--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But see, the incredible thing about…" description: "\"“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 someon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/nicole-krauss-920_broken-hearts_but-see-the-incredible-thing-about-peopl_202851.jpg" --- # But see, the incredible thing about people is that we… ![“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…” quote by Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/nicole-krauss-920_broken-hearts_but-see-the-incredible-thing-about-peopl_202851.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/nicole-krauss-920_broken-hearts_but-see-the-incredible-thing-about-peopl_202851.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a45/nicole-krauss-920_broken-hearts_but-see-the-incredible-thing-about-peopl_202851.jpg) > ““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.”” [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broken hearts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-hearts/) [Forget Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget-ray-2113701/) [Having Struggled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-struggled-2113700/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [People Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-forget/) [Pretty good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretty-good/) [Ray Continued](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ray-continued-2113699/) [Sooner or later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sooner-or-later/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Pass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-pass/) [Time passes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-passes/) [Trying and failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-and-failing/) ## Related quotes > [“When you are young, you think it's going to be solved by love. But it never is. 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You don’t fail; you only learn what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-coron/trying-and-failing-is-still-getting-you-one-step-closer-to-success/) [Jeanette Coron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-coron/) > [I've done my best, and I begin to understand what is meant by 'the joy of strife'. Next to trying and winning, the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-done-my-best-and-i-begin-to-understand-what-is-meant-by-the-joy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Nicole Krauss > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [I think of novels as houses. 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Come here." I took a few steps into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/mom-i-said-she-turned-can-i-talk-to-you-about-something-of-course/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [In one's youth, one has tremendous access to one's feelings. And as one gets older, some of those feelings kind of drift away. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/in-one-s-youth-one-has-tremendous-access-to-one-s-feelings-and-as-one/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Obviously I've been reading Kafka for a long long time, since I was really young, and even before I ever read him I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/obviously-i-ve-been-reading-kafka-for-a-long-long-time-since-i-was/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“She's kept her love for him as alive as the summer they first met. In order to do this, she's turned life away. 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