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Innocence Quote by Thomas Pynchon

“Jeremy will take her like the Angel itself, in his joyless weasel-worded come-along, and Roger will be forgotten, an amusing maniac, but with no place in the rationalized power-ritual that will be the coming peace. She will take her husband's orders, she will become a domestic bureaucrat, a junior…” quote by Thomas Pynchon
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““Jeremy will take her like the Angel itself, in his joyless weasel-worded come-along, and Roger will be forgotten, an amusing maniac, but with no place in the rationalized power-ritual that will be the coming peace. She will take her husband's orders, she will become a domestic bureaucrat, a junior partner, and remember Roger, if at all, as a mistake thank God she didn't make…. Oh, he feels a raving fit coming on—how the bloody hell can he survive without her? She is the British warm that protects his stooping shoulders, and the wintering sparrow he holds inside his hands. She is his deepest innocence in spaces of bough and hay before wishes were given a separate name to warn that they might not come true, and his lithe Parisian daughter of joy, beneath the eternal mirror, forswearing perfumes, capeskin to the armpits, all that is too easy, for his impoverishment and more worthy love. You go from dream to dream inside me. You have passage to my last shabby corner, and there, among the debris, you've found life. I'm no longer sure which of all the words, images, dreams or ghosts are 'yours' and which are 'mine.' It's past sorting out. We're both being someone new now, someone incredible….””

Thomas Pynchon

About This Quote

The passage explores complex relational dynamics, power, and identity through vivid metaphor, highlighting emotional turbulence and self‑redefinition.

In simple terms: Relationships and identity are tangled, shifting, and emotionally intense.

Key Takeaway

Embrace change and seek authentic self beyond roles.

Themes

identity power relationships

Mood

introspective poetic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

  • intimate relationships
  • personal growth
  • creative writing

Key Concepts

metaphor psychology existentialism

Questions to Reflect On

  • What does the “British warm” symbolize?
  • How does the narrator’s sense of self evolve?
A Different Perspective

Metaphors may obscure clarity for some readers.

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