--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He regarded love as a sort of cruel…" description: "\"He regarded love as a sort of cruel malady through which the elect are required to pass in their late youth and from which they emerge, pale and wrung,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/thornton-wilder-1495_cruel_he-regarded-love-as-a-sort-of-cruel-mala_623073.jpg" --- # He regarded love as a sort of cruel malady through which… ![“He regarded love as a sort of cruel malady through which the elect are required to pass in their late youth and from which they emerge, pale and wrung, but ready for the business of living.” quote by Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/thornton-wilder-1495_cruel_he-regarded-love-as-a-sort-of-cruel-mala_623073.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/thornton-wilder-1495_cruel_he-regarded-love-as-a-sort-of-cruel-mala_623073.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/thornton-wilder-1495_cruel_he-regarded-love-as-a-sort-of-cruel-mala_623073.jpg) > “He regarded love as a sort of cruel malady through which the elect are required to pass in their late youth and from which they emerge, pale and wrung, but ready for the business of living.” [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love is portrayed as a painful, inevitable rite that shapes and readies individuals for life's responsibilities. **In simple terms:** Love is a harsh but necessary rite of passage. Key Takeaway Embrace love’s challenges as growth opportunities. Themes love pain growth responsibility Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - young adulthood - relationship crises - personal development Key Concepts existentialism human condition coming of age Questions to Reflect On - What lessons does love teach about resilience? - How does pain shape personal purpose? A Different Perspective May romanticize suffering, ignoring healthy boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cruel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel/) [Cruel Malady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-malady-5038732/) [Late Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late-youth-5038734/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Malady Elect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malady-elect-5038733/) [Pale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pale/) [Ready](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ready/) [Regarded Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regarded-love-737674/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“He divided the inhabitants of this world into two groups, into those who had loved and those who had not. It was a horrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/he-divided-the-inhabitants-of-this-world-into-two-groups-into-those/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Along with romantic love, she was introduced to another–physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of thought. Both originated in envy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/along-with-romantic-love-she-was-introduced-to-another-physical/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Until recently, we regarded love as supernatural. We were willing to study the brain chemistry of fear and depression and anger but not love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/until-recently-we-regarded-love-as-supernatural-we-were-willing-to/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) > [“There in the dark her memory was refreshed, and she succumbed to her earlier dreams. Along with the idea of romantic love, she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-dark-her-memory-was-refreshed-and-she-succumbed-to-her/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [There are so many cruel decisions parents have to make when their child dies. The funeral director requested a sheet for the coffin, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-hood/there-are-so-many-cruel-decisions-parents-have-to-make-when-their/) [Ann Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-hood/) > [The boundary of man is moderation. When once we pass that pale our guardian angel quits his charge of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-feltham/the-boundary-of-man-is-moderation-when-once-we-pass-that-pale-our/) [Owen Feltham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-feltham/) > [Convulsive anger storms at large; or pale And silent, settles into full revenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tillotson/convulsive-anger-storms-at-large-or-pale-and-silent-settles-into-full/) [John Tillotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tillotson/) > [Summer explodes into Portland. In early June the heat was there but not the color--the green were still pale and tentative, the morning had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/summer-explodes-into-portland-in-early-june-the-heat-was-there-but/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [It is moonlight. Alone in the silence I ascend my stairs once more, While waves remote in pale blue starlight Crash on a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/it-is-moonlight-alone-in-the-silence-i-ascend-my-stairs-once-more/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [I was in good shape from Divergent. Damien Chazelle, the director of Whiplash told me, ‘Stop Working Out! Don’t go outside!’ He wanted me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-teller/i-was-in-good-shape-from-divergent-damien-chazelle-the-director-of/) [Miles Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-teller/) > [The first thing I want to do now that I'm back in America is I want to go tanning. I'm as pale as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauly-d/the-first-thing-i-want-to-do-now-that-i-m-back-in-america-is-i-want/) [Pauly D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauly-d/) > [Bruce Katz is a spectacular talent! He's a brilliant composer and arranger who uses uncommon and unique musical intelligence to redefine jazz and blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-coryell/bruce-katz-is-a-spectacular-talent-he-s-a-brilliant-composer-and/) [Larry Coryell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-coryell/) > [The sun, a red wheel, was sinking slowly in the west. Besides being spectacularly beautiful, the early-summer sunset was exceedingly soft and gentle: black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/the-sun-a-red-wheel-was-sinking-slowly-in-the-west-besides-being/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More by Thornton Wilder > [“He respected the slight nervous shadow that crossed her face when he came too near her. But there arose out of this denial itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/he-respected-the-slight-nervous-shadow-that-crossed-her-face-when-he/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/when-you-re-safe-at-home-you-wish-you-were-having-an-adventure-when/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Simon Stimson: "...That's what it was to be alive. To move about in a cloud of ignorance; to go up and down trampling on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/simon-stimson-that-s-what-it-was-to-be-alive-to-move-about-in-a-cloud/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Love as education is one of the great powers of the world, but it hangs in a delicate suspension; it achieves its harmony