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There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before;
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“There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before;”

Willa Cather

Source
O Pioneers!
Date
1913
Meaning

Meaning of “There are only two or three human stories,…”

Carl reflects that changing generations repeatedly encounter recognizable patterns of attachment, conflict and longing even when each person experiences them as unprecedented.

Source context

Where does it come from?

O Pioneers!, Part II, Chapter IV, Project Gutenberg #24. Carl Linstrum says that there are ‘only two or three human stories’ while he and Alexandra discuss recurring patterns around the old homestead and their younger neighbors. The line is fictional dialogue and literary reflection on repetition in human life, not an empirical taxonomy of all human experience.

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Change and GrowthDeepGrowthHumanityLifePhilosophyRelationshipThought-Provoking Quotes That Invite Reflection
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Source details

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life is the end and aim of consumption.
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Source details

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