--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Matt knew only that he must see her…" description: "\"“Matt knew only that he must see her again, and forever.”\" — Penelope Lively" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/penelope-lively-3959_forever_matt-knew-only-that-he-must-see-her-agai_3164188.png" --- # Matt knew only that he must see her again, and forever. ![“Matt knew only that he must see her again, and forever.” quote by Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/penelope-lively-3959_forever_matt-knew-only-that-he-must-see-her-agai_3164188.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/penelope-lively-3959_forever_matt-knew-only-that-he-must-see-her-agai_3164188.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/penelope-lively-3959_forever_matt-knew-only-that-he-must-see-her-agai_3164188.png) > ““Matt knew only that he must see her again, and forever.”” [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A deep, enduring love drives a person to seek reunion, suggesting love’s timeless, compelling force. **In simple terms:** Love compels endless pursuit. Key Takeaway Recognize love’s power to motivate lasting commitment. Themes romance longing destiny Mood hopeful nostalgic Type literary emotional When to use this quote - relationship counseling - long‑distance love - creative writing - personal reflection Key Concepts attachment theory existential longing Questions to Reflect On - What does “forever” mean in real life? - How do we balance hope with realistic expectations? A Different Perspective Idealizing love may ignore practical realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew/) [Knew Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-forever-1179691/) [Matt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matt/) [Matt Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matt-knew-2200524/) ## Related quotes > [“Matt only knew that he was entirely happy, wholly in love, and that years of this rolled ahead, waiting for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/matt-only-knew-that-he-was-entirely-happy-wholly-in-love-and-that/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“Matt lead those kids through a whole cycle of emotions, from fear to anger, from anger to hate, from hate to hope. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-shane/matt-lead-those-kids-through-a-whole-cycle-of-emotions-from-fear-to/) [Trevor Shane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-shane/) > [“Izzy, from the first moment our eyes met, I knew you would be mine forever. There wasn't a day that passed you didn't hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-sloan/izzy-from-the-first-moment-our-eyes-met-i-knew-you-would-be-mine/) [Harper Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-sloan/) > [Who knew forever already ended. I was so stupid to think for a moment you actually cared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-knew-forever-already-ended-i-was-so-stupid-to-think-for-a-moment/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You said you would love me forever. Who knew forever ended today...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enis/you-said-you-would-love-me-forever-who-knew-forever-ended-today/) [Enis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enis/) > [“I realised I never wanted to leave her side, and I never wanted her to have to struggle to be released from her sadness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-m-miller/i-realised-i-never-wanted-to-leave-her-side-and-i-never-wanted-her-to/) [R.M. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-m-miller/) > [We'd start slow, the way we always did, because the run, and the game, could go on for a while. Maybe even forever. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/we-d-start-slow-the-way-we-always-did-because-the-run-and-the-game/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I knew I had fallen in love with Lolita forever; but I also knew she would not be forever Lolita.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/i-knew-i-had-fallen-in-love-with-lolita-forever-but-i-also-knew-she/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [That was the thing. You just never knew. Forever was so many different things. It was always changing, it was what everything was really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/that-was-the-thing-you-just-never-knew-forever-was-so-many-different/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Matt and Mark (Hughes) used to pound each other on the farm as young boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-goldberg/matt-and-mark-hughes-used-to-pound-each-other-on-the-farm-as-young/) [Mike Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-goldberg/) > [My brother Matt and I, we have a great relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hardy/my-brother-matt-and-i-we-have-a-great-relationship/) [Jeff Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hardy/) > [“We don’t always get what we want out of life. It’s how we handle what’s left that matters. – Matt Jacobs (hero)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-borrill/we-don-t-always-get-what-we-want-out-of-life-it-s-how-we-handle-what/) [Lori Borrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-borrill/) > [“I still love you." (Joanie to Matt)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-still-love-you-joanie-to-matt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If anybody deserves a happily ever after, Matt, it’s you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-falkner/if-anybody-deserves-a-happily-ever-after-matt-it-s-you/) [Tammy Falkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-falkner/) > [“You are my everything,” Julie said. “You are challenging, and difficult, and guarded. I love those things about you. You are fascinating, and complex,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-park/you-are-my-everything-julie-said-you-are-challenging-and-difficult/) [Jessica Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-park/) ## More by Penelope Lively > [“I know quite well why I became a historian… It was because dissension was frowned upon when I was a child: 'Don't argue, Claudia,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-know-quite-well-why-i-became-a-historian-it-was-because-dissension/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The question is, shall it or shall it not be linear history. I've always thought a kaleidoscopic view might be an interesting heresey. Shake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-question-is-shall-it-or-shall-it-not-be-linear-history-i-ve/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [There's a preoccupation with memory and the operation of memory and a rather rapacious interest in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/there-s-a-preoccupation-with-memory-and-the-operation-of-memory-and-a/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“He felt marvellously conscious of the moment, of here and now, of this day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/he-felt-marvellously-conscious-of-the-moment-of-here-and-now-of-this/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [People die, but money never does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/people-die-but-money-never-does/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“But her thoughts are often of the past. That evanescent, pervasive, slippery