bu_1885642.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/michael-cunningham-1120_afternoon_the-kiss-was-innocent-innocent-enough-bu_1885642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cb/michael-cunningham-1120_afternoon_the-kiss-was-innocent-innocent-enough-bu_1885642.jpg) > “The kiss was innocent--innocent enough--but it was also full of something not unlike what Virginia wants from London, from life; it was full of a love complex and ravenous, ancient, neither this nor that. It will serve as this afternoon's manifestation of the central mystery itself, the elusive brightness that shines from the edges of certain dreams; the brightness which, when we awaken, is already fading from our minds, and which we rise in the hope of finding, perhaps today, this new day in which anything might happen, anything at all.” [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes a kiss that is both innocent and deeply yearning, symbolizing a mysterious, fleeting hope that fuels imagination and the possibility of new beginnings. **In simple terms:** A kiss mixes innocence with deep longing, hinting at fleeting hope and new possibilities. Key Takeaway Embrace the mystery and let hope guide you. Themes love longing hope transformation Mood reflective hopeful melancholic Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - creative inspiration - moment of epiphany Key Concepts romanticism existential yearning dream symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What does this kiss reveal about your hidden desires? - How can you capture fleeting moments of hope? A Different Perspective The hope may be fragile and can fade quickly if not nurtured. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) [Afternoon Manifestation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon-manifestation-2692017/) [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Brightness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brightness/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Elusive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elusive/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Fading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fading/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Innocent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent/) [Innocent Innocent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent-innocent-2692018/) [Innocent Unlike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent-unlike-2692016/) [Kiss Innocent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kiss-innocent-2692015/) [Kissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kissing/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [Manifestation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manifestation/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [New day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-day/) [Shining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shining/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Virginia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virginia/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Dropping her hand, she turned in his arms. Then, rising up on tiptoe, she cupped his face in her palms and drew him down.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/dropping-her-hand-she-turned-in-his-arms-then-rising-up-on-tiptoe-she/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [“She glanced left and right, all wide-eyed and innocent. Innocent as a streetwalker.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-tawn-bergren/she-glanced-left-and-right-all-wide-eyed-and-innocent-innocent-as-a/) [Lisa Tawn Bergren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-tawn-bergren/) > [“Anything beautiful may not be innocent, but anything innocent is certainly beautiful!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anything-beautiful-may-not-be-innocent-but-anything-innocent-is/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Even innocent people find themselves in trouble, Adolfina is innocent. We're all innocent. The only ones at fault for the bad things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manlio-argueta/even-innocent-people-find-themselves-in-trouble-adolfina-is-innocent/) [Manlio Argueta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manlio-argueta/) > [A serious person can never be innocent, and one who is innocent can never be serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/a-serious-person-can-never-be-innocent-and-one-who-is-innocent-can/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Poetry is not like reasoning, a power to be exerted according to the determination of the will. A man cannot say, 'I will compose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/poetry-is-not-like-reasoning-a-power-to-be-exerted-according-to-the/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [This book is called "Blue Nights" because at the time I began it I found my mind turning increasingly to illness, to the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/this-book-is-called-blue-nights-because-at-the-time-i-began-it-i/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [The mind in creation is as a fading coal, which some invisible influence, like an inconstant wind, awakens to transitory brightness; this power arises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/the-mind-in-creation-is-as-a-fading-coal-which-some-invisible/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [He wanted to tell her that he was inspired and vigilant and recklessly alone, that his body contained his unsteady heart and something else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/he-wanted-to-tell-her-that-he-was-inspired-and-vigilant-and/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [A joyful life isn’t about others; it’s about the brightness that is associated with being alive. Your path to it is through anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/a-joyful-life-isn-t-about-others-it-s-about-the-brightness-that-is/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [But woe to him, who