When our mistress is alive, a great part of the thoughts which form what we call our loves come to us during the hours when she is not by our side. Thus we acquire the habit of having as the object of our meditation an absent person, and one who, even if she remains absent for a few hours only, during those hours is no more than a memory. And so death does not make any great difference.
Marcel Proust
Absent Love, Memory Habit, Emotional Reflection, Loss Mediation, Thought Absence, Temporal Separation
Marcel Proust’s Quotes On Topics
Mental Rest | Poignant Illusions | Disagreeable Words | Emotional Capture | Struggle | Crape Bodice | Divided Worlds | Lost Importance | Unity | Driven Convictions | Superficial Attraction | Speech | Frustrated | Transcendent Growth | Pursuit Pleasure | Inner World | Multiplied Worlds | Mortal Vision | Sweet Moments | Prolonged Seclusion | More
More Marcel Proust Quotes
“People claim that we recapture for a moment the self that we were long ago when we enter some house or garden in which we used to live in our youth. But these are most hazardous pilgrimages, which end as often in disappointment as in success. It is in ourselves that we should rather seek to find those fixed places, contemporaneous with different years.” Marcel Proust
Youth, Garden, Hazardous Pilgrimage, Disappointment Success, Self Reflection, Nostalgic Memory
Marcel Proust Youth, Garden, Hazardous Pilgrimage, Disappointment Success, Self Reflection, Nostalgic Memory“No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me.” Marcel Proust
Palate, Extraordinary Sensation, Liquid Mix, Emotional Shudder, Physical Response, Transformative Moment
Marcel Proust Palate, Extraordinary Sensation, Liquid Mix, Emotional Shudder, Physical Response, Transformative Moment“One can seldom admire what one loves.” Marcel Proust
Love, Admiration, Rare Feelings, Reflection, Emotion, Contradiction
Marcel Proust Love, Admiration, Rare Feelings, Reflection, Emotion, Contradiction“In theory one is aware that the earth revolves, but in practice one does not perceive it, the ground upon which one treads seems not to move, and one can live undisturbed. So it is with Time in one’s life.” Marcel Proust
Time, Theory, Earth Movement, Practical Perception, Life Continuity, Hidden Flow
Marcel Proust Time, Theory, Earth Movement, Practical Perception, Life Continuity, Hidden Flow“It is always thus, impelled by a state of mind which is destined not to last, we make our irrevocable decisions.” Marcel Proust
Mind, Decisions, State, Last, Fleeting Impulses, Emotional Choices
Marcel Proust Mind, Decisions, State, Last, Fleeting Impulses, Emotional Choices“May my life someday be so limpid that the Muses will deign to mirror themselves in it and that we can see the reflections of their smiles and their dances skimming across its surface.” Marcel Proust
Life, Muses, Limpid Reflection, Artistic Inspiration, Beauty, Imagination
Marcel Proust Life, Muses, Limpid Reflection, Artistic Inspiration, Beauty, Imagination“In my most desperate moments, I have never conceived of anything more horrible than a law office.” Marcel Proust
Desperation, Law Office, Emotional Horror, Workplace Gloom, Professional Disdain, Unbearable Setting
Marcel Proust Desperation, Law Office, Emotional Horror, Workplace Gloom, Professional Disdain, Unbearable Setting“In his younger days a man dreams of possessing the heart of the woman whom he loves; later, the feeling that he possesses the heart of a woman may be enough to make him fall in love with her.” Marcel Proust
Younger, Man, Heart, Love, Romantic Possession, Changing Desire
Marcel Proust Younger, Man, Heart, Love, Romantic Possession, Changing Desire“A fashionable milieu is one in which each person’s opinion is made up of everyone else’s opinions. Does each opinion run counter to everyone else’s? Then it is a literary milieu.” Marcel Proust
Fashionable, Milieu, Opinions Counter, Literary Circles, Social Dynamics, Collective Thought
