“What did my arms do before they held you?”
Explore This Quote Further
Analysis of Sylvia Plath's quote
In this poignant quote by Sylvia Plath, she reflects on the transformative power of love. The speaker is contemplating the profound impact her love has had on her life, particularly in relation to the physical act of holding someone close. The imagery of arms symbolizes warmth, protection, and intimacy, suggesting that the speaker's life was somehow incomplete before the presence of this loved one. This quote captures the all-encompassing nature of love and the way it can fundamentally change a person's sense of self and purpose. It speaks to the deep emotional connection we can feel towards another person and the way they can become an integral part of our lives.
Understanding the timeless question posed by Sylvia Plath
In this quote, Sylvia Plath reflects on the profound impact that love can have on one's life. The sentiment expressed here transcends time and continues to resonate with people of all generations. It speaks to the transformative power of love and how it can make us reflect on our past selves and wonder how we ever lived without the person who now holds our heart. The question posed by Plath provokes introspection and contemplation, reminding us of the profound connection we can have with another person.
Sylvia Plath on the love for her child
“What did my arms do before they held you?” - Sylvia Plath. This quote from the renowned poet Sylvia Plath beautifully captures the profound love that a mother feels for her child.
Reflecting on Sylvia Plath's Question
As we ponder the question asked by Sylvia Plath, "What did my arms do before they held you?" we are prompted to reflect on the idea of life before a significant relationship entered it. This question can lead us to explore themes of emptiness, longing, and fulfillment. Here are some reflection questions to consider:
- How did your life look and feel before this specific relationship came into existence?
- In what ways did this relationship change and shape your identity and sense of self?
- Can you identify moments or emotions of longing or emptiness that were present before this relationship?
- How has your concept of love and connection evolved through experiencing this relationship?
- What do you appreciate and value about your life both before and with this relationship?
Similar quotes
“What did my fingers do before they held him?What did my heart do, with its love?From " Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", 1962”
“I am accused. I dream of massacres.I am a garden of black and red agonies. I drink them,Hating myself, hating and fearing. And now theworld conceivesIts end and runs toward it, arms held out in love.”
“I wondered why I couldn't go the whole way doing what I should any more. This made me sad and tired. Then I wondered why I couldn't go the whole way doing what I shouldn't, the way Doreen did, and this made me even sadder and more tired.”
“I am climbing to my freedom, freedom from fear, freedom from marrying the wrong person, like Buddy Willard, just because of sex, freedom from the Florence Crittenden Homes where all the poor girls go who should have been fitted out like me, because what they did, they would do anyway..”
“I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root:It is what you fear.I do not fear it: I have been there.--from "Elm", written 19 April 1962”
“I believe that there are people who think as I do, who have thought as I do, who will think as I do. There are those who will live, unconscious of me, but continuing my attitude, so to speak, as I continue, unknowingly, the similar attitude of those before me. I could write and write. All it takes is a motion of the hand in response to a brain impulse, trained from childhood to record in our own American brand of hieroglyphics the translations of external stimuli. How much of my brain is wilfully my own? How much is not a rubber stamp of what I have read and heard and lived? Sure, I make a sort of synthesis of what I come across, but that is all that differentiates me from another person? - - - That I have banged into and assimilated various things? That my environment and a chance combination of genes got me where I am?”