--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: friendship is love made bearable." description: "\"friendship is love made bearable.\" — Rita Mae Brown" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/rita-mae-brown-1111_bearable_friendship-is-love-made-bearable-1038248_1038248.png" --- # friendship is love made bearable. ![“friendship is love made bearable.” quote by Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/rita-mae-brown-1111_bearable_friendship-is-love-made-bearable-1038248_1038248.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/rita-mae-brown-1111_bearable_friendship-is-love-made-bearable-1038248_1038248.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/rita-mae-brown-1111_bearable_friendship-is-love-made-bearable-1038248_1038248.png) > “friendship is love made bearable.” [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Friendship transforms love into a tolerable, supportive experience **In simple terms:** Friends make love easier to bear Key Takeaway Value friendships that ease love’s challenges Themes friendship love support Mood warm contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - college roommates - long‑distance relationships - support groups Key Concepts emotional resilience shared experience Questions to Reflect On - What makes a friendship supportive? - Can love exist without friendship? A Different Perspective Friendship can also be burdensome ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bearable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bearable/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Friendship Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Bearable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-bearable-2412240/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) ## Related quotes > [As long as you draw breath anywhere -here or ten thousands miles from here- I will love you. I can't help loving you, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/as-long-as-you-draw-breath-anywhere-here-or-ten-thousands-miles-from/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [Time isn't what makes a friendship last...It's love and devotion that keeps the tie between souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-isn-t-what-makes-a-friendship-last-it-s-love-and-devotion-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Choose friendship over love because friendship might turn to love, but love can't turn into friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/choose-friendship-over-love-because-friendship-might-turn-to-love-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Real friendship or love is not manufactured or achieved by an act of will or intention. Friendship is always an act of recognition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-donohue/real-friendship-or-love-is-not-manufactured-or-achieved-by-an-act-of/) [John O'Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-donohue/) > [“Friendship distills the sweetness of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/friendship-distills-the-sweetness-of-life/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“And besides, in the matter of friendship, I have observed that the disappointment here arises chiefly, not from liking our friends too well, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/and-besides-in-the-matter-of-friendship-i-have-observed-that-the/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [What is commonly honored with the name of Friendship is no very profound or powerful instinct. Men do not, after all, love their Friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/what-is-commonly-honored-with-the-name-of-friendship-is-no-very/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Esteem has more engaging charms than friendship, or even love. It captivates hearts better, and never makes ings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/esteem-has-more-engaging-charms-than-friendship-or-even-love-it/) [Stanisław I Leszczyński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/) > [“If we would build on a sure foundation in friendship, we must love our friends for their sakes rather than for our own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-we-would-build-on-a-sure-foundation-in-friendship-we-must-love-our/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Marriage is like a three-speed gearbox - affection, friendship, love. It is not advisable to crash your gears and go right through to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ustinov/marriage-is-like-a-three-speed-gearbox-affection-friendship-love-it/) [Peter Ustinov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ustinov/) > [It is easier to turn a friendship into love but hard to turn a love into a friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/it-is-easier-to-turn-a-friendship-into-love-but-hard-to-turn-a-love/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Friendship Or Love... It's really hard to choose, though sometimes friendship ends in love. If romance ends, it's hard to return to friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friendship-or-love-it-s-really-hard-to-choose-though-sometimes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To offer a man friendship when love is in his heart is like giving a loaf of bread to one who is dying of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-frankfort-moore/to-offer-a-man-friendship-when-love-is-in-his-heart-is-like-giving-a/) [Frank Frankfort Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-frankfort-moore/) > [Most of the things in your life are not in your control - the family you are born into, the parents, and the siblings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rana-daggubati/most-of-the-things-in-your-life-are-not-in-your-control-the-family/) [Rana Daggubati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rana-daggubati/) ## More by Rita Mae Brown > [“Friendship distills the sweetness of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/friendship-distills-the-sweetness-of-life/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/about-all-you-can-do-in-life-is-be-who-you-are-some-people-will-love/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [He tried to drown his troubles but they knew how to swim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/he-tried-to-drown-his-troubles-but-they-knew-how-to-swim/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [“The most revolutionary thing you can do is to be yourself, to speak your truth, to open your arms to life including the pain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/the-most-revolutionary-thing-you-can-do-is-to-be-yourself-to-speak/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Content without style is propaganda or adolescence. Style without content is decadence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/content-without-style-is-propaganda-or-adolescence-style-without/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Whenever I doubt the existence