Quote by Virginia Woolf
It was love, she thought, love that never clutch its object; but, like the love which mathematicians bear their symbols, or poets their phrases, was meant to be spread over the world and become part of human gain. The world by all means should have shared it, could Mr Bankes have said why that woman pleased him so; why the sight of her reading a fairy tale to her boy had upon him precisely the same effect as the solution of a scientific problem.
Summary
This quote suggests that love should not possess or hold onto its object but rather be shared and become part of humanity as a whole. The narrator compares this idea of love to the way mathematicians love their symbols or poets love their phrases; they are meant to be spread and contribute to the greater understanding or beauty of the world. The quote also implies that there is something inexplicable about love, as Mr. Bankes finds the woman reading a fairy tale to her son to have a similar effect on him as solving a scientific problem, although he cannot articulate why.
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