Beauty Quote by Thornton Wilder
““This assumption that she need look for no more devotion now that her beauty had passed proceeded from the fact that she had never realized any love save love as passion. Such love, though it expends itself in generosity and thoughtfulness, though it give birth to visions and to great poetry, remains among the sharpest expressions of self-interest. Not until it has passed through a long servitude, through its own self-hatred, through mockery, through great doubts, can it take its place among the loyalties. Many who have spent a lifetime in it can tell us less of love than the child that lost a dog yesterday.””
About This Quote
Source Play: The Matchmaker, 1955
Love driven by passion often masks self‑interest; only after hardship and self‑reflection does it become true loyalty.
In simple terms: Passionate love hides selfishness; hardship reveals loyalty.
Key Takeaway
Recognize love’s selfish roots and seek deeper loyalty.
Themes
love
self‑interest
growth
loyalty
reflection
Mood
melancholic
thoughtful
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- relationships
- personal growth
- creative work
- grief processing
Key Concepts
passion
self‑reflection
generosity
poetry
Questions to Reflect On
- How does hardship reshape your view of love?
- Can generosity distinguish between passion and loyalty?
A Different Perspective
Passion can blind judgment and delay authentic connection.
![“She was very fond of thinking and getting at the truth of things, but was so far from being pedantic, so full of youthful ways that from the first moment one began to love all these originalities in her, and to accept them. [...] This naive combination in her of the child and the thinking woman…” quote by Feodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/302/feodor-dostoevsky-44924_beauty_she-was-very-fond-of-thinking-and-gettin_3039156.jpg)
