--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not a breath, not a sound—except at…" description: "\"“Not a breath, not a sound—except at intervals the muffled crackling of stones that the cold was reducing to sand—disturbed the solitude and silence su..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/albert-camus-47_cold-night_not-a-breath-not-a-sound-except-at-inter_1654310.jpg" --- # Not a breath, not a sound—except at intervals the muffled… ![“Not a breath, not a sound—except at intervals the muffled crackling of stones that the cold was reducing to sand—disturbed the solitude and silence surrounding Janine. After a moment, however, it seemed to her that the sky above her was moving in a sort of slow gyration. In the vast reaches of the…” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/albert-camus-47_cold-night_not-a-breath-not-a-sound-except-at-inter_1654310.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/albert-camus-47_cold-night_not-a-breath-not-a-sound-except-at-inter_1654310.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/albert-camus-47_cold-night_not-a-breath-not-a-sound-except-at-inter_1654310.jpg) > ““Not a breath, not a sound—except at intervals the muffled crackling of stones that the cold was reducing to sand—disturbed the solitude and silence surrounding Janine. After a moment, however, it seemed to her that the sky above her was moving in a sort of slow gyration. In the vast reaches of the dry, cold night, thousands of stars were constantly appearing, and their sparkling icicles, loosened at once, began to slip gradually towards the horizon. Janine could not tear herself away from contemplating those drifting flares. She was turning with them, and the apparently stationary progress little by little identified her with the core of her being, where cold and desire were now vying with each other. Before her the stars were falling one by one and being snuffed out among the stones of the desert, and each time Janine opened a little more to the night. Breathing deeply, she forgot the cold, the dead weight of others, the craziness or stuffiness of life, the long anguish of living and dying. After so many years of mad, aimless fleeing from fear, she had come to a stop at last. At the same time, she seemed to recover her roots and the sap again rose in her body, which had ceased trembling. Her whole belly pressed against the parapet as she strained towards the moving sky; she was merely waiting for her fluttering heart to calm down and establish silence within her. The last stars of the constellations dropped their clusters a little lower on the desert horizon and became still. Then, with unbearable gentleness, the water of night began to fill Janine, drowned the cold, rose gradually from the hidden core of her being and overflowed in wave after wave, rising up even to her mouth full of moans. The next moment, the whole sky stretched out over her, fallen on her back on the cold earth.”” [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A protagonist confronts the vast, indifferent cosmos, finding fleeting peace and self‑realization amid existential coldness. **In simple terms:** Facing the universe can bring calm and insight. Key Takeaway Embrace silence to hear inner truth. Themes existentialism solitude inner peace transcendence Mood melancholic reflective hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - nighttime contemplation - desert meditation - personal crisis resolution Key Concepts cosmic indifference self‑discovery acceptance Questions to Reflect On - What does the night symbolize for you? - How can silence reveal hidden desires? A Different Perspective The calm may be temporary and not solve external conflicts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Began Janine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/began-janine-688172/) [Cold night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-night/) [Drowned Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowned-cold-688173/) [Little by little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-by-little/) [Silence Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence-stars-519942/) [Solitude Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude-silence-385991/) [Surrounding Janine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrounding-janine-688174/) ## Related quotes > [“The panes streamed with rain, and the short street he looked down into lay wet and empty, as if swept clear suddenly by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-panes-streamed-with-rain-and-the-short-street-he-looked-down-into/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Come, drink the mystic wine of Night, Brimming with silence and the stars; While earth, bathed in this holy light, Is seen without its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-untermeyer/come-drink-the-mystic-wine-of-night-brimming-with-silence-and-the/) [Louis Untermeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-untermeyer/) > [“When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with such applause in the lecture room, How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/when-i-sitting-heard-the-astronomer-where-he-lectured-with-such/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I have known the silence of the stars and of the sea. And the silence of the city when it pauses, And the silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-lee-masters/i-have-known-the-silence-of-the-stars-and-of-the-sea-and-the-silence/) [Edgar Lee Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-lee-masters/) > [The trees, the flowers, the plants grow in silence. The stars, the sun, the moon move in silence. Silence gives us a new perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/the-trees-the-flowers-the-plants-grow-in-silence-the-stars-the-sun/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [“Silence and stars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/silence-and-stars/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [“I look up. And I am surrounded by the universe. silence and stars A million suns stretch out beyond me, their light piercing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/i-look-up-and-i-am-surrounded-by-the-universe-silence-and-stars-a/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [I have a need of silence and of stars. Too much is said too loudly. I am dazed. The silken sound of whirled infinity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-alexander-percy/i-have-a-need-of-silence-and-of-stars-too-much-is-said-too-loudly-i/) [William