--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When one's married for so long, always…" description: "\"“When one's married for so long, always walking on four feet and always breathing double breaths and thinking every thought twice through and the time ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/robert-musil-2009_love_when-one-s-married-for-so-long-always-wa_1640557.jpg" --- # When one's married for so long, always walking on four… ![“When one's married for so long, always walking on four feet and always breathing double breaths and thinking every thought twice through and the time between the main things is packed double full with minor details - then, sometimes, naturally, one yearns like an arrow for one whole space thin as…” quote by Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/robert-musil-2009_love_when-one-s-married-for-so-long-always-wa_1640557.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/robert-musil-2009_love_when-one-s-married-for-so-long-always-wa_1640557.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c9/robert-musil-2009_love_when-one-s-married-for-so-long-always-wa_1640557.jpg) > ““When one's married for so long, always walking on four feet and always breathing double breaths and thinking every thought twice through and the time between the main things is packed double full with minor details - then, sometimes, naturally, one yearns like an arrow for one whole space thin as air. And you start up in the night, terrified by your own breathing, which had just been going along as evenly without you. But you don't rise up free - or even really as far as your knees - not once. You strike a match. And there's one of you right there, wrapped in flesh. Only then is it love.”” [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Long-term marriage can feel cramped, prompting a yearning for freedom that only love can fulfill. **In simple terms:** Marriage can feel confining, yet love offers release. Key Takeaway Recognize love’s role in personal liberation. Themes marriage freedom love Mood introspective hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - marital counseling - personal therapy - creative writing Key Concepts existential yearning psychological tension relationship dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does love transform perceived confinement? - Can freedom be found without love? A Different Perspective The metaphor may idealize love, overlooking practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Breaths Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths-thinking-563279/) [Double Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/double-breaths-563278/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Married](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married/) [Married Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married-long-373228/) ## Related quotes > [Most marriages I've known, and I've been married a long time and I've known a lot of married people - you wonder how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mazursky/most-marriages-i-ve-known-and-i-ve-been-married-a-long-time-and-i-ve/) [Paul Mazursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mazursky/) > [I was close to getting married a long time ago. But it didn't happen, and since then it has not been happening. 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