To-the-lighthouse Quote by Virginia Woolf
““Such was the complexity of things. For what happened to her, especially staying with the Ramsays, was to be made to feel violently two opposite things at the same time; that’s what you feel, was one; that’s what I feel, was the other, and then they fought together in her mind, as now. It is so beautiful, so exciting, this love, that I tremble on the verge of it, and offer, quite out of my own habit, to look for a brooch on a beach; also it is the stupidest, the most barbaric of human passions, and turns a nice young man with a profile like a gem’s (Paul’s was exquisite) into a bully with a crowbar (he was swaggering, he was insolent) in the Mile End Road.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Mrs Dalloway, 1925
The protagonist experiences conflicting emotions simultaneously, illustrating love’s complexity and its capacity to inspire both beauty and brutality.
In simple terms: Love can feel both wonderful and violent at once.
Key Takeaway
Embrace emotional complexity.
Themes
love
conflict
duality
passion
psychology
Mood
reflective
intense
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- romantic relationships
- self‑reflection
- creative writing
- psychological analysis
Key Concepts
emotional conflict
human desire
inner turmoil
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you reconcile opposing feelings?
- What does this reveal about human passion?
A Different Perspective
May romanticize destructive aspects of love.
