--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Proving, proving; and for no other reason…" description: "\"“Proving, proving; and for no other reason than that he was married to a woman who had somehow managed to put him forever on the defensive, who loved h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/richard-yates-2840_ludicrous_proving-proving-and-for-no-other-reason_1072094.jpg" --- # Proving, proving; and for no other reason than that he was… ![“Proving, proving; and for no other reason than that he was married to a woman who had somehow managed to put him forever on the defensive, who loved him when he was nice, who lived according to what she happened to feel like doing and who might at any time—this was the hell of it—who might at any…” quote by Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/richard-yates-2840_ludicrous_proving-proving-and-for-no-other-reason_1072094.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/richard-yates-2840_ludicrous_proving-proving-and-for-no-other-reason_1072094.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e7/richard-yates-2840_ludicrous_proving-proving-and-for-no-other-reason_1072094.jpg) > ““Proving, proving; and for no other reason than that he was married to a woman who had somehow managed to put him forever on the defensive, who loved him when he was nice, who lived according to what she happened to feel like doing and who might at any time—this was the hell of it—who might at any time of day or night just happen to feel like leaving him. It was as ludicrous and as simple as that.”” [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Marriage can become a defensive stance where love feels conditional and unpredictable. **In simple terms:** Marriage may feel like a defensive game. Key Takeaway Communicate openly and set expectations. Themes relationships marriage vulnerability Mood introspective cautious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - marital counseling - relationship stress - personal growth Key Concepts psychology dependency Questions to Reflect On - What expectations do you bring into relationships? - How can you foster mutual security? A Different Perspective Love alone may not resolve deep insecurities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [According Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/according-happened-2675421/) [Leaving Ludicrous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving-ludicrous-2675420/) [Ludicrous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ludicrous/) [Married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married/) [Reason Married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-married-1054817/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time of day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-of-day/) ## Related quotes > [“Wasn’t it true, then, that everything in his life from that point on had been a succession of things he hadn’t really wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/wasn-t-it-true-then-that-everything-in-his-life-from-that-point-on-2/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [“So each person knows you according to what has happened in their lives, the losses as well as the great joy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bahauddin/so-each-person-knows-you-according-to-what-has-happened-in-their/) [Bahauddin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bahauddin/) > [It was never my intention to marry anybody. Economics are basically the only reason to get married, but I'm very glad I did it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mirren/it-was-never-my-intention-to-marry-anybody-economics-are-basically/) [Helen Mirren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mirren/) > [I have always felt the only reason to get married is to have children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soha-ali-khan/i-have-always-felt-the-only-reason-to-get-married-is-to-have-children/) [Soha Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soha-ali-khan/) > [“Love, Laurel, that's the only reason to get married. For love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/love-laurel-that-s-the-only-reason-to-get-married-for-love/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [The reason you get married is to be together, not to be separated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/the-reason-you-get-married-is-to-be-together-not-to-be-separated/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) > [“For him, she was the evil one; the antagonist to his life story. The reason he was married at an early age. And to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-urbano/for-him-she-was-the-evil-one-the-antagonist-to-his-life-story-the/) [Alyssa Urbano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-urbano/) > [“I wish I understood why you buy all this stuff." "For the same reason I married you," she murmured. "To help pass the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/i-wish-i-understood-why-you-buy-all-this-stuff-for-the-same-reason-i/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [If I were really, truly in love with someone who was truly in love with me, then I would get married, but that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/if-i-were-really-truly-in-love-with-someone-who-was-truly-in-love/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [“FatherMichael: OK we should get on with this; I don’t want to be late for my 2 o’clock. First I have to ask, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/fathermichael-ok-we-should-get-on-with-this-i-don-t-want-to-be-late-2/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [“I'm just the reason they married. Mum says I was a surprise. Dad says I was an accident. Truth is ... I am their mistake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cameron/i-m-just-the-reason-they-married-mum-says-i-was-a-surprise-dad-says-i/) [Emma Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cameron/) > [But I don't think there's any reason to get married again, especially after what I've been through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-minnelli/but-i-don-t-think-there-s-any-reason-to-get-married-again-especially/) [Liza Minnelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-minnelli/) > [Some people say the reason I am not married is that I don't understand small business and the toughest small business in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-prokhorov/some-people-say-the-reason-i-am-not-married-is-that-i-don-t/) [Mikhail Prokhorov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-prokhorov/) > [Banning sports is a ludicrous proposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pilon/banning-sports-is-a-ludicrous-proposition/) [Mary Pilon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pilon/) > [What puzzles me is the way that some of the smaller, unknown chateaux imagine that because Chinese millionaires pay ludicrous sums for the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-hoggart/what-puzzles-me-is-the-way-that-some-of-the-smaller-unknown-chateaux/) [Simon Hoggart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-hoggart/) ## More by Richard Yates > [“Rachel was a girl who depended on small, recurrent rituals - that was one of the things he'd come to know about her, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/rachel-was-a-girl-who-depended-on-small-recurrent-rituals-that-was/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [“In the East, he then believed, a man went to college not for vocational training but in disciplined search for wisdom and beauty, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/in-the-east-he-then-believed-a-man-went-to-college-not-for-vocational/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [God knows there certainly ought to be a window around here somewhere, for all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/god-knows-there-certainly-ought-to-be-a-window-around-here-somewhere/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [“And you know what else I used to love? I loved to watch you get into your car and drive away - just because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/and-you-know-what-else-i-used-to-love-i-loved-to-watch-you-get-into/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [if you don’t try at anything, you can’t fail… it takes back bone to lead the life you want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/if-you-don-t-try-at-anything-you-can-t-fail-it-takes-back-bone-to/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [“The movies were wonderful because they took you out of yourself, and at the same time they gave you a sense of being whole.