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Another woman Quote by Will Self

“As my voice died away I became conscious of the voice of another woman two tables away. I couldn't hear what she was saying to her set-faced male companion, but the tone was the same as my own, the exact same plangent composite of need and recrimination. I stared at them. Their faces said it all…” quote by Will Self
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““As my voice died away I became conscious of the voice of another woman two tables away. I couldn't hear what she was saying to her set-faced male companion, but the tone was the same as my own, the exact same plangent composite of need and recrimination. I stared at them. Their faces said it all: his awful detachment, her hideous yearning. And as I looked around the cafe at couple after couple, eaching confronting one another over the marble table tops, I had the beginnings of an intimation. Perhaps all this awful mismatching, this emotional grating, these Mexican stand-offs of trust and commitment, were somehow in the air. It wasn't down to individuals: me and him, Grace and John, those two over there... It was a contagion that was getting to all of us; a germ of insecurity that had lodged in all our breasts and was now fissioning frantically, creating a domino effect as relationship after relationship collapsed in a rubble of mistrust and acrimony.””

Will Self

About This Quote

The narrator perceives a collective emotional contagion in a café, where individual insecurities about trust and commitment spread like a virus, causing relational breakdowns.

In simple terms: Emotional contagion fuels relational collapse.

Key Takeaway

Insecurity spreads socially.

Themes

emotional contagion trust commitment insecurity social dynamics relationship breakdown

Mood

reflective melancholic introspective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

  • observing couples in a public space
  • feeling personal vulnerability
  • witnessing relational conflict

Key Concepts

collective anxiety interpersonal tension psychological contagion

Practical Applications

  • analyzing group psychology
  • illustrating relational dynamics in literature

Questions to Reflect On

  • How does observing others' conflicts affect our own sense of security?
  • Can awareness of emotional contagion help prevent relational collapse?
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