Is there a paragraph that comes with the question?
Answer:
adaptation
Explanation:
A person freed from some "cave" or kind of prison , dark place, maintaining opinions about the shadows. In this scenario this person should take some time to adapt to the bright light. Each person has your bit of time to adapt to a new situation. For example when you are crossing a tunnel you instantly become a bit blind. In this situation I don´t think that the person could be exposed to ridicule down there.
I'm assuming that this line means that Love can happen quickly and you never know how long it will last and if it ends, forgetting it takes time because you were just in love and now it's over so you have to take time to processs that it's over and forget what you've been through. Sorry if it doesn't help.