“ All the elegancies and outward charms of life were delightful, if only they could be used as the means to some end. As an end themselves they were nothing. ”
Anthony Trollope, Phineas Redux (1874). copy citation
| Author | Anthony Trollope |
|---|---|
| Source | Phineas Redux |
| Topic | life purpose charm |
| Date | 1874 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18640/18640-h/18640-h.htm |
Context
“Dukes and duchesses, dinner-parties and drawing-rooms,—what did they all amount to? What was it that she wanted?
She was ashamed to tell herself that it was love. But she knew this,—that it was necessary for her happiness that she should devote herself to some one. All the elegancies and outward charms of life were delightful, if only they could be used as the means to some end. As an end themselves they were nothing. She had devoted herself to this old man who was now dead, and there had been moments in which she had thought that that sufficed. But it had not sufficed, and instead of being borne down by grief at the loss of her friend, she found herself almost rejoicing at relief from a vexatious burden.” source
She was ashamed to tell herself that it was love. But she knew this,—that it was necessary for her happiness that she should devote herself to some one. All the elegancies and outward charms of life were delightful, if only they could be used as the means to some end. As an end themselves they were nothing. She had devoted herself to this old man who was now dead, and there had been moments in which she had thought that that sufficed. But it had not sufficed, and instead of being borne down by grief at the loss of her friend, she found herself almost rejoicing at relief from a vexatious burden.” source
Meaning and analysis
