What on earth should we do if we had no matches to make, or mar; no 'unfortunate attachments' to shake our heads over; no flirtations to speculate about and comment upon with knowing smiles; no engagements 'on' or 'off' to speak our minds about, nosing out every little circumstance, and ferreting out our game to their very hole, as if all their affairs, their hopes, trials, faults, or wrongs, were being transacted for our own private and peculiar entertainment! Of all forms of gossip - I speak of mere gossip, as distinguished from the carrion-crow and dunghill-fly system of scandal-mongering - this tittle-tattle about love-affairs is the most general, the most odious, and the most dangerous. Every one of us must have known within our own experience many an instance of dawning loves checked, unhappy loves made cruelly public, happy loves embittered, warm, honest loves turned cold, by this horrible system of gossiping about young or unmarried people... ~ Ch. 8
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Gossip about love is a harmful habit that ruins many lives.
- In plain terms
- People love to talk about others' relationships, which often causes real pain.
- What can you take from it?
- Love gossip is dangerous and should be avoided.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Have you harmed with gossip?
- Why is it so common?
Another view
Gossip provides entertainment, making it hard to quit.
More from Dinah Craik
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