of God or the Goddess, I look at horses. Only God could have made a horse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/whenever-i-doubt-the-existence-of-god-or-the-goddess-i-look-at-horses/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Language is decanted and shared. If only one person is left alive speaking a language - the case with some American Indian languages -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/language-is-decanted-and-shared-if-only-one-person-is-left-alive/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [“what would happen if she'd open her eyes and see only dark and feel satin from the coffin? That'd scare her enough to kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/what-would-happen-if-she-d-open-her-eyes-and-see-only-dark-and-feel/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [“You know, it’s hell to work with a cat. They really are smarter than we are. Have you ever gotten anyone to feed you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/you-know-it-s-hell-to-work-with-a-cat-they-really-are-smarter-than-we/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [I don't want to die. I think death is a greatly overrated experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/i-don-t-want-to-die-i-think-death-is-a-greatly-overrated-experience/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Leroy bet me I couldn't find a pot of gold at the end, and I told him that was a stupid bet because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/leroy-bet-me-i-couldn-t-find-a-pot-of-gold-at-the-end-and-i-told-him/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [An army of lovers shall not fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/an-army-of-lovers-shall-not-fail/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Cats and dogs believe politicians are like cemetery caregivers; they are on top of everyone, but nobody listens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/cats-and-dogs-believe-politicians-are-like-cemetery-caregivers-they/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [Femininity and masculinity are social constructs. Female and male are biological. We don't have to learn to be men or women but we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/femininity-and-masculinity-are-social-constructs-female-and-male-are/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/one-of-the-keys-to-happiness-is-a-bad-memory/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) [Explore all 290 Rita Mae Brown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) ## More Bearable quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [How will it ever be bearable, Priestess?” His voice was rough. He sounded completely broken. “You’ll see her again. She’s with Nyx now. She’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-will-it-ever-be-bearable-priestess-his-voice-was-rough-he-sounded/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/intense-unexpected-suffering-passes-more-quickly-than-suffering-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“shared pain is more bearable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/shared-pain-is-more-bearable/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [For me, friendship has always been the most accessible of relationships - certainly far more so than romantic love. Friendship, I learned, provided a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/for-me-friendship-has-always-been-the-most-accessible-of/) [Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/) > [Divorce is my generation's coming of age ceremony - a ritual scarring that makes anything that happens afterward seem bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/divorce-is-my-generation-s-coming-of-age-ceremony-a-ritual-scarring/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [You can’t change the tale so that you turned left one day instead of right, or didn’t make the mistake that might have saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/you-can-t-change-the-tale-so-that-you-turned-left-one-day-instead-of/) [Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet-2/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The doctors may be mapping out the war games, but it is the nurses who make the conflict bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-doctors-may-be-mapping-out-the-war-games-but-it-is-the-nurses-who/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Prayer can come in only when fasting has done its work. It can make fasting easy and bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/prayer-can-come-in-only-when-fasting-has-done-its-work-it-can-make/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Well, it seems like a miracle to be able to look forward-to-to see all the minutes in front of one come hopping along with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/well-it-seems-like-a-miracle-to-be-able-to-look-forward-to-to-see-all/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [When pain is unbearable it destroys us; when it does not it is bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/when-pain-is-unbearable-it-destroys-us-when-it-does-not-it-is-bearable/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [If Jesus gives us a task or assigns us to a difficult season, every ounce of our experience is meant for our instruction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/if-jesus-gives-us-a-task-or-assigns-us-to-a-difficult-season-every/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-arts-are-not-a-way-to-make-a-living-they-are-a-very-human-way-of/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Browse all 174 Bearable quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bearable/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "friendship is love made bearable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rita Mae Brown" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/friendship-is-love-made-bearable/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bearable" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/friendship-is-love-made-bearable/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/rita-mae-brown-1111_bearable_friendship-is-love-made-bearable-1038248_1038248.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/rita-mae-brown-1111_bearable_friendship-is-love-made-bearable-1038248_1038248.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/rita-mae-brown-1111_bearable_friendship-is-love-made-bearable-1038248_1038248.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“friendship is love made bearable.” — Rita Mae Brown", "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": "Rita Mae Brown", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "friendship is love made bearable.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/friendship-is-love-made-bearable/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/friendship-is-love-made-bearable/#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 } } ] } ```