Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace.
Eugene O'NeillRead
It was a great mistake, my being born a man, I would have been much more successful as a seagull or a fish. As it is, I will always be a stranger who never feels at home, who does not really want and is not really wanted, who can never belong, who must be a little in love with death!
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects deep existential feelings of alienation and longing for belonging.
Eugene O'Neill's quote expresses the profound sense of detachment and dissatisfaction with human existence. The speaker feels that being born a man was a mistake, longing instead for the simplicity and freedom of being a seagull or a fish—creatures unburdened by the complexities of human emotions and societal expectations. This sense of being a 'stranger' highlights a common human struggle with identity, belonging, and acceptance, leading to a melancholic acknowledgment of mortality.
Themes
AlienationBelongingIdentityExistentialismLonging
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about identity and belonging, one may use this quote to illustrate the feeling of being an outsider.
More from Eugene O'Neill
All quotes →Writing is my vacation from living.
Eugene O'NeillRead
When you're 50 you start thinking about things you haven't thought about before. I used to think getting old was about vanity - but actually it's about losing people you love. Getting wrinkles is trivial.
Eugene O'NeillRead
I am so far from being a pessimist...on the contrary, in spite of my scars, I am tickled to death at life.
Eugene O'NeillRead
I have had my dance with Folly, nor do I shirk the blame; I have sipped the so-called Wine of Life and paid the price of shame; But I know that I shall find surcease, the rest my spirit craves, Where the rainbows play in the flying spray, 'Mid the keen salt kiss of the waves.
Eugene O'NeillRead
There is no present or future-only the past, happening over and over again-now.
Eugene O'NeillRead
Similar quotes
The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil.
Mary Wollstonecraft ShelleyRead
A consciousness of our powerlessness should cast us upon Him who has all power. Here then is where a vision and view of God's sovereignty helps, for it reveals His sufficiency and shows us our insufficiency.
Arthur W. PinkRead
See that you buy the field where the Pearl is; sell all, and make a purchase of salvation. Think it not easy: for it is a steep ascent to eternal glory: many are lying dead by the way, slain with security.
Samuel RutherfordRead
He despised his body for its boring hungers, reflex anger; its petty, obliterating rage. But now he'd become detached. He regarded his body with a tender regret. It was the thing his spirit had to haul.
Louise ErdrichRead
Our aim in studying the Godhead must be to know God himself better. Our concern must be to enlarge our acquaintance, not simply with the doctrine of God’s attributes, but with the living God whose attributes they are.
J. I. PackerRead
If this being is omnipotent, then every occurrence, including every human action, every human thought, and every human feeling and aspiration is also His work; how is it possible to think of holding men responsible for their deeds and thoughts before such an almighty Being? In giving out punishment and rewards He would to a certain extent be passing judgment on Himself. How can this be combined with the goodness and righteousness ascribed to Him?
Albert EinsteinRead