Themes
The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.
— Henry David Thoreau
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The speaker redefines price: the true cost of anything is not money but the portion of one's life that must be handed over to obtain it, whether at once or gradually. Every purchase is measured in time and effort, so spending is really spending life.
Context reviewed