--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And it is in this gap between resemblance…" description: "\"“And it is in this gap between resemblance and identity that nostalgic desire arises. The nostalgic is enamored of distance, not of the referent itself..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a4/susan-stewart-61182_desire_and-it-is-in-this-gap-between-resemblanc_1856682.png" --- # And it is in this gap between resemblance and identity… ![“And it is in this gap between resemblance and identity that nostalgic desire arises. The nostalgic is enamored of distance, not of the referent itself. Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss.” quote by Susan Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a4/susan-stewart-61182_desire_and-it-is-in-this-gap-between-resemblanc_1856682.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a4/susan-stewart-61182_desire_and-it-is-in-this-gap-between-resemblanc_1856682.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a4/susan-stewart-61182_desire_and-it-is-in-this-gap-between-resemblanc_1856682.png) > ““And it is in this gap between resemblance and identity that nostalgic desire arises. The nostalgic is enamored of distance, not of the referent itself. Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss.”” [Susan Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stewart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nostalgia arises from the gap between resemblance and true identity, rooted in loss. **In simple terms:** Nostalgia loves distance, not the thing itself. Key Takeaway Acknowledge loss to understand nostalgia. Themes memory identity loss Mood melancholic contemplative Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - writing - therapy - marketing - heritage preservation Key Concepts philosophy psychology culture Questions to Reflect On - What does the “gap” mean to you? - How does loss shape longing? A Different Perspective Nostalgia can be idealized and unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arises Nostalgic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arises-nostalgic-2472004/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Identity Nostalgic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-nostalgic-2472002/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Nostalgia Sustained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia-sustained-2472003/) [Nostalgic Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgic-desire-2472001/) [Referent Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/referent-nostalgia-2472000/) ## Related quotes > [It is to have a compulsive, repetitive, and nostalgic desire for the archive, an irrepressible desire to return to the origin, a homesickness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/it-is-to-have-a-compulsive-repetitive-and-nostalgic-desire-for-the/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [For me, growing up in hip-hop culture, it's all about having the next style, the new fashion, the new way to express yourself, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-p/for-me-growing-up-in-hip-hop-culture-it-s-all-about-having-the-next/) [El-P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-p/) > [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [“Let us not burthen our remembrance with A heaviness that's gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-us-not-burthen-our-remembrance-with-a-heaviness-that-s-gone/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Any time gone by was better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-time-gone-by-was-better/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Could it be in longing we are most ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/could-it-be-in-longing-we-are-most-ourselves/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [A vacation is like love - anticipated with pleasure, experienced with discomfort, and remembered with nostalgia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/a-vacation-is-like-love-anticipated-with-pleasure-experienced-with/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [“Can you miss someone you haven’t seen for longer than you knew them? 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