The quote you're referencing is a line in John Collier's short story, The Chaser. The story is about a young man named Alan who meets with a mysterious old man in order to buy a love potion that will cause the woman he loves, Diana, to love him back. However, before showing him the love potion, the old man hands him a bottle of poison he sells for $5,000.00 and tells him that it's...
The quote you're referencing is a line in John Collier's short story, The Chaser.
The story is about a young man named Alan who meets with a mysterious old man in order to buy a love potion that will cause the woman he loves, Diana, to love him back.
However, before showing him the love potion, the old man hands him a bottle of poison he sells for $5,000.00 and tells him that it's colorless, tasteless, and won't be picked up by an autopsy.
Alan then tells him that he's not looking for a poison and asks if all the other potions are as expensive as that one. That's where the quote you referenced comes in.
The entire quote actually reads, "'Oh dear, no,' said the old man. 'It would be no good charging that sort of price for a love potion, for example. Young people who need a love potion very seldom have five thousand dollars. Otherwise they would not need a love potion'" (Collier).
In saying that, the old man is implying that if the young man had money, he wouldn't need a love potion in order to get the woman he loves to return his feelings. If he were wealthier, she'd show him affection for that reason alone. It's also an implication that the young man doesn't have much to offer the woman, at least in a material sense.
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