How could she feel nostalgia when he was right in front of her? How can you suffer from the absence of a person who is present?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Nostalgia can occur even when a loved one is physically present, often due to the anticipation of future loss or change.
- In plain terms
- You can miss someone even while they are right there with you.
- What can you take from it?
- Presence does not always prevent longing or grief.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When do you feel missing someone while they are near?
- How does fearing loss change how you experience presence?
Another view
This perspective assumes emotional complexity beyond simple physical proximity.
More from Milan Kundera
It is always that way: between the moment he meets her again and the moment he recognizes her for the woman he loves, he has some distance to go.
Permalink to quote #43 You can suffer nostalgia in the presence of the beloved if you glimpse a future where the beloved is no more.
Permalink to quote #45 This is the real and the only reason for friendship: to provide a mirror so the other person can contemplate his image from the past, which, without the eterna…
Permalink to quote #42
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