Alexander Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-alexander-percy/) > [“I paint the darkness and the silence, You see them as stars and poetry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenim-dibie/i-paint-the-darkness-and-the-silence-you-see-them-as-stars-and-poetry/) [Jenim Dibie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenim-dibie/) > [In the vast reaches of the dry, cold night, thousands of stars were constantly appearing, and their sparkling icicles, loosened at once, began to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/in-the-vast-reaches-of-the-dry-cold-night-thousands-of-stars-were/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [St. John of the Cross points out that the divine music can best be heard in solitude and silence. The sonorous music is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-cumming/st-john-of-the-cross-points-out-that-the-divine-music-can-best-be/) [Charles Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-cumming/) > [ If I'm going to continue to be any kind of spiritual teacher, I've got to go deeper myself. And so for me, \[I am\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-i-m-going-to-continue-to-be-any-kind-of-spiritual-teacher-i-ve-got/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [The problem is no longer getting people to express themselves, but providing little gaps of solitude and silence in which they might eventually find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/the-problem-is-no-longer-getting-people-to-express-themselves-but/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) > [“Now the voices and the sound of movement were gone, and the stream could be heard running quietly under its banks. The air was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-the-voices-and-the-sound-of-movement-were-gone-and-the-stream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [her spirits wanted the solitude and silence which only numbers could give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/her-spirits-wanted-the-solitude-and-silence-which-only-numbers-could/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) ## More by Albert Camus > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Being is good, but getting rich is better… If the gods had only the riches of men's adoration, they would be as poor as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/being-is-good-but-getting-rich-is-better-if-the-gods-had-only-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Having been, not only mutilated in our country, wounded in our very flesh, but also divested of our most beautiful images, for you gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/having-been-not-only-mutilated-in-our-country-wounded-in-our-very/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I've seen of enough of people who die for an idea. I don't believe in heroism; I know it's easy and I've learned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-ve-seen-of-enough-of-people-who-die-for-an-idea-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The best are led to make greater demands upon themselves. As for those who succumb, they did not deserve to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-best-are-led-to-make-greater-demands-upon-themselves-as-for-those/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Then he asked me if I wasn’t interested in a change of life. I said that people never change their lives, that in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/then-he-asked-me-if-i-wasn-t-interested-in-a-change-of-life-i-said/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Life is meaningless, but worth living, provided you recognize it's meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/life-is-meaningless-but-worth-living-provided-you-recognize-it-s/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Thinking of the future, establishing aims for oneself, having preferences-all this presupposes a belief in freedom, even if one occasionally ascertains that one doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/thinking-of-the-future-establishing-aims-for-oneself-having/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-explained-to-him-however-that-my-nature-was-such-that-my-physical/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-only-way-to-deal-with-an-unfree-world-is-to-become-so-absolutely/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“We love people not because for good they did for us, but for good we did for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/we-love-people-not-because-for-good-they-did-for-us-but-for-good-we/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [You have so much inside you, and the noblest happiness of all. Don’t just wait for a man to come along. That’s the mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/you-have-so-much-inside-you-and-the-noblest-happiness-of-all-don-t/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The desire for possession is insatiable, to such a point that it can survive even love itself. To love, therefore, is to sterilize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-desire-for-possession-is-insatiable-to-such-a-point-that-it-can/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) [Explore all 1,600 Albert Camus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More Cold night quotes > [“The dream of her was the glow of a spent fire on a cold night: warm and welcoming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/the-dream-of-her-was-the-glow-of-a-spent-fire-on-a-cold-night-warm/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“You love me?” he asked quietly. I dipped my face close and answered quietly, “On a cold night, a long time ago, you put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/you-love-me-he-asked-quietly-i-dipped-my-face-close-and-answered/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [Life's Highs... 