internal landscape known to no one else, that vast accretion of data…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/but-her-thoughts-are-often-of-the-past-that-evanescent-pervasive/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Unless I am a part of everything I am nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/unless-i-am-a-part-of-everything-i-am-nothing/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Getting to know someone else involves curiosity about where they have come from, who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/getting-to-know-someone-else-involves-curiosity-about-where-they-have/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [I'm intrigued by the way in which physical appearance can often direct a person's life; things happen differently for a beautiful woman than for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-m-intrigued-by-the-way-in-which-physical-appearance-can-often/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/since-then-i-have-just-read-and-read-but-that-said-i-suppose-there-is/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“I have a print - you can buy them at the Victoria and Albert Museum - of a photograph of the village street of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-have-a-print-you-can-buy-them-at-the-victoria-and-albert-museum-of/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Every novel generates its own climate, when you get going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/every-novel-generates-its-own-climate-when-you-get-going/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The power of language. Preserving the ephemeral; giving form to dreams, permanence to sparks of sunlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-power-of-language-preserving-the-ephemeral-giving-form-to-dreams/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [We all need a past - that's where our sense of identity comes from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/we-all-need-a-past-that-s-where-our-sense-of-identity-comes-from/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I wanted a structure whereby each of the main characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/conventional-forms-of-narrative-allow-for-different-points-of-view/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) [Explore all 118 Penelope Lively quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## More Forever quotes > [Every one knows that the exercise of military power is forever dangerous to civil rights; and we have had recent instances of violences that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/every-one-knows-that-the-exercise-of-military-power-is-forever/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [Contradictory precepts that have guided me for as long as I can remember: 1: I will live forever. 2: I will die tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gardner/contradictory-precepts-that-have-guided-me-for-as-long-as-i-can/) [Howard Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gardner/) > [People don't always realize that a record is forever. It'll always be there under your name. You've got to be certain that it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/people-don-t-always-realize-that-a-record-is-forever-it-ll-always-be/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [When you find someone you want to spend forever with you, you don't let them go, whether forever turns out to be a day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/when-you-find-someone-you-want-to-spend-forever-with-you-you-don-t/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [What does forever mean to you? When you couldnt even keep it true You said were youd forever be there But were those just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fad-ibra/what-does-forever-mean-to-you-when-you-couldnt-even-keep-it-true-you/) [Fad Ibra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fad-ibra/) > [Forever is a really long time, you know? What do you do with forever?" "The same thing you do when you don't have forever."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/forever-is-a-really-long-time-you-know-what-do-you-do-with-forever/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) > [Whole scenes of your life slip away forever if you don't put them down in ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silas-house/whole-scenes-of-your-life-slip-away-forever-if-you-don-t-put-them/) [Silas House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silas-house/) > [Tonight I feel like a prisoner on fire, waiting desperately... denied, sentenced forever more. Only your love can set me free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bolton/tonight-i-feel-like-a-prisoner-on-fire-waiting-desperately-denied/) [Michael Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bolton/) > [It all depends on you. You can go on sleeping forever, you can wake up right this moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/it-all-depends-on-you-you-can-go-on-sleeping-forever-you-can-wake-up/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [There is nothing more I ask of this life than this moment, exactly so. And suddenly forever seems like too short a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/there-is-nothing-more-i-ask-of-this-life-than-this-moment-exactly-so/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [I want to do - I want to be putting out classic stuff that's gonna stick and last forever, you feel me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yg/i-want-to-do-i-want-to-be-putting-out-classic-stuff-that-s-gonna/) [YG](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yg/) > [“I will run every mile, i will save every line, i will say i reached the top and i will fall back down standing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mennah-al-refaey/i-will-run-every-mile-i-will-save-every-line-i-will-say-i-reached-the/) [Mennah al refaey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mennah-al-refaey/) [Browse all 10,689 Forever quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Matt knew only that he must see her again, and forever.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Penelope Lively" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/matt-knew-only-that-he-must-see-her-again-and-forever/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forever" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/matt-knew-only-that-he-must-see-her-again-and-forever/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/penelope-lively-3959_forever_matt-knew-only-that-he-must-see-her-agai_3164188.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/penelope-lively-3959_forever_matt-knew-only-that-he-must-see-her-agai_3164188.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e10/penelope-lively-3959_forever_matt-knew-only-that-he-must-see-her-agai_3164188.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Matt knew only that he must see her again, and forever.” — Penelope Lively", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Penelope Lively", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Matt knew only that he must...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/matt-knew-only-that-he-must-see-her-again-and-forever/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/matt-knew-only-that-he-must-see-her-again-and-forever/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```