Drawn Quote by Vladimir Nabokov
““In spite of everything I loved you, and will go on loving you―on my knees, with my shoulders drawn back, showing my heels to the headsman and straining my goose neck―even then. And afterwards―perhaps most of all afterwards―I shall love you, and one day we shall have a real, all-embracing explanation, and then perhaps we shall somehow fit together, you and I, and turn ourselves in such a way that we form one pattern, and solve the puzzle: draw a line from point A to point B... without looking, or, without lifting the pencil... or in some other way... we shall connect the points, draw the line, and you and I shall form that unique design for which I yearn. If they do this kind of thing to me every morning, they will get me trained and I shall become quite wooden.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle by Vladimir Nabokov, 1969
The speaker expresses an obsessive, paradoxical love that persists despite suffering, seeking a perfect union that transcends pain and manipulation.
In simple terms: Love persists despite suffering, yearning for perfect unity.
Key Takeaway
Embrace love while acknowledging its complexities.
Themes
love
obsession
pain
union
identity
Mood
melancholic
intense
hopeful
Type
literary
philosophical
romantic
When to use this quote
- relationships
- creative work
- personal trauma
- self‑discipline
Key Concepts
Romanticism
existential yearning
psychological conflict
Questions to Reflect On
- Can love survive when it is tied to pain?
- How do we find unity without losing self?
A Different Perspective
Love may become self‑destructive if not balanced with self‑care.
![“...under no circumstances would he [Humbert Humbert] have interfered with the innocence of a child, if there was the least risk of a row.” quote by Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0f0/vladimir-nabokov-198_children_under-no-circumstances-would-he-humbert_16228.jpg)
