But that kind of happiness was doubtless a lie, invented to make one despair of any love. Now she well knew the true paltriness of the passions that art painted so large.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Flaubert contrasts idealized happiness with reality, revealing how disillusionment exposes the emptiness of romanticized passions. It shows love can feel false when expectations fail.
- In plain terms
- Idealized happiness often turns out to be a lie.
- What can you take from it?
- Disillusionment reveals the emptiness of idealized passions.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When did love feel like a lie?
- Can you love without illusion?
Another view
Some love is genuine even if it ends sadly.
More from Gustave Flaubert
When she knelt at the gothic prie-dieu she addressed the Lord with the same ardent words she had formerly murmured to her lover in the ecstasies of adultery. I…
Permalink to quote #62 A mad idea seized her: he was gazing at her now! She was sure of it! She long to rush into his arms and seek refuge in his strength as in the very incarnation …
Permalink to quote #64 She was filled with wonderment at the discovery that there was a bliss greater than mere happiness -- a love different from and transcending all others -- a lo…
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