The Return of Chorb Suffering Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Paragraph)

Quote #1

How was he to explain that he wished to possess his grief all by himself, without tainting it by any foreign substance and without sharing it with any other soul? (6).

Chorb’s "quest" to "re-create" his wife reflects a sense of guilt on his part. He’s trying to punish himself for her death – which is why he revels in his grief and isolation.

Quote #2

It was around eight o'clock of the evening. Beyond the houses the cathedral tower was sharply set off in black against a golden-red stripe of sunset. In the station square stood in file the selfsame decrepit fiacres. The identical newspaper seller uttered his hollow crepuscular cry. The same black poodle with apathetic eyes was in the act of raising a thin hindleg near a Morris pillar, straight at the scarlet lettering of a playbill announcing Parsifal (10).

Even the setting of "Chorb" reflects the grief and isolation of Chorb’s wife’s death. Notice that everything is dark, as though in mourning.

Quote #3

Chorb remembered that she whom he never named liked to take rides in cabs (11).

It’s interesting that Chorb’s refusal to use his wife’s name is reflected in the narration (we never hear her name).