No themes are so human as those that reflect for us, out of the confusion of life, the close connection of bliss and bale, of the things that help with the things that hurt, so dangling before us forever that bright hard medal, of so strange an alloy, one face of which is somebody's right and ease and the other somebody's pain and wrong.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Human themes often show how joy and suffering are deeply connected and intertwined in life.
- In plain terms
- Joy and pain are closely connected in life.
- What can you take from it?
- Accept that happiness and suffering are intertwined.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do pain and pleasure connect?
- What makes human themes complex?
Another view
Not all experiences blend smoothly into this balanced view.
More from Henry James
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