Marcel Proust Fashionable, Milieu, Opinions Counter, Literary Circles, Social Dynamics, Collective Thought“The illusions of paternal love are perhaps no less poignant than those of the other kind; many daughters regard their fathers merely as the old men who leave their fortunes to them.” Marcel Proust
Love, Paternal, Poignant Illusions, Daughters Fathers, Familial Bonds, Legacy Misunderstood
Marcel Proust Love, Paternal, Poignant Illusions, Daughters Fathers, Familial Bonds, Legacy Misunderstood“Every woman feels that the greater her power over a man, the more impossible it is to leave him except by sudden flight: a fugitive precisely because a queen.” Marcel Proust
Power, Woman, Sudden Flight, Queenly Strength, Emotional Struggles, Relationship Dynamics
Marcel Proust Power, Woman, Sudden Flight, Queenly Strength, Emotional Struggles, Relationship Dynamics“We fall in love for a smile, a look, a shoulder. That is enough; then, in the long hours of hope or sorrow, we fabricate a person, we compose a character.” Marcel Proust
Love, Smile, Fabricated Persona, Emotional Creation, Fleeting Affections, Romantic Ideals
Marcel Proust Love, Smile, Fabricated Persona, Emotional Creation, Fleeting Affections, Romantic Ideals“Knowing a thing does not always mean preventing a thing, but at least the things we know, we hold, if not in our hands, at least in our minds where we can arrange them as we like, which gives us the illusion of a sort of power over them.” Marcel Proust
Knowledge, Power, Mind Arrangement, Mental Illusion, Perceived Control, Inner Perception
Marcel Proust Knowledge, Power, Mind Arrangement, Mental Illusion, Perceived Control, Inner Perception“Our worst fears, like our greatest hopes, are not outside our powers, and we can come in the end to triumph over the former and to achieve the latter.” Marcel Proust
Fears, Hopes, Triumph, Powers, Inner Strength, Emotional Victory
Marcel Proust Fears, Hopes, Triumph, Powers, Inner Strength, Emotional Victory“I had long since given up trying to extract from a woman as it were the square root of her unknown quantity, the mystery of which a mere introduction was generally enough to dispel.” Marcel Proust
Woman, Mystery, Square Root, Introduction, Reflection, Complexity
Marcel Proust Woman, Mystery, Square Root, Introduction, Reflection, Complexity“We are at times too ready to believe that the present is the only possible state of things.” Marcel Proust
Belief, Present, Possible State, Current Reality, Ready Acceptance, Limited Perception
Marcel Proust Belief, Present, Possible State, Current Reality, Ready Acceptance, Limited Perception“When I am not too sad to listen, music is my consolation.” Marcel Proust
Music, Sadness, Emotional Comfort, Inner Solace, Personal Escape, Listening Peace
Marcel Proust Music, Sadness, Emotional Comfort, Inner Solace, Personal Escape, Listening Peace“For a young man has strong imagination but poor judgment, so that he imagines others to be as big as he is but considers himself to be very small. He has unbounded trust in the universe but is constantly unsure of himself.” Marcel Proust
Youth, Strong Imagination, Poor Judgment, Self-Doubt, Universe Trust, Personal Growth
Marcel Proust Youth, Strong Imagination, Poor Judgment, Self-Doubt, Universe Trust, Personal Growth“Le bonheur est dans l’amour un e tat anormal. In love, happiness is abnormal.” Marcel Proust
Love, Happiness, Abnormal State, Romantic Paradox, Emotional Intensity, Unusual Joy
Marcel Proust Love, Happiness, Abnormal State, Romantic Paradox, Emotional Intensity, Unusual Joy“Even in the most insignificant details of our daily life, none of us can be said to constitute a material whole, which is identical for everyone, and need only be turned up like a page in an account-book or the record of a will; our social personality is created by the thoughts of other people.” Marcel Proust
Details, Life, Social Identity, Material Whole, Daily Influence, External Perception
Marcel Proust Details, Life, Social Identity, Material Whole, Daily Influence, External Perception