"In secret pleasure - secret tears" reflects the complex emotional struggles of the characters in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. The novel explores intense feelings of love, revenge, and sorrow that often remain hidden from others, revealing the characters' inner turmoil and the pain they endure silently.

"This changeful life has slipped away" signifies the fleeting nature of happiness and stability experienced by the characters. Throughout the story, themes of longing, loss, and the unpredictable course of life highlight the transient nature of human existence in the bleak and tumultuous setting of Wuthering Heights.