--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Are there not some places where we seem…" description: "\"Are there not some places where we seem to breathe sadness? — why, we cannot tell. It is a chain of recollections — an idea which carries you back to o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/alexandre-dumas-436_breathe_are-there-not-some-places-where-we-seem_141021.jpg" --- # Are there not some places where we seem to breathe… ![“Are there not some places where we seem to breathe sadness? — why, we cannot tell. It is a chain of recollections — an idea which carries you back to other times, to other places — which, very likely, have no connection with the present time and place.” quote by Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/alexandre-dumas-436_breathe_are-there-not-some-places-where-we-seem_141021.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/alexandre-dumas-436_breathe_are-there-not-some-places-where-we-seem_141021.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/alexandre-dumas-436_breathe_are-there-not-some-places-where-we-seem_141021.jpg) > “Are there not some places where we seem to breathe sadness? — why, we cannot tell. It is a chain of recollections — an idea which carries you back to other times, to other places — which, very likely, have no connection with the present time and place.” [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memories can trap us in past emotions, disconnecting us from present reality. **In simple terms:** Past memories can cloud current feeling. Key Takeaway Stay present despite nostalgic thoughts. Themes memory nostalgia mindfulness Mood thoughtful melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative writing - meditation - travel Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate useful reflection from rumination? A Different Perspective Memories can also inspire growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains/) [Connections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connections/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Present time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-time/) [Recollection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recollection/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) ## Related quotes > [“Can we account for instinct?' said Monte Cristo. 'Are there not some places where we seem to breathe sadness? — why, we cannot tell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-dumas/can-we-account-for-instinct-said-monte-cristo-are-there-not-some/) [Alexander Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-dumas/) > [Sometimes, I miss so much the person that I was before the world tore me up in so many places. If only they could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-miss-so-much-the-person-that-i-was-before-the-world-tore/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [On a late-winter evening in 1983, while driving through fog along the Maine coast, recollections of old campfires began to drift into the March…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/on-a-late-winter-evening-in-1983-while-driving-through-fog-along-the/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“The monotony stirs many bitter recollections”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murasaki-shikibu/the-monotony-stirs-many-bitter-recollections/) [Murasaki Shikibu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murasaki-shikibu/) > [“Life is subjective as far as memories are concerned. I mean, what pieces of your own life do you really remember? Some good times,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-bostic/life-is-subjective-as-far-as-memories-are-concerned-i-mean-what/) [Megan Bostic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-bostic/) > [“You were traveling through the bloodline and entering each of your ancestors' minds. You know things about all of us now." Lily was right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-miller/you-were-traveling-through-the-bloodline-and-entering-each-of-your/) [Kirsten Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-miller/) > [My earliest recollections are of the teeming East Side where I was born. This Hester Street and its surrounding streets were the most densely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/my-earliest-recollections-are-of-the-teeming-east-side-where-i-was/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [“Recollections are in the eye of the beholder. No two held side by side can ever quite match.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/recollections-are-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-no-two-held-side-by-side/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Improved memory made possible the long-term recollection of dreams and visions and the construction of those recollections into a spirit world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-david-lewis-williams/improved-memory-made-possible-the-long-term-recollection-of-dreams/) [James David Lewis-Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-david-lewis-williams/) > [“life has me holding a grudge pouring coffee on my recollections not revealing where the moon finds its water”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-has-me-holding-a-grudge-pouring-coffee-on-my-recollections-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I believe my strength has something to do with memory, with that concept of fluid time. For while I recall with clarity the terror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/i-believe-my-strength-has-something-to-do-with-memory-with-that/) [Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/) > [“Memory, instead of being a duplicate, always present before one's eyes, of the various events of one's life, is rather a void from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/memory-instead-of-being-a-duplicate-always-present-before-one-s-eyes/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When we consider how much of the anxiety and pain of daily life stems from attending to our long-term memories and worrying about and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-corkin/when-we-consider-how-much-of-the-anxiety-and-pain-of-daily-life-stems/) Suzanne Corkin > [Isn't it fortunate how selective our recollections usually are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/isn-t-it-fortunate-how-selective-our-recollections-usually-are/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [“Here, in this house, her recollections glowed like embers on the hearth, and each night, in their warmth, she’d take a memory or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/here-in-this-house-her-recollections-glowed-like-embers-on-the-hearth/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) ## More by Alexandre Dumas > [“What is the sense in recriminations about things over which the will of God itself is powerless? God can change the future, He cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-is-the-sense-in-recriminations-about-things-over-which-the-will/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [There is no friendship that cares about an overheard secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/there-is-no-friendship-that-cares-about-an-overheard-secret/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [Darling, replied Valentine, has not the count just told us that all human wisdom was contained in these two words,- "Wait and hope"?