“I had the brief notion that his heart, pressed flat as a flower, crimson and thin as tissue paper, lay in this file. It was a very thin one.”
Explore This Quote Further
Quote Analysis:
In this quote from Angela Carter's work, the speaker describes a file holding something as delicate and vulnerable as a heart, which is compared to a pressed flat flower. The imagery of a heart being thin and fragile like tissue paper conveys a sense of vulnerability and intimacy. The mention of the file being very thin further emphasizes the delicate nature of what it holds. This imagery suggests a sense of preciousness and fragility, evoking emotions of tenderness and perhaps even sadness. Through this metaphorical language, Carter conveys a deep emotional depth and sensitivity.
Understanding Human Emotions in a Digital Age
In this quote by Angela Carter, the imagery of a heart being like a flattened flower pressed in a file speaks to the fragility and vulnerability of human emotions. In today's fast-paced and digital world, it is important to remember the depth and complexity of human feelings, even when they may seem thin and easily overlooked. Just like the delicate flower in the file, our hearts and emotions deserve to be treated with care and understanding.
Description of a delicate and fragile heart
“I had the brief notion that his heart, pressed flat as a flower, crimson and thin as tissue paper, lay in this file. It was a very thin one.” - Angela Carter
Reflection Questions:
Upon reading this quote by Angela Carter, it evokes a sense of vulnerability and fragility. Take a moment to reflect on the following questions:
- How does the imagery of a heart being compared to a flattened flower impact your interpretation of the quote?
- What emotions do you associate with the idea of a heart being described as "crimson and thin as tissue paper"?
- In what ways does this quote make you think about the delicate nature of human emotions and connections?
Similar quotes
“Then she broke down and cried onto the flowery wrapping paper. Melanie put her arms around the poor, thin body. What is Aunt Margaret made of? Birdbones and tissue paper. spun glass and straw.”
“Your thin white face, chérie; he said, as if he saw it for the first time. Your thin white face, with its promise of debauchery only a connoisseur could detect.”
“What is Aunt Margaret made of? Bird bones and tissue paper, spun glass and straw.”
“With that, the poignant charm vanished. Inside the fifth machine, all was rampant malignity. Deformed flowers thrust monstrous horned tusks and trumpets ending in blaring teeth through the crimson walls, rending them; the ravenous garden slavered over its prey and every brick was shown in the act of falling. Amid the violence of this transformation, the oblivion of the embrace went on. The awakened girl, in all her youthful loveliness, still clasped in the arms of a lover from whom all the flesh had fallen. He was a grinning skeleton.”
“When I saw him look at me with lust, I dropped my eyes but, in glancing away from him, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. And I saw myself, suddenly, as he saw me, my pale face, the way the muscles in my neck stuck out like thin wire. I saw how much that cruel necklace became me. And, for the first time in my innocent and confined life, I sensed in myself a potentiality for corruption that took my breath away.”
“So I suppose I do not know how he really looked, and, in fact, I suppose I shall never know, now, for he was plainly an object created in the mode of fantasy. His image was already present somewhere in my head and I was seeking to discover it in actuality, looking at every face I met in case it was the right face - that is, the face which corresponded to my notion of the unseen face of the one I should love, a face created parthenogeneticallyby the rage to love which consumed me.”