“Oh, sometimes I think it is of no use to make friends. They only go out of your life after awhile and leave a hurt that is worse than the emptiness before they came.”
In this quote by L.M. Montgomery, the speaker expresses a sense of disillusionment and pain related to forming friendships. The sentiment conveyed is one of resignation and despair, suggesting that the speaker sees little point in making friends due to the inevitable pain of their departure. The phrase "leave a hurt that is worse than the emptiness before they came" highlights the emotional impact of losing a friend and the lingering pain that follows. This quote speaks to the vulnerability and fear of emotional attachment that can come with forming relationships.
In today's fast-paced and transitory society, the sentiment expressed by L.M. Montgomery in this quote still holds true for many individuals. The fear of forming deep connections due to the potential pain of losing those connections is a common struggle in a world where relationships can be fleeting.
“Oh, sometimes I think it is of no use to make friends. They only go out of your life after awhile and leave a hurt that is worse than the emptiness before they came.” - L.M. Montgomery
This quote reflects a common fear or sentiment many people have about forming deep connections with others. It highlights the vulnerability that comes with opening up to someone and the pain that can accompany loss or separation.
It is often said that making friends can bring joy and companionship, but this quote from L.M. Montgomery suggests a different perspective. Consider the following questions to reflect on the nature of friendship and its impact on our lives:
“…it's so dreadful to have nothing to love — life is so empty — and there's nothing worse than emptiness…”
“Well, it all comes to this; there's no use trying to live in other people's opinions. The only thing to do is to live in your own. After all, I believe in myself. I'm not so bad and silly as they think me, and I'm not consumptive, and I can write. Now that I've written it all out I feel differently about it. The only thing that still aggravates me is that Miss Potter pitied me -- pitied by a Potter!”
“Perhaps it was nothing very dreadful after all. I think the little things in life often make more trouble than the big things,' said Anne with one of those flashes of insight which experience could not have bettered.”
“Really, Nan could be very odious when she liked. Yet somehow she [Gay] didn't hate her as before. She felt very indifferent to her. She found herself looking at her with cool, appraising eyes, seeing her as she had never seen her before. An empty, selfish little creature, who had always to be amused like a child. ...A girl who posed as a sophisticate before her country cousins but who was really more provincial than they were, knowing nothing of real life or real love or real emotion of any kind. Gay wondered, as she looked, how she could ever have hated this girl—ever been jealous of her. She was not worth hating. Gay spoke at last. She stood up and looked levelly at Nan. There was contempt in her quiet voice."I suppose you came here to hurt me, Nan. You haven't—you can never hurt me again. You've lost the power. I think I even feel a little sorry for you. You've always been a taker, Nan. All through your life you've taken whatever you wanted. But you've never been a giver—you couldn't be because you've nothing to give. Neither love nor truth nor understanding nor kindness nor loyalty. Just taking all the time and giving nothing—oh, it has made you very poor. So poor that nobody need envy you.”
“Oh, of course there's a risk in marrying anybody, but, when it's all said and done, there's many a worse thing than a husband.”
“[speaking of a friend named Lavendar Lewis] 'I think her parents gave her the only right and fitting name that could possibly be given her,' said Anne. 'If they had been so blind as to name her Elizabeth or Nellie or Muriel she must have been called Lavendar just the same, I think. It's so suggestive of sweetness and old-fashioned graces and "silk attire." Now, my name just smacks of bread and butter, patchwork and chores.' 'Oh, I don't think so,' said Diana. 'Anne seems to me real stately and like a queen. But I'd like Kerenhappuch if it happened to be your name. I think people make their names nice or ugly just by what they are themselves. I can't bear Josie or Gertie for names now but before I knew the Pye girls I thought them real pretty.' 'That's a lovely idea, Diana,' said Anne enthusiastically. 'Living so that you beautify your name, even if it wasn't beautiful to begin with...making it stand in people's thoughts for something so lovely and pleasant that they never think of it by itself. Thank you, Diana.”