--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ennui—that dreaded mire of the human…" description: "\"“ennui—that dreaded mire of the human emotions.”\" — Amor Towles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/amor-towles-1249_dreaded_ennui-that-dreaded-mire-of-the-human-emo_1980937.png" --- # ennui—that dreaded mire of the human emotions. ![“ennui—that dreaded mire of the human emotions.” quote by Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/amor-towles-1249_dreaded_ennui-that-dreaded-mire-of-the-human-emo_1980937.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/amor-towles-1249_dreaded_ennui-that-dreaded-mire-of-the-human-emo_1980937.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/amor-towles-1249_dreaded_ennui-that-dreaded-mire-of-the-human-emo_1980937.png) > ““ennui—that dreaded mire of the human emotions.”” [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes ennui as a deep, stagnant emotional state that traps people. **In simple terms:** Ennui is a draining emotional swamp. Key Takeaway Recognize and break free from stagnation. Themes ennui emotional stagnation psychology Mood melancholic reflective Type psychological literary When to use this quote - daily routine - creative blocks - career stagnation Key Concepts existential fatigue mental health Questions to Reflect On - What drains your energy? - How can you revitalize daily life? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex feelings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreaded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreaded/) [Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotions/) [Ennui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ennui/) [Ennui Dreaded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ennui-dreaded-3382330/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Human emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-emotions/) ## Related quotes > [Empathy is the most radical of human emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/empathy-is-the-most-radical-of-human-emotions/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Despite what everyone thinks about science fiction, ultimately, at its best, it's about human beings with human emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greig-fraser/despite-what-everyone-thinks-about-science-fiction-ultimately-at-its/) [Greig Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greig-fraser/) > [“Why? 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Unwanted love was the greatest burden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-george-the-autobiography-of-henry-viii/there-it-was-that-dreaded-word-love-i-did-not-want-to-be-loved-that/) [Margaret George The Autobiography of Henry VIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-george-the-autobiography-of-henry-viii/) > [In 2006, I woke up every morning and dreaded the ballpark. I knew how difficult it was to even prepare my body to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabe-kapler/in-2006-i-woke-up-every-morning-and-dreaded-the-ballpark-i-knew-how/) [Gabe Kapler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabe-kapler/) > [I went to an arts school as a kid. We had to take dance every other day, along with drama, music and visual arts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-epstein/i-went-to-an-arts-school-as-a-kid-we-had-to-take-dance-every-other/) [Jake Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-epstein/) ## More by Amor Towles > [“To have even one year when you're presented with choices that can alter your circumstances, your character, your course- that's by the grace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/to-have-even-one-year-when-you-re-presented-with-choices-that-can/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Rather than sitting in orderly rows in a schoolhouse, wouldn't one be better served by working her way towards an actual horizon, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/rather-than-sitting-in-orderly-rows-in-a-schoolhouse-wouldn-t-one-be/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [That's how quickly New York City comes about - like a weather wane - or the head of a cobra. Time tells which.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/that-s-how-quickly-new-york-city-comes-about-like-a-weather-wane-or/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Mostly, he said, I've been thinking about what I'm not going to do. When I think of the last few years, I've been hounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/mostly-he-said-i-ve-been-thinking-about-what-i-m-not-going-to-do-when/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“In the doleful court behind my building a patchwork of windows was all that separated me from a hundred muted lives being led without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/in-the-doleful-court-behind-my-building-a-patchwork-of-windows-was/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“That is how time passes when one is left waiting unaccountably. The hours become interminable. The minutes relentless. And the seconds? 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We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/as-we-age-we-are-bound-to-find-comfort-from-the-notion-that-it-takes/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For it is the role of the parent to express his concerns and then take three steps back. Not one, mind you, not two,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-it-is-the-role-of-the-parent-to-express-his-concerns-and-then/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“But I've come to realie that however blue my circumstance,s if after finishing a chapter of a Dickens novel I feel a miss-my-stop-on-the-train sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/but-i-ve-come-to-realie-that-however-blue-my-circumstance-s-if-after/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [I make extensive outlines before I write a book. I usually know what will happen. I know the characters, and I know what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-make-extensive-outlines-before-i-write-a-book-i-usually-know-what/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Sometimes,” Nina clarified, “everybody tells you something because they are everybody. But why should one listen to everybody? Did everybody write the Odyssey? Did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/sometimes-nina-clarified-everybody-tells-you-something-because-they/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For it is a fact that a man can be profoundly out of step with his times. A man may have been born in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-it-is-a-fact-that-a-man-can-be-profoundly-out-of-step-with-his/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) [Explore all 266 Amor Towles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) ## More Dreaded quotes > [“Guenever began to breathe through her nose. She was feeling as if there were two red thumbs behind her eyeballs, trying to push them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-white/guenever-began-to-breathe-through-her-nose-she-was-feeling-as-if/) [T.H. