I asked her to look at me and after a few moments - (pause) - after a few moments she did, but the eyes just slits, because of the glare I bent over her to get them in the shadow and they opened. (Pause. Low) Let me in.
Dying for dark — and the darker the Worse. Strange.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that the experience of suffering can intensify in its darkness and complexity, leading to a deeper contemplation of existence.
In this quote, Samuel Beckett explores the profound depths of human suffering and darkness. The notion of 'dying for dark' implies a certain inevitability of confronting despair, while 'the darker the worse' underscores that these experiences can often become increasingly complex and heavy, challenging one's understanding and acceptance of life itself. It reflects a philosophy of existential inquiry, inviting us to engage with the darker aspects of our existence rather than shy away from them.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the complexities of life and mental health.
More from Samuel Beckett
All quotes →Nothing happens. Nobody comes, nobody goes. It's awful.
I shall state silences more competently than ever a better man spangled the butterflies of vertigo.
And what I have, what I am, is enough, was always enough for me, and as far as my dear little sweet little future is concerned I have no qualms, I have a good time coming.
I love order. It's my dream. A world where all would be silent and still, and each thing in its last place, under the last dust.
We lose our hair, our teeth! Our bloom, our ideals.
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Ah! Wretched and too solitary he who loves not his own company.
An en is a karmic bond lasting a lifetime. Nowadays many people seem to believe their lives are entirely a matter of choice; but in my day we viewed ourselves as pieces of clay that forever show the fingerprints of everyone who has touched them.
Let men learn that a legislature is not 'our God upon earth,' though, by the authority they ascribe to it, and the things they expect from it, they would seem to think it is. Let them learn rather that it is an institution serving a purely temporary purpose, whose power, when not stolen, is at the best borrowed.