The Fault in Our Stars Quotes
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Source: The Fault in Our Stars
Author: John Green
"Some infinities are bigger than other infinities."
I can't talk about our love story, so I will talk about math. I am not a mathematician, but I know this: There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. There's .1 and .12 and .112 and an infinite collection of others. Of course, there is a bigger infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2, or between 0 and a million. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I'm likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful.
Context
This line is from the novel The Fault in Our Stars, written by John Green (2012).
This quote actually pops up a few times in the novel. Hazel and Gus first hear it from their favorite author, Peter Van Houten, before realizing he's a bit of a jerkface. Hazel ponders it over a few times, but she thinks about it again as she's preparing for Gus' funeral. Some infinities are bigger than other infinites. It's math and you can't argue with math.
The time Hazel had with Gus was just one little slice of heaven. She loved it, but now it's over. She wishes that there was more, but there's just not. Still it felt like an infinity to her. There could have been more—there always could be more of an infinity—but Gus' cancer cut their time short. Still Hazel is grateful for the infinity she got. Hey, it's the little things—or in Hazel's case, the infinite things—that make life worth living.
No, we're not crying. You're crying.
Where you've heard it
If you're a fan of young adult superstar John Green, this quote is one of his most quotable and one of his most tear-jerking, so you're sure to hear it being dropped among his fans.
Additional Notable References:
- Here's Hazel's pre-funeral speech text to be linked from the movie version of The Fault in Our Stars.
- And because they're total downers Scientific American debunks the math behind this quote. Strictly speaking, all infinites are, in fact, equal. Way to ruin a nice love story, guys.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
If you're gonna start going all mathlete on the room, you might lose some people, but it's not really pretentious to say that life is beautiful, joy is infinite, and we should love the things we've got while we've got them.