--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But to think there was meaning, a scheme…" description: "\"“But to think there was meaning, a scheme to things, well, that was quite beyond her philosophical reach. She feared as she always had, that all that w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/anne-rice-238_emptiness_but-to-think-there-was-meaning-a-scheme_530596.jpg" --- # But to think there was meaning, a scheme to things, well… ![“But to think there was meaning, a scheme to things, well, that was quite beyond her philosophical reach. She feared as she always had, that all that was ever meant was loneliness, hard work, striving to make a difference when no difference could possibly be made. It was like dipping a stick into…” quote by Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/anne-rice-238_emptiness_but-to-think-there-was-meaning-a-scheme_530596.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/anne-rice-238_emptiness_but-to-think-there-was-meaning-a-scheme_530596.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/anne-rice-238_emptiness_but-to-think-there-was-meaning-a-scheme_530596.jpg) > ““But to think there was meaning, a scheme to things, well, that was quite beyond her philosophical reach. She feared as she always had, that all that was ever meant was loneliness, hard work, striving to make a difference when no difference could possibly be made. It was like dipping a stick into the ocean and trying to write something – all the little people of the world spinning out little patterns that lasted no more than a few years, and meant nothing at all.”” [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels that life's efforts are futile, and that meaning is beyond her grasp, leading to a sense of loneliness and endless striving. **In simple terms:** Life feels meaningless and lonely despite effort. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and seek personal meaning. Themes loneliness existentialism effort meaninglessness Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - mental health coping - philosophical discussion Key Concepts philosophical despair human condition futility Questions to Reflect On - What gives you a sense of purpose despite futility? - How can you find meaning in small moments? A Different Perspective Even if meaning feels absent, purpose can be self‑created. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [Meaninglessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaninglessness/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) ## Related quotes > [I was at Everton from the age seven. Being there 14 years meant any move was going to be big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-rodwell/i-was-at-everton-from-the-age-seven-being-there-14-years-meant-any/) [Jack Rodwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-rodwell/) > [“Sometimes the unseen is not to be feared and that those meant to love us most are not always the ones who do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/sometimes-the-unseen-is-not-to-be-feared-and-that-those-meant-to-love/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“I meant skies all empty aching blue. I meant years. I meant all of them with you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-clanchy/i-meant-skies-all-empty-aching-blue-i-meant-years-i-meant-all-of-them/) Kate Clanchy > [“This goes to show you that sometimes the unseen is not to be feared and that those meant to love us most are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/this-goes-to-show-you-that-sometimes-the-unseen-is-not-to-be-feared/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“My father gave me a ruined boy to compensate for the fact that he does not love me. The boy is fragile, broken—broke himself—broke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenna-yovanoff/my-father-gave-me-a-ruined-boy-to-compensate-for-the-fact-that-he/) [Brenna Yovanoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenna-yovanoff/) > [“Among the many things it meant was that even to loneliness there is an end, for those who are lonely enough, long enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/among-the-many-things-it-meant-was-that-even-to-loneliness-there-is/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [“Humans were not meant for isolation. WE were not meant for loneliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jae-jones/humans-were-not-meant-for-isolation-we-were-not-meant-for-loneliness/) [S. Jae-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jae-jones/) > [“Humans were not meant for isolation. We were not meant for loneliness" -Liesl”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jae-jones/humans-were-not-meant-for-isolation-we-were-not-meant-for-loneliness-2/) [S. Jae-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jae-jones/) > [I remember learning as a kid that love meant loneliness and confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calum-scott/i-remember-learning-as-a-kid-that-love-meant-loneliness-and-confusion/) [Calum Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calum-scott/) > [“Anxiety, alienation, loneliness, emptiness, and meaninglessness are the fruits of living as an isolated subject admist a multitude of lifeless objects. Although our scope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/anxiety-alienation-loneliness-emptiness-and-meaninglessness-are-the/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [We’re going to die and not even know. We’ll never know, and all this meaninglessness will just go on and on and on. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/we-re-going-to-die-and-not-even-know-we-ll-never-know-and-all-this/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“And this notion of the meaninglessness of our lives here began to enflame us. I took up the theme again that music and acting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/and-this-notion-of-the-meaninglessness-of-our-lives-here-began-to/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“I realized aloud in the midst of saying it that even when we die we probably don't find out the answer as to why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-realized-aloud-in-the-midst-of-saying-it-that-even-when-we-die-we/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Dear God, help me. Do not forget me on this tiny cinder lost in a galaxy that is lost–a heart no bigger than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/dear-god-help-me-do-not-forget-me-on-this-tiny-cinder-lost-in-a/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“On one side it seems there is faith in a Creator-God - and at the same time, the rejection of his creation; and on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-schmemann/on-one-side-it-seems-there-is-faith-in-a-creator-god-and-at-the-same/) [Alexander Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-schmemann/) ## More by Anne Rice > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“There had never been any talent, any talent to draw or paint or to make music or to write or to make any of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/there-had-never-been-any-talent-any-talent-to-draw-or-paint-or-to/) [anne rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“there are only two things which I believe—the first is that no mortal can refuse the Dark Gift once he really knows what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/there-are-only-two-things-which-i-believe-the-first-is-that-no-mortal/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“Lie quiet and you will lapse back into peace again. Be like the god Heimdall before the battle call, so still that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/lie-quiet-and-you-will-lapse-back-into-peace-again-be-like-the-god/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [If you want to be a writer, write. Write and write and write. If you stop, start again. Save everything that you write. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-write-write-and-write-and-write-if-you/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [How can so much beauty hide such a bruised and steely heart, and why must I love him, why must I lean in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/how-can-so-much-beauty-hide-such-a-bruised-and-steely-heart-and-why/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“you do get wiser when you live for hundreds of years; but you also have more time to turn out as badly as your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/you-do-get-wiser-when-you-live-for-hundreds-of-years-but-you-also/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I never lie," I said offhand. "At least not to those I don't love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-never-lie-i-said-offhand-at-least-not-to-those-i-don-t-love/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“I don't need to sleep to play. I'm crazy anyway. Being crazier still could only help.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-don-t-need-to-sleep-to-play-i-m-crazy-anyway-being-crazier-still/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“what I felt was inexpressible gratitude for the music, that in this horror there could be something as beautiful as that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/what-i-felt-was-inexpressible-gratitude-for-the-music-that-in-this/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I stumble through a carnival of horrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-stumble-through-a-carnival-of-horrors/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“Look up at heaven and hell in the sky, for the stars are balls of fire suspended there by the angels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/look-up-at-heaven-and-hell-in-the-sky-for-the-stars-are-balls-of-fire/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I do not allow fan-fiction. The characters are copyrighted. It upsets me terribly to even think about fan-fiction with my characters. I advise my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-do-not-allow-fan-fiction-the-characters-are-copyrighted-it-upsets/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Truth is a risky proposition. It's the nature of mediocre human beings to believe that lies are necessary, that they serve a purpose, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/truth-is-a-risky-proposition-it-s-the-nature-of-mediocre-human-beings/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Explore all 826 Anne Rice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) aryadeva > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But to think there was meaning, a scheme to things, well, that was quite beyond her philosophical reach. She feared as she always had, that all that was ever meant was loneliness, hard work, striving to make a difference when no difference could possibly be made. 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