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-white/) > [In 2006, I woke up every morning and dreaded the ballpark. I knew how difficult it was to even prepare my body to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabe-kapler/in-2006-i-woke-up-every-morning-and-dreaded-the-ballpark-i-knew-how/) [Gabe Kapler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabe-kapler/) > [“There it was, that dreaded word: love. I did not want to be loved, that was the burden. Unwanted love was the greatest burden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-george-the-autobiography-of-henry-viii/there-it-was-that-dreaded-word-love-i-did-not-want-to-be-loved-that/) [Margaret George The Autobiography of Henry VIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-george-the-autobiography-of-henry-viii/) > [Okay, using the dreaded middle name is not the best way to forge a bond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-brody/okay-using-the-dreaded-middle-name-is-not-the-best-way-to-forge-a-bond/) [Adam Brody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-brody/) > [“The sea of night was at low tide. That dreaded zone where the worst that has happened to you resurfaces to assail you once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chantal-thomas/the-sea-of-night-was-at-low-tide-that-dreaded-zone-where-the-worst/) [Chantal Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chantal-thomas/) > [My dad was a Presbyterian minister. Yes, I am one of those dreaded P.K.s - Preachers Kids. Be afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/my-dad-was-a-presbyterian-minister-yes-i-am-one-of-those-dreaded-p-k/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [During my past career as a journalist, I relished writing obits and equally dreaded phoning relatives for the necessary facts. But to my surprise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/during-my-past-career-as-a-journalist-i-relished-writing-obits-and/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [I have written chiefly because, though I have often dreaded the necessity, I have found it more painful, in the end, not to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-have-written-chiefly-because-though-i-have-often-dreaded-the/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I went to an arts school as a kid. We had to take dance every other day, along with drama, music and visual arts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-epstein/i-went-to-an-arts-school-as-a-kid-we-had-to-take-dance-every-other/) [Jake Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-epstein/) > [“This was not because he was cowardly and abject, quite the contrary; but for some time past he had been in an overstrained irritable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/this-was-not-because-he-was-cowardly-and-abject-quite-the-contrary/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [By the wicked the good conduct of others is always dreaded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sallust/by-the-wicked-the-good-conduct-of-others-is-always-dreaded/) [Sallust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sallust/) > [After years in white theaters I dreaded working in colored houses. The noise, the stomping, whistling, and cheering that hadn't annoyed me when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/after-years-in-white-theaters-i-dreaded-working-in-colored-houses-the/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [Frankly, I have always dreaded writing - there always seemed to be pain involved, unpleasant self-examination and a lot of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/frankly-i-have-always-dreaded-writing-there-always-seemed-to-be-pain/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [A thing may be dreaded as long as it has not overtaken you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/a-thing-may-be-dreaded-as-long-as-it-has-not-overtaken-you/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [My parents dreaded the fact that I was changing my life to do this, but I just kept doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/my-parents-dreaded-the-fact-that-i-was-changing-my-life-to-do-this/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) [Browse all 78 Dreaded quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreaded/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“ennui—that dreaded mire of the human emotions.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amor Towles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/ennui-that-dreaded-mire-of-the-human-emotions/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dreaded" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/ennui-that-dreaded-mire-of-the-human-emotions/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/amor-towles-1249_dreaded_ennui-that-dreaded-mire-of-the-human-emo_1980937.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/amor-towles-1249_dreaded_ennui-that-dreaded-mire-of-the-human-emo_1980937.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/amor-towles-1249_dreaded_ennui-that-dreaded-mire-of-the-human-emo_1980937.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“ennui—that dreaded mire of the human emotions.” — Amor Towles", "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": "Amor Towles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“ennui—that dreaded mire of the human...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/ennui-that-dreaded-mire-of-the-human-emotions/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/ennui-that-dreaded-mire-of-the-human-emotions/#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 } } ] } ```