Broken hearts Quote by Nicole Krauss
““But see, the incredible thing about people is that we forget," Ray continued. "Time passes and somehow the hope creeps back and sooner or later someone else comes along all over again. We go through our lives like that, and either we just accept the lesser relationship -- it may not be total understanding, but it's pretty good -- or we keep trying for the perfect union, trying and failing, leaving behind us a trail of broken hearts, our own included. In the end, we die as alone as we were born, having struggled to understand others, to make ourselves understood, but having failed in what we once imagined was possible.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The History of Love, Nicole Krauss, 2005
Human relationships are fraught with imperfection; we oscillate between accepting imperfect bonds and yearning for ideal unions, often ending in loneliness despite efforts.
In simple terms: We seek perfect love but settle for imperfect.
Key Takeaway
Accept imperfection, cherish connections.
Themes
love
loneliness
expectation
Mood
melancholic
introspective
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- relationships
- personal growth
- grief counseling
Key Concepts
existentialism
psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- What does “perfect union” mean to you?
- How can you balance hope with realistic expectations?
A Different Perspective
Idealizing love can cause chronic dissatisfaction.
![“When you are young, you think it's going to be solved by love. But it never is. Being close -- as close as you can get -- to another person only makes clear that impassable distance between you." […] "I don't know. If being in love only made people more lonely, why would everyone want it so much?"…” quote by Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/57f/nicole-krauss-920_broken-hearts_when-you-are-young-you-think-it-s-going_286207.jpg)
![“…[F]or the Lovers the place of worship Is the arch of the Beloved’s eyebrows. O Morning breeze, if you perchance Should find where my Beloved dwells, Search in her dark tresses Our broken hearts entangled there…” ―Amir Khusrow Dehlavi” quote by Amir Khusrow Dehlavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/559/amir-khusrow-dehlavi-68607_beloved_f-or-the-lovers-the-place-of-worship-is_71529.jpg)
