"What of soul was left, I wonder, when the kissing had to stop?"

In Robert Browning's quote, "What of soul was left, I question, when the kissing had to stop?" there lies a deep expedition of the human condition, especially in the context of love and the unavoidable end of romantic happiness. The quote poetically encapsulates the remaining, melancholic question of what stays after moments of intimacy and enthusiasm need to stop.

On a surface level, the expression "when the kissing needed to stop" symbolizes the end of a romantic phase-- a time when physical affection and the wonder of newfound love give way to the more mundane or tough elements of a relationship. This shift is an unavoidable part of human experience. Kissing, in this context, is a metonymy for love, attraction, and the emotional highs of romance. It suggests a duration where enthusiasm was plentiful, a time of psychological and physical satisfaction.

Moving much deeper, the quote triggers reflection on what stays within one's soul after such enthusiastic engagements have actually ended. The "soul", in this context, represents the essence of a person, incorporating emotions, memories, and existential reflections. Browning presents a concern of substance; when transient satisfaction fade, what long lasting effect do they leave on the core of our being? It raises considerations of identity beyond experiential highs, asking whether such romances contribute to personal development or introspection.

This contemplation also alludes to the impermanence of human experiences. Despite the extensive connection suggested by intimacy, life insists on development. The "soul" might be altered, improved by love's lessons or perhaps left yearning for rekindled enthusiasms. The quote therefore invites a meditation on durability and transformation-- how one's inner world adapts to change and what it indicates to have enjoyed and lost.

Eventually, Browning records an axiom: the cessation of love's physical manifestations can lead us to extensive individual insight, revealing the enduring, albeit altered, essence of the soul left in love's wake.