Summary
This quote suggests that melancholy and depression are closely related but have distinct differences. While melancholy may have some charm and transient moments of excitement, depression lacks those qualities. Depression is portrayed as a more stagnant state, lacking the animation and occasional bursts of energy that melancholy possesses. In other words, the quote implies that depression is the bleaker and more prolonged version of melancholy, stripping away any allure or fleeting moments of liveliness that melancholy may have.
Topics
Depression
By Susan Sontag