QuoteProject
Every one of us has a bad conscience, which he tries to escape by going to sleep as quickly as possible.
Franz Kafka
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on human guilt and the desire to escape unpleasant feelings through sleep.

Franz Kafka's quote explores the concept of a 'bad conscience' that plagues individuals, suggesting that many people seek solace in sleep as a means of escaping their guilt or internal struggles. It highlights the psychological burden we carry and how we often turn to rest as a temporary refuge from our deeper issues.

Themes

GuiltConscienceSleepEscapeAnxiety

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about mental health, you might use this quote to emphasize the importance of addressing internal struggles rather than avoiding them.

More from Franz Kafka

Some deny the existence of misery by pointing to the sun; he denies the existence of the sun by pointing to misery.
Franz KafkaRead
One can disintegrate the world by means of very strong light. For weak eyes the world becomes solid, for still weaker eyes it seems to develop fists, for eyes weaker still it becomes shamefaced and smashes anyone who dares to gaze upon it.
Franz KafkaRead
But Gregor understood easily that it was not only consideration for him which prevented their moving, for he could easily have been transported in a suitable crate with a few air holes; what mainly prevented the family from moving was their complete hopelessness and the thought that they had been struck by a misfortune as none of their relatives and acquaintances had ever been hit.
Franz KafkaRead
Association with human beings lures one into self-observation.
Franz KafkaRead
A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity.
Franz KafkaRead
The ulterior motives with which you absorb and assimilate Evil are not your own but those of Evil. _x000D_ The animal wrests the whip from its master and whips itself in order to become master, not knowing that this is only a fantasy produced by a new knot in the master's whiplash.
Franz KafkaRead

Similar quotes

The lies we live will always be confessed in the stories that we tell.
Orson Scott CardRead
What's left is palimpsest—one memory bleeding into another, overwriting it.
Natasha TretheweyRead
Politics is a science. You can demonstrate that you are right and that others are wrong.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
In our society it is murder, psychologically, to deprive a man of a job or an income. You are in substance saying to that man that he has no right to exist. You are in a real way depriving him of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, denying in his case the very creed of his society.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
If we say that we have no sin, We deceive ourselves, and there's no truth in us. Why then belike we must sin, And so consequently die. Ay, we must die an everlasting death.
Christopher MarloweRead
The solution as consumers is - perhaps surprisingly - to take adverts very, very seriously. We should ask ourselves what it is that we find lovely in them - the visions of friendship, togetherness, repose, or whatever. And then consider what would actually help us find these qualities in our lives.
Alain De BottonRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.