--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We yearn for the desire to triumph, and…" description: "\"We yearn for the desire to triumph, and it almost never does in the greatest love stories because we're left yearning for it more in the end, and we wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/todd-haynes-2626_desire_we-yearn-for-the-desire-to-triumph-and-i_2245505.jpg" --- # We yearn for the desire to triumph, and it almost never… ![“We yearn for the desire to triumph, and it almost never does in the greatest love stories because we're left yearning for it more in the end, and we wish the world were different as a result. I do love that.” quote by Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/todd-haynes-2626_desire_we-yearn-for-the-desire-to-triumph-and-i_2245505.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/todd-haynes-2626_desire_we-yearn-for-the-desire-to-triumph-and-i_2245505.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/todd-haynes-2626_desire_we-yearn-for-the-desire-to-triumph-and-i_2245505.jpg) > “We yearn for the desire to triumph, and it almost never does in the greatest love stories because we're left yearning for it more in the end, and we wish the world were different as a result. I do love that.” [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire for triumph often remains unfulfilled in love stories, leaving characters yearning and wishing for a different world. **In simple terms:** Unmet desire fuels longing and wishful thinking in love narratives. Key Takeaway Accept longing, seek growth beyond ideal outcomes. Themes love desire longing idealism Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - romantic relationships - creative storytelling - personal reflection Key Concepts narrative tension unrealized expectations Questions to Reflect On - How does yearning shape your view of love? - Can acceptance improve emotional wellbeing? A Different Perspective Idealized outcomes may be unrealistic and cause dissatisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Greatest love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-stories/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Yearning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yearning/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes the very presence of God is barred by our presuppositions and our intense and constant desire for triumph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/sometimes-the-very-presence-of-god-is-barred-by-our-presuppositions/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Be careful what you yearn for, because that which you desire most will either complete you or destroy you, and you don't get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lashner/be-careful-what-you-yearn-for-because-that-which-you-desire-most-will/) [William Lashner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lashner/) > [“The greatest love stories are not those in which love is only spoken, but those in which it is acted upon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/the-greatest-love-stories-are-not-those-in-which-love-is-only-spoken/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [I like the idea of not having a definition of love and romance. The greatest love stories have been about people who haven't come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nimrat-kaur/i-like-the-idea-of-not-having-a-definition-of-love-and-romance-the/) [Nimrat Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nimrat-kaur/) > [“The greatest love stories are not written by the ink of the pen, but by the ink of the heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/the-greatest-love-stories-are-not-written-by-the-ink-of-the-pen-but/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“I wasn’t perfect, and I made mistakes; but I learned from them and became a better person for it. I always followed my heart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-cole/i-wasn-t-perfect-and-i-made-mistakes-but-i-learned-from-them-and/) [Sebastian Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-cole/) > [“All right fine!” she snapped. “I’m in love with you. There. I said it. Now get over yourself.” “You know, I think those are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-laurenston/all-right-fine-she-snapped-i-m-in-love-with-you-there-i-said-it-now/) [Shelly Laurenston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-laurenston/) > [Sirkian films really aren't - at least the way I see them, they're not about identification. They don't have voiceover. A lot of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/sirkian-films-really-aren-t-at-least-the-way-i-see-them-they-re-not/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [I love stories of love cropping up unexpectedly in life almost as a problem, as something you don't ask for. Something that messes everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/i-love-stories-of-love-cropping-up-unexpectedly-in-life-almost-as-a/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [Love stories require an obstacle between the lovers, something that keeps them from one another. You have to yearn for the love that can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/love-stories-require-an-obstacle-between-the-lovers-something-that/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [The best love stories on film are rooted in the point of view of the more woundable, vulnerable party, the more amorous party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/the-best-love-stories-on-film-are-rooted-in-the-point-of-view-of-the/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [Doing a love story as a genre, and looking at love stories in movies, and feeling like I learned stuff about that, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/doing-a-love-story-as-a-genre-and-looking-at-love-stories-in-movies/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [Of all the follies the greatest is to love the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/of-all-the-follies-the-greatest-is-to-love-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are never more than a belief away from our greatest love, deepest healing, and most profound