left to moan, Reviews the hours of brightness gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/but-woe-to-him-who-left-to-moan-reviews-the-hours-of-brightness-gone/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Daily simple, sincere, and mighty prayers lift our lives to a higher spiritual altitude. In our prayers we praise God, give thanks to Him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/daily-simple-sincere-and-mighty-prayers-lift-our-lives-to-a-higher/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [The studious silence of the library ... Thought is the thought of thought. Tranquil brightness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-studious-silence-of-the-library-thought-is-the-thought-of-thought/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Only an empowered personality can distribute the holy name of the Lord and enjoin all fallen souls to worship Krishna. By distributing the holy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhaktisiddhanta-sarasvati/only-an-empowered-personality-can-distribute-the-holy-name-of-the/) [Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhaktisiddhanta-sarasvati/) > [God's glory is the created brightness that surrounds God’s revelation of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-grudem/god-s-glory-is-the-created-brightness-that-surrounds-god-s-revelation/) [Wayne Grudem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-grudem/) ## More by Michael Cunningham > [“Mizzy has wandered into the garden. Carole looks contemplatively at him, says, "Lovely boy." "My wife's insanely younger brother. He's one of those kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/mizzy-has-wandered-into-the-garden-carole-looks-contemplatively-at/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“Zoe loved Trancas's mother. She respected her exhausted and ironic hope for rebirth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/zoe-loved-trancas-s-mother-she-respected-her-exhausted-and-ironic/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [The lives great artists live and the books they write are two very different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/the-lives-great-artists-live-and-the-books-they-write-are-two-very/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“How often since then has she wondered what might have happened if she'd tried to remain with him; if she’d returned Richard's kiss on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/how-often-since-then-has-she-wondered-what-might-have-happened-if-she/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“...a full week of their mother's quiet fury over the fun they don't seem to be having and their father's dogged attempts to provide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/a-full-week-of-their-mother-s-quiet-fury-over-the-fun-they-don-t-seem/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Oh, all you immigrants and visionaries, what do you hope to find here, who do you hope to become?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/oh-all-you-immigrants-and-visionaries-what-do-you-hope-to-find-here/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“She wants to have baked a cake that banishes sorrow, even if only for a little while.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/she-wants-to-have-baked-a-cake-that-banishes-sorrow-even-if-only-for/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“And yet, it gives Peter nothing. Not now. Not today. Not when he needs... more. More than this well-executed idea. More than the shark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/and-yet-it-gives-peter-nothing-not-now-not-today-not-when-he-needs/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [He insists on a version of you that is funnier, stranger, more eccentric and prfound thatn you suspect yourself to be--capable of doing more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/he-insists-on-a-version-of-you-that-is-funnier-stranger-more/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [The worst are full of passionate intensity while the best lack all conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/the-worst-are-full-of-passionate-intensity-while-the-best-lack-all/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“And here he is, letting the massive steel street door click shut behind him, standing at the top of the three iron steps that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/and-here-he-is-letting-the-massive-steel-street-door-click-shut/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [It's the world, you live in it, even if some boy has made a fool of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/it-s-the-world-you-live-in-it-even-if-some-boy-has-made-a-fool-of-you/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“She's had a long life. Now she's going to the Lord." "Frankly it creeps me out a little when you say things like that,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/she-s-had-a-long-life-now-she-s-going-to-the-lord-frankly-it-creeps/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Any other vexations to report?" he asks. "I love the word 'vexations.'" "It's the 'x.' Nice to jump off a 'v' and bite into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/any-other-vexations-to-report-he-asks-i-love-the-word-vexations-it-s/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Dead, we are revealed in our true dimensions, and they are surprisingly modest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/dead-we-are-revealed-in-our-true-dimensions-and-they-are-surprisingly/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) [Explore all 277 Michael Cunningham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) [Ban Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-johnson/) > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The kiss was innocent--innocent enough--but it was also full of something not unlike what Virginia wants from London, from life; it was full of a love complex and ravenous, ancient, neither this nor that. 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