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.
Samuel BeckettRead
My dear Tom, Delighted to get your letter. Do write again. This life is terrible and I don't understand how it can be endured.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Life can often feel overwhelming and difficult to endure, leading to confusion and despair.
In this quote by Samuel Beckett, the speaker expresses a profound sense of despair and a struggle to comprehend the hardships of life. The mention of a letter indicates a longing for connection, suggesting that sharing such feelings can be a solace amidst the terrors of existence. This acknowledgment of lifeβs terribleness invites reflection on human resilience and the necessity of companionship in navigating difficult times.
Themes
LifeDespairConnectionEnduranceHardship
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about mental health, one could reference Beckett's quote to highlight the struggles many face.
More from Samuel Beckett
All quotes βNothing happens. Nobody comes, nobody goes. It's awful.
Samuel BeckettRead
I shall state silences more competently than ever a better man spangled the butterflies of vertigo.
Samuel BeckettRead
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.
Samuel BeckettRead
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.
Samuel BeckettRead
We lose our hair, our teeth! Our bloom, our ideals.
Samuel BeckettRead
Similar quotes
Life is rather like a tin of sardines - we're all of us looking for the key.
Alan BennettRead
You do not choose the life you will experience ahead of time. You may select the persons, places and events - the conditions and circumstances, the challenges, the opportunities and options - with which to create experiences. What you create with these is your business.
Neale Donald WalschRead
This means that we have barely disembarked into life, that we've only just now been born, let's not fill our mouths with so many uncertain names, with so many sad labels, with so many pompous letters, with so much yours and mine, with so much signing of papers. I intend to confuse things, to unite them, make them new-born intermingle them, undress them, until the light of the world has the unity of the ocean, a generous wholeness, a fragrance alive and crackling.
Pablo NerudaRead
You will walk differently alone, dear, through a thicker atmosphere, forcing your way through the shadows of chairs, through the dripping smoke of the funnels. You will feel your own reflection sliding along the eyes of those who look at you. You are no longer insulated; but I suppose you must touch life in order to spring from it.
F. Scott FitzgeraldRead
We do not change as we grow up. The difference between the child and the adult is that the former doesn't know who he is and the latter does.
W. H. AudenRead
Life would pall if it were all sugar; salt is bitter if taken by itself; but when tasted as part of the dish, it savours the meat. Difficulties are the salt of life.
Robert Baden-PowellRead