miracles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-braden/we-are-never-more-than-a-belief-away-from-our-greatest-love-deepest/) [Gregg Braden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-braden/) > [“I adore you, my greatest love, as only through you I can find my moment’s eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/i-adore-you-my-greatest-love-as-only-through-you-i-can-find-my-moment/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) ## More by Todd Haynes > [I had really loving parents and a happy childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/i-had-really-loving-parents-and-a-happy-childhood/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [I don't know if I ever entertained an academic career, nor did I ever think I'd become a feature film-maker in the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/i-don-t-know-if-i-ever-entertained-an-academic-career-nor-did-i-ever/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [Feminist theory has left an indelible mark on my own critical—and creative—thinking . . . For me, everything I questioned about what it meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/feminist-theory-has-left-an-indelible-mark-on-my-own-critical-and/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [I don't think there's any more synesthetic medium than film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/i-don-t-think-there-s-any-more-synesthetic-medium-than-film/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [I'm used to always having struggles getting finances together and keeping precarious budgets alive in the independent film world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/i-m-used-to-always-having-struggles-getting-finances-together-and/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [It's funny: I don't feel like I have any particular privileged feeling for the Fifties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/it-s-funny-i-don-t-feel-like-i-have-any-particular-privileged-feeling/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [I'm drawn to female characters; not all of them are strong characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/i-m-drawn-to-female-characters-not-all-of-them-are-strong-characters/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [Looking at photographs of New York in 1952, you find a powerfully pre-Eisenhower era - sagging, tired, distressed - and the palette is slightly dissonant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/looking-at-photographs-of-new-york-in-1952-you-find-a-powerfully-pre/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [I think many of the ideas that opened up in the '60s got implemented in the '70s and that certain minority voices that were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/i-think-many-of-the-ideas-that-opened-up-in-the-60s-got-implemented/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > ['Evil Urges' has some stuff in it that's unbelievable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/evil-urges-has-some-stuff-in-it-that-s-unbelievable/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [Films like 'The Godfather,' 'Chinatown' and 'The Exorcist' brought a realism and currency and understatement to their genres that we wanted for 'Mildred Pierce.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/films-like-the-godfather-chinatown-and-the-exorcist-brought-a-realism/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [There were interesting ways that queerness could hide out and get played out pre-Stonewall. It is part of a vast history that is getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/there-were-interesting-ways-that-queerness-could-hide-out-and-get/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [It's very funny because every time I make a movie, and I've heard this re-echoed by other filmmakers and actors I have worked with,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/it-s-very-funny-because-every-time-i-make-a-movie-and-i-ve-heard-this/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [What was so interesting about the glam era was that it was about bisexuality and breaking down the boundaries between gays and straights, breaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/what-was-so-interesting-about-the-glam-era-was-that-it-was-about/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [My films have often looked at the whole dilemma of identity as a straitjacket for people, for societies, for cultures, for historical moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/my-films-have-often-looked-at-the-whole-dilemma-of-identity-as-a/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) [Explore all 157 Todd Haynes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We yearn for the desire to triumph, and it almost never does in the greatest love stories because we're left yearning for it more in the end, and we wish the world were different as a result. I do love that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Todd Haynes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/we-yearn-for-the-desire-to-triumph-and-it-almost-never-does-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/we-yearn-for-the-desire-to-triumph-and-it-almost-never-does-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/todd-haynes-2626_desire_we-yearn-for-the-desire-to-triumph-and-i_2245505.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/todd-haynes-2626_desire_we-yearn-for-the-desire-to-triumph-and-i_2245505.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fef/todd-haynes-2626_desire_we-yearn-for-the-desire-to-triumph-and-i_2245505.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We yearn for the desire to triumph, and it almost never does in the greatest love stories because we're left…” — Todd Haynes", "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": "Todd Haynes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We yearn for the desire to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/we-yearn-for-the-desire-to-triumph-and-it-almost-never-does-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/we-yearn-for-the-desire-to-triumph-and-it-almost-never-does-in-the/#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 } } ] } ```