How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
Youth enwrapped them; the song of Phaethon announced passion requited, love attained. But they were conscious of a love more mysterious than this. The song died away; they heard the river, bearing down the snows of winter into the Mediterranean (20.18).
Youth eventually triumphs at the close of the novel, albeit in not in an entirely satisfactory way. While the “passion requited, love attained” mentioned here is all nice and good, the river Arno (a reminder of the murder scene and its aftermath) still rushes by, carrying with it the snows of an earlier time… that is, the past is on its way out, but not all of its issues have been resolved (like Lucy’s rift with her family). The “love more mysterious” than the conventional romantic ending might have to do with Lucy and George’s challenge to society – and with the complexity of love in real life. What do you think?