1. Laughing hysterically 2. Dancing your heart out 3. Star gazing 4. Shopping 5. Going to the beach 6. Listening to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/life-s-highs-1-laughing-hysterically-2-dancing-your-heart-out-3-star/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [A career is wonderful thing, but you can't snuggle up to it on a cold night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/a-career-is-wonderful-thing-but-you-can-t-snuggle-up-to-it-on-a-cold/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [Knowledge without Spirit is like finding yourself on a cold night with all the wood in the world and no flame to ignite it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/knowledge-without-spirit-is-like-finding-yourself-on-a-cold-night/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [It's such a cold night and it's the only time I've actively been grateful for menopause. I've been entirely comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-thompson/it-s-such-a-cold-night-and-it-s-the-only-time-i-ve-actively-been/) [Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-thompson/) > [I'm standin' on the bridge I'm waitin' in the dark I thought that you'd be here by now There's nothing but the rain No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-standin-on-the-bridge-i-m-waitin-in-the-dark-i-thought-that-you-d/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No, the Boss corrected, I'm not a lawyer. I know some law. ... but I'm not a lawyer. That's why I can see what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/no-the-boss-corrected-i-m-not-a-lawyer-i-know-some-law-but-i-m-not-a/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [It's a cold night out tonight. The Padres better warm up real good because it's stiff out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-coleman/it-s-a-cold-night-out-tonight-the-padres-better-warm-up-real-good/) [Jerry Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-coleman/) > [If you are cold at night, let the promise of my love cover you like a warm blanket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-white/if-you-are-cold-at-night-let-the-promise-of-my-love-cover-you-like-a/) [Matthew White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-white/) > [I thought of you with your hair silver as snow all through that cold, slow journey from Sirle. I felt you troubled deep within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-a-mckillip/i-thought-of-you-with-your-hair-silver-as-snow-all-through-that-cold/) [Patricia A. McKillip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-a-mckillip/) > [“On that cold night in January it all slipped into place for me and she became my everything and my everyone. My music, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-murphy-side-effects-may-vary/on-that-cold-night-in-january-it-all-slipped-into-place-for-me-and/) [Julie Murphy-Side Effects May Vary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-murphy-side-effects-may-vary/) > [“ You’re…you’re what? Where? ” I stood up and glimpsed myself in the mirror. I was a vision, having changed into satin pajama pants,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/you-re-you-re-what-where-i-stood-up-and-glimpsed-myself-in-the-mirror/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) > [He never wanted love, though. You cannot eat love, nor buy a horse with it, nor warm your halls on a cold night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-never-wanted-love-though-you-cannot-eat-love-nor-buy-a-horse-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Even her footsteps did not seem to belong to her. The night seized and transformed them, just as it transformed the greenhouses they passed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-farmer/even-her-footsteps-did-not-seem-to-belong-to-her-the-night-seized-and/) [Penelope Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-farmer/) [Browse all 128 Cold night quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-night/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Not a breath, not a sound—except at intervals the muffled crackling of stones that the cold was reducing to sand—disturbed the solitude and silence surrounding Janine. After a moment, however, it seemed to her that the sky above her was moving in a sort of slow gyration. In the vast reaches of the dry, cold night, thousands of stars were constantly appearing, and their sparkling icicles, loosened at once, began to slip gradually towards the horizon. Janine could not tear herself away from contemplating those drifting flares. She was turning with them, and the apparently stationary progress little by little identified her with the core of her being, where cold and desire were now vying with each other. Before her the stars were falling one by one and being snuffed out among the stones of the desert, and each time Janine opened a little more to the night. Breathing deeply, she forgot the cold, the dead weight of others, the craziness or stuffiness of life, the long anguish of living and dying. After so many years of mad, aimless fleeing from fear, she had come to a stop at last. At the same time, she seemed to recover her roots and the sap again rose in her body, which had ceased trembling. Her whole belly pressed against the parapet as she strained towards the moving sky; she was merely waiting for her fluttering heart to calm down and establish silence within her. The last stars of the constellations dropped their clusters a little lower on the desert horizon and became still. Then, with unbearable gentleness, the water of night began to fill Janine, drowned the cold, rose gradually from the hidden core of her being and overflowed in wave after wave, rising up even to her mouth full of moans. The next moment, the whole sky stretched out over her, fallen on her back on the cold earth.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Albert Camus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/not-a-breath-not-a-sound-except-at-intervals-the-muffled-crackling-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cold night" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/not-a-breath-not-a-sound-except-at-intervals-the-muffled-crackling-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/albert-camus-47_cold-night_not-a-breath-not-a-sound-except-at-inter_1654310.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/albert-camus-47_cold-night_not-a-breath-not-a-sound-except-at-inter_1654310.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c52/albert-camus-47_cold-night_not-a-breath-not-a-sound-except-at-inter_1654310.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Not a breath, not a sound—except at intervals the muffled crackling of stones that the cold was reducing to…” — Albert Camus", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Albert Camus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Not a breath, not a sound—except...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/not-a-breath-not-a-sound-except-at-intervals-the-muffled-crackling-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/not-a-breath-not-a-sound-except-at-intervals-the-muffled-crackling-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```