as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/love-as-education-is-one-of-the-great-powers-of-the-world-but-it/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/many-great-writers-have-been-extraordinarily-awkward-in-daily/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/a-man-looks-pretty-small-at-a-wedding-george-all-those-good-women/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [The knowledge that she would never be loved in return acted upon her ideas as a tide acts upon cliffs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-knowledge-that-she-would-never-be-loved-in-return-acted-upon-her/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“But while they continued staring into one another’s face waiting for the miracle of science the pain grew worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/but-while-they-continued-staring-into-one-another-s-face-waiting-for/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/i-am-convinced-that-except-in-a-few-extraordinary-cases-one-form-or/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many who have spent a lifetime in it can tell us less of love than the child that lost a dog yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/many-who-have-spent-a-lifetime-in-it-can-tell-us-less-of-love-than/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Cesar is not a philosophical man. His life has been one long flight from reflection. At least he is clever enough not to expose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/cesar-is-not-a-philosophical-man-his-life-has-been-one-long-flight/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Every person who has ever lived has lived an unbroken succession of unique occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/every-person-who-has-ever-lived-has-lived-an-unbroken-succession-of/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Without your wounds where would your power be? It is your melancholy that makes your low voice tremble into the hearts of men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/without-your-wounds-where-would-your-power-be-it-is-your-melancholy/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Ninety-nine per cent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-people-in-the-world-are-fools-and-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [There's nothing like mixing with woman to bring out all the foolishness in a man of sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/there-s-nothing-like-mixing-with-woman-to-bring-out-all-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) [Explore all 232 Thornton Wilder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## More Cruel quotes > [“History has a cruel way of disappointing optimists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-thompson/history-has-a-cruel-way-of-disappointing-optimists/) [Keith Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-thompson/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“Don't be so cruel to me. Don't promise me anything. I've got everything that i need. I need love in a good way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tegan-quin/don-t-be-so-cruel-to-me-don-t-promise-me-anything-i-ve-got-everything/) [Tegan Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tegan-quin/) > [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“Even the cruel feel pain. And even the cruel can change. I hope this changes him. He could do so much, if only he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/even-the-cruel-feel-pain-and-even-the-cruel-can-change-i-hope-this/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [You must learn that to endure cruelty is to become cruel yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bleach/you-must-learn-that-to-endure-cruelty-is-to-become-cruel-yourself/) [Bleach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bleach/) > [“my power is as cruel a joke as it can get? That’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-d-anderson/my-power-is-as-cruel-a-joke-as-it-can-get-that-s/) [Katie D. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-d-anderson/) > [I must be cruel only to be kind; Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-must-be-cruel-only-to-be-kind-thus-bad-begins-and-worse-remains/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Huamns, uregulated, are cruel and capricious; violet and selfish; miserable and quarrelsome. It is only after their instincts and basic emotions have been controlled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/huamns-uregulated-are-cruel-and-capricious-violet-and-selfish/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“You would think those who have endured unkindness would be kinder as a result, intent on sparing others the awful suffering they abhorred firsthand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/you-would-think-those-who-have-endured-unkindness-would-be-kinder-as/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [how cruel, your veins are full of ice-water and mine are boiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/how-cruel-your-veins-are-full-of-ice-water-and-mine-are-boiling/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [There is no kindness more cruel than the kindness which consigns another person to their sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/there-is-no-kindness-more-cruel-than-the-kindness-which-consigns/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Vanity can create a very cruel space for you if you don't know how to manage it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/vanity-can-create-a-very-cruel-space-for-you-if-you-don-t-know-how-to/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Life is cruel and we do terrible things to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/life-is-cruel-and-we-do-terrible-things-to-each-other/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [What people loathe the most is to be orphaned, desolate, unworthy. But this is what princes and kings call themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-people-loathe-the-most-is-to-be-orphaned-desolate-unworthy-but/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) [Browse all 1,069 Cruel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He regarded love as a sort of cruel malady through which the elect are required to pass in their late youth and from which they emerge, pale and wrung, but ready for the business of living.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thornton Wilder" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/he-regarded-love-as-a-sort-of-cruel-malady-through-which-the-elect/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cruel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/he-regarded-love-as-a-sort-of-cruel-malady-through-which-the-elect/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/thornton-wilder-1495_cruel_he-regarded-love-as-a-sort-of-cruel-mala_623073.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/thornton-wilder-1495_cruel_he-regarded-love-as-a-sort-of-cruel-mala_623073.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/thornton-wilder-1495_cruel_he-regarded-love-as-a-sort-of-cruel-mala_623073.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He regarded love as a sort of cruel malady through which the elect are required to pass in their late youth…” — Thornton Wilder", "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": "Thornton Wilder", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He regarded love as a sort...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/he-regarded-love-as-a-sort-of-cruel-malady-through-which-the-elect/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/he-regarded-love-as-a-sort-of-cruel-malady-through-which-the-elect/#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 } } ] } ```