…Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder or Out of Sight, Out of Mind?
In my most unscientific poll, it seems the unwashed masses were split down the middle. A good portion also gave the ubiquitous, “It depends,” which I think is actually the case…sort of.
After reflecting on my own experiences, I’ve come to the conclusion that with the addition of time, the matter gets more extreme (or polarized if you will). That is to say, at least in my mind, I tend to dismiss any bad and remember only the good, thus leaving only fond feelings for those for which there was any fondness to begin with. Conversely, I’m sure I’ve entirely forgotten the more forgettable of acquaintances.
So, my final conclusion is…
…wait for it…
…
It depends.
The Saying: ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER.
Who Said It: Thomas Haynes Bayly
When: 1844
The Story behind It: One of England's more versatile writers, Thomas Haynes Bayly wrote novels, plays, poems, political articles, and songs. In 1844 a poem titled "Isle of Beauty" appeared in Bayly's two-volume Songs, Ballads, and Other Poems. It is here that the following romantic words are found:
What would not I give to wander
Where my old companions dwell?
Absence makes the heart grow fonder:
Isle of Beauty, fare thee well!
Bayly is credited with popularizing the phrase, but he took it from Francis Davison's Poetical Rhapsody (1602). The exact words appeared as the first line of a poem by an anonymous writer. An updated version of the quote goes: "Absence makes the heart grow fonder-of somebody else!"
The use of 'in mind' for 'remembered' and 'out of mind' for 'forgotten' date back to the at least the 13th century. The earliest printed citation of a link with memory and the sight of something is in John Heywood's Woorkes. A dialogue conteynyng prouerbes and epigrammes, 1562, as reprinted by the Spenser Society, 1867: "Out of sight out of minde."
3 animadversions:
composition: 10/10
content: 10/10
conclusion: 5/10
(see what I did there?)
I too often remember only the good things, I read that this is also why mothers go on to have a second child (and then sometimes one or more after that). . . I think it's nature's way of helping the human brain protect itelf (a healthy brain, presumably)
k....you're talking to a woman who oughta take stock out on sticky notes.
Outta mind in .00318 seconds. And out of sight isn't required for it to be outta mind.
I'd have to note the absence to discover if the fondness existed.....and then (hopefully) it'll come with the stick note attached.
Soooo.....
"Depends." LOL
Both.
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