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/the-movies-were-wonderful-because-they-took-you-out-of-yourself-and/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [Do you know what the definition of insane is? Yes. It’s the inability to relate to another human being. It’s the inability to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/do-you-know-what-the-definition-of-insane-is-yes-it-s-the-inability/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [“It had been easy to decide in favor of love on Bethune Street, in favor of walking proud and naked on the grass rug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/it-had-been-easy-to-decide-in-favor-of-love-on-bethune-street-in/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [Anybody's marriage might benefit from an occasional embargo on talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/anybody-s-marriage-might-benefit-from-an-occasional-embargo-on-talk/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [“Sometimes in dreams there are visions of the past. For that reason Alice Prentice had always welcomed sleep, but she suffered an insomniac's dread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/sometimes-in-dreams-there-are-visions-of-the-past-for-that-reason/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [“There she was, lying on a single bed in a room so small that there wasn't even space for a chair, and the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/there-she-was-lying-on-a-single-bed-in-a-room-so-small-that-there/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [“I grandi libri, come i grandi amici, devono essere condivisi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/i-grandi-libri-come-i-grandi-amici-devono-essere-condivisi/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [People did change, and a change could be a bloom as well as a withering...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/people-did-change-and-a-change-could-be-a-bloom-as-well-as-a-withering/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [Hard work, is the best medicine yet devised for all the ills of man- and of woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/hard-work-is-the-best-medicine-yet-devised-for-all-the-ills-of-man/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [“You still felt that life was passing you by? Sort of. I still had this idea that there was a whole world of marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/you-still-felt-that-life-was-passing-you-by-sort-of-i-still-had-this/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) [Explore all 140 Richard Yates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) ## More Ludicrous quotes > [What puzzles me is the way that some of the smaller, unknown chateaux imagine that because Chinese millionaires pay ludicrous sums for the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-hoggart/what-puzzles-me-is-the-way-that-some-of-the-smaller-unknown-chateaux/) [Simon Hoggart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-hoggart/) > [Banning sports is a ludicrous proposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pilon/banning-sports-is-a-ludicrous-proposition/) [Mary Pilon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pilon/) > [It is a truth universally acknowledged that a delusional Housewife in possession of an audience must be in want of a ludicrous storyline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-radziwill/it-is-a-truth-universally-acknowledged-that-a-delusional-housewife-in/) [Carole Radziwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-radziwill/) > [Obviously, I've made statements that were ludicrous and crazy and outrageous and all those things, because that's the way I always was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/obviously-i-ve-made-statements-that-were-ludicrous-and-crazy-and/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > [“Would that I were still a ludicrous character in his lousy book!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/would-that-i-were-still-a-ludicrous-character-in-his-lousy-book/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [But then every man is ludicrous if you look at him from outside, without taking into account what’s going on in his heart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/but-then-every-man-is-ludicrous-if-you-look-at-him-from-outside/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [One of the things that frequently gets lost in descriptions of depression is that the depressed person often knows that it is a ludicrous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/one-of-the-things-that-frequently-gets-lost-in-descriptions-of/) [Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/) > [“The idea of spilling blood for the sake of oil would have seemed ludicrous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-idea-of-spilling-blood-for-the-sake-of-oil-would-have-seemed/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [ “If it was occasionally ludicrous, it was always sublime. \[Estelle Jussim on the 19th century Cult of the Beautiful.\] ” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/estelle-jussim/if-it-was-occasionally-ludicrous-it-was-always-sublime-estelle-jussim/) [Estelle Jussim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/estelle-jussim/) > [Life is a very bad novelist. It is chaotic and ludicrous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-mar-as/life-is-a-very-bad-novelist-it-is-chaotic-and-ludicrous/) [Javier Marías](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-mar-as/) > [Note even Jonathan Swift would dare to write a satire in which politicians argued that - in a world where species are vanishing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/note-even-jonathan-swift-would-dare-to-write-a-satire-in-which/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) > [I think to compare Germany to the Third Reich is utterly ludicrous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/i-think-to-compare-germany-to-the-third-reich-is-utterly-ludicrous/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [Dictators are ludicrous characters, and, you know, in my career and in my life, I've always enjoyed sort of inhabiting these ludicrous, larger-than-life characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sacha-baron-cohen/dictators-are-ludicrous-characters-and-you-know-in-my-career-and-in/) [Sacha Baron Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sacha-baron-cohen/) > [“Where is the absolution of religion now? Morality is not negotiable, Hensley. Unleashing a war machine in order to end a war? An absurd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-woods/where-is-the-absolution-of-religion-now-morality-is-not-negotiable/) [Hazel Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-woods/) > [ The claims \[about my inappropriate conduct with women\] are preposterous, ludicrous, and defy truth, common sense and logic. We already have substantial evidence to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-claims-about-my-inappropriate-conduct-with-women-are-preposterous/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) [Browse all 79 Ludicrous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ludicrous/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Proving, proving; and for no other reason than that he was married to a woman who had somehow managed to put him forever on the defensive, who loved him when he was nice, who lived according to what she happened to feel like doing and who might at any time—this was the hell of it—who might at any time of day or night just happen to feel like leaving him. 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