A pale pink rose pierced by a long metal pin resting on dark indigo velvet.

Original artwork, not a still

Tuptim

If love was a choice, who would ever choose such exquisite pain?

— Anna and the King  ·  1999

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

This is a rhetorical question with a sad answer: nobody would pick love if it were optional, because it hurts so beautifully. 'Exquisite pain' holds two opposites together, suggesting love is both delicate and wounding, and that we don't get to decide whether it happens.

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