Have you ever happened, reader, to feel that subtle sorrow of parting with an unloved abode? The heart does not break, as it does in parting with dear objects. The humid gaze does not wander around holding back a tear, as if it wished to carry away in it a trembling reflection of the abandoned spot; but in the best corner of our hearts we feel pity for the things which we did not bring to life with our breath, which we hardly noticed and are now leaving forever. This already dead iventory will not be resurrected in one's memory..
by Vladimir Nabokov
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In this passage, the writer reflects on the emotions tied to leaving a place that never felt like home. Unlike the heartache associated with parting from cherished belongings, the experience of departing from an unloved abode is marked by a quieter sorrow. There is no overwhelming rush of tears or deep grief; rather, there is a subtle sense of pity for the things left behind that were never truly cherished or breathed life into.

The author emphasizes the complexity of emotions experienced during such farewells, suggesting that while these places and objects might not hold significant memories or feelings, they still evoke a certain melancholy. This quiet inventory of unremarkable experiences fades into memory, never to be resurrected or revisited, highlighting the ephemeral nature of our connections to spaces we once occupied.

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