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/darling-replied-valentine-has-not-the-count-just-told-us-that-all/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“when you have the honour to find yourself in the company of ordinary men and the good fortune to be out of politics for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/when-you-have-the-honour-to-find-yourself-in-the-company-of-ordinary/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“He rose in his turn, and seizing handfuls of confetti and sweetmeats, with which the carriage was filled, cast them with all the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/he-rose-in-his-turn-and-seizing-handfuls-of-confetti-and-sweetmeats/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“A man is always in a hurry to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/a-man-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-happy/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Speak on, madame, speak on, Queen," said Buckingham; "the sweetness of your voice covers the harshness of your words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/speak-on-madame-speak-on-queen-said-buckingham-the-sweetness-of-your/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“On the 24th of February, 1810, the look-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the three-master, the Pharaon from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/on-the-24th-of-february-1810-the-look-out-at-notre-dame-de-la-garde/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“what despair to see a woman one loves longing for those thousand nothings from which women compose their happiness, and to be unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-despair-to-see-a-woman-one-loves-longing-for-those-thousand/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Here is a man who was resigned to his fate, who was walking to the scaffold and about to die like a coward, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/here-is-a-man-who-was-resigned-to-his-fate-who-was-walking-to-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [I am not proud, but I am happy; and happiness blinds, I think, more than pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/i-am-not-proud-but-i-am-happy-and-happiness-blinds-i-think-more-than/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [For there are two distinct sorts of ideas: Those that proceed from the head and those that emanate from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/for-there-are-two-distinct-sorts-of-ideas-those-that-proceed-from-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Besides, what is required of a young man in Paris? To speak its language tolerably, to make a good appearance, to be a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/besides-what-is-required-of-a-young-man-in-paris-to-speak-its/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“Carry your sorrow inside you as the cloud conceals ruin and death like a deadly secret that is understood only when the storm breaks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/carry-your-sorrow-inside-you-as-the-cloud-conceals-ruin-and-death/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“What fragile and unknown threads the destinies of nations and the lives of men are suspended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/what-fragile-and-unknown-threads-the-destinies-of-nations-and-the/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) [Explore all 473 Alexandre Dumas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) ## More Breathe quotes > [“Well come and stand a little bit closer, breathe in and get a bit higher. You'll ever know what hit you when I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savage-garden/well-come-and-stand-a-little-bit-closer-breathe-in-and-get-a-bit/) [Savage Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savage-garden/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [“Live your dreams. Breathe your dreams. Never give up on your dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/live-your-dreams-breathe-your-dreams-never-give-up-on-your-dreams/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. It's like asking: 'Can women breathe in and out?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/there-were-people-asking-can-women-be-funny-people-still-ask-that-it/) [Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/) > [We need to be more conversant with it because science is in our lives. It's in everything. It's in the food we eat. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/we-need-to-be-more-conversant-with-it-because-science-is-in-our-lives/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [“Before we can make seismic professional, economic, and sociological changes, we have to squeeze out of our Spanx and remember how it feels to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-hays-coomer/before-we-can-make-seismic-professional-economic-and-sociological/) [Sarah Hays Coomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-hays-coomer/) > [Manchester United breathe football. When I have to make hard decisions, I always listen to little boy inside me and what he wants. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-van-persie/manchester-united-breathe-football-when-i-have-to-make-hard-decisions/) [Robin van Persie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-van-persie/) > [I drink to feel / I smoke to breathe / Just look what love / Has done to me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kacey-musgraves/i-drink-to-feel-i-smoke-to-breathe-just-look-what-love-has-done-to-me/) [Kacey Musgraves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kacey-musgraves/) > [Wherever you are is the perfect place to awaken. This moment is the exact place to practice compassion and loving awareness. You have all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/wherever-you-are-is-the-perfect-place-to-awaken-this-moment-is-the/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [If I had lost a leg, I would tell them, instead of a boy, no one would ever ask me if I was 'over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/if-i-had-lost-a-leg-i-would-tell-them-instead-of-a-boy-no-one-would/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [In some ways, what I learned is that you can take a character and breathe with them, and its up to the audience to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aden-young/in-some-ways-what-i-learned-is-that-you-can-take-a-character-and/) [Aden Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aden-young/) Browse all 2,793 Breathe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Are there not some places where we seem to breathe sadness? — why, we cannot tell. It is a chain of recollections — an idea which carries you back to other times, to other places — which, very likely, have no connection with the present time and place.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexandre Dumas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/are-there-not-some-places-where-we-seem-to-breathe-sadness-why-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Breathe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/are-there-not-some-places-where-we-seem-to-breathe-sadness-why-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/alexandre-dumas-436_breathe_are-there-not-some-places-where-we-seem_141021.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/alexandre-dumas-436_breathe_are-there-not-some-places-where-we-seem_141021.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae9/alexandre-dumas-436_breathe_are-there-not-some-places-where-we-seem_141021.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Are there not some places where we seem to breathe sadness? — why, we cannot tell. It is a chain of…” — Alexandre Dumas", "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": "Alexandre Dumas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Are there not some places where...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/are-there-not-some-places-where-we-seem-to-breathe-sadness-why-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/are-there-not-some-places-where-we-seem-to-breathe-sadness-why-we/#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 } } ] } ```