--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Self-pity is essentially humorless…" description: "\"Self-pity is essentially humorless, devoid of that lightness of touch which gives understanding of life.\" — Anthony Powell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/anthony-powell-2659_giving_self-pity-is-essentially-humorless-devoi_2993407.jpg" --- # Self-pity is essentially humorless, devoid of that… ![“Self-pity is essentially humorless, devoid of that lightness of touch which gives understanding of life.” quote by Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/anthony-powell-2659_giving_self-pity-is-essentially-humorless-devoi_2993407.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/anthony-powell-2659_giving_self-pity-is-essentially-humorless-devoi_2993407.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/anthony-powell-2659_giving_self-pity-is-essentially-humorless-devoi_2993407.jpg) > “Self-pity is essentially humorless, devoid of that lightness of touch which gives understanding of life.” [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑pity lacks humor and lightness, preventing true understanding of life's complexities. **In simple terms:** Self‑pity blocks insight and humor. Key Takeaway Cultivate humor and perspective. Themes self‑reflection humor understanding Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - grief counseling - creative writing - mindfulness Key Concepts existentialism emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - How does humor change your view of hardship? - What lightness can you bring to a painful situation? A Different Perspective Humor alone may not resolve deep sorrow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lightness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lightness/) [Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-pity/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Understanding Of Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding-of-life/) ## Related quotes > [It is only the dogmatic, and the humorless, that don't succumb to my charm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vermin-supreme/it-is-only-the-dogmatic-and-the-humorless-that-don-t-succumb-to-my/) [Vermin Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vermin-supreme/) > [Folks are astounded that 'judge' isn't a synonym for 'humorless Luddite.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-willett/folks-are-astounded-that-judge-isn-t-a-synonym-for-humorless-luddite/) [Don Willett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-willett/) > [The people who must never have power are the humorless. To impossible certainties of rectitude they ally tedium and uniformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-people-who-must-never-have-power-are-the-humorless-to-impossible/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“The humorless puzzle of inequality and hate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-humorless-puzzle-of-inequality-and-hate/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“This guy was a humorless bag of nothing but.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/this-guy-was-a-humorless-bag-of-nothing-but/) [Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/) > [Exercise, to qualify at all, must be lonely, painfu, humorless, and boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-holland/exercise-to-qualify-at-all-must-be-lonely-painfu-humorless-and-boring/) [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) > [Defining and analyzing humor is a pastime of humorless people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/defining-and-analyzing-humor-is-a-pastime-of-humorless-people/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [I find that I'm extremely unattracted to anything that's humorless. There is writing that is entirely serious, and it doesn't ring true to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-king/i-find-that-i-m-extremely-unattracted-to-anything-that-s-humorless/) [Owen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-king/) > [I find it strange that - at least in my take on it - the people who are the most alarmed about the dire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-find-it-strange-that-at-least-in-my-take-on-it-the-people-who-are/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [“Kaz's laugh was low and humorless. "Who'd deny a poor cripple his cane?" "If the cripple is you, then any man with sense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/kaz-s-laugh-was-low-and-humorless-who-d-deny-a-poor-cripple-his-cane/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“No one really gives a ‘who who’ over who says who or whom, except for a few humorless ‘whomorists’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-thirteen/no-one-really-gives-a-who-who-over-who-says-who-or-whom-except-for-a/) [Terence Thirteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-thirteen/) > [The majority of philosophers are totally humorless. That's part of their trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-williams/the-majority-of-philosophers-are-totally-humorless-that-s-part-of/) [Bernard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-williams/) > [“There seems to be no lengths to which humorless people will not go to analyze humor. It seems to worry them." Robert Benchley (1889-1945)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/there-seems-to-be-no-lengths-to-which-humorless-people-will-not-go-to/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Fight any instinct to be humorless, for humorlessness is the worst of all absurdities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/fight-any-instinct-to-be-humorless-for-humorlessness-is-the-worst-of/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [My logisticians are a humorless lot ... they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/my-logisticians-are-a-humorless-lot-they-know-if-my-campaign-fails/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) ## More by Anthony Powell > [I was impressed for the ten thousandth time by the fact that literature illuminates life only for those to whom books are a necessity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-was-impressed-for-the-ten-thousandth-time-by-the-fact-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Like everything that's any good, it has about twenty different meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/like-everything-that-s-any-good-it-has-about-twenty-different-meanings/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I have absolutely no histrionic talent, none at all, a constitutional handicap in almost all undertakings of life;but then, after all, plenty of actors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-have-absolutely-no-histrionic-talent-none-at-all-a-constitutional/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“The crematorium was a blaze of sunshine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/the-crematorium-was-a-blaze-of-sunshine/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Parents. . . are sometimes a bit of a disappointment to their children. They don't fulfil the promise of their early years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/parents-are-sometimes-a-bit-of-a-disappointment-to-their-children/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Her expression was oafish, but it was on the whole this quality that gave her face a certain retentive efficacy. She had the look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/her-expression-was-oafish-but-it-was-on-the-whole-this-quality-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Enormous simplifications were possibly necessary to carry a deeper truth than lay on the surface of a mass of unsorted detail.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/enormous-simplifications-were-possibly-necessary-to-carry-a-deeper/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I hate anything superficial. But I will take the book and look at it, and tell you what I think of the writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-hate-anything-superficial-but-i-will-take-the-book-and-look-at-it/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“It is rather an occasion, darling,’ said Moreland, vexed at these objections. ‘After all, I am noted among composers for the smallness of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/it-is-rather-an-occasion-darling-said-moreland-vexed-at-these/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“There seemed no particular object in avoiding banality from the start, as the evening showed every sign of developing into a banal one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/there-seemed-no-particular-object-in-avoiding-banality-from-the-start/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Dinner at the Huntercombes possessed only two dramatic features: the wine was a farce and the food a tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/dinner-at-the-huntercombes-possessed-only-two-dramatic-features-the/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Even then I did not recognise the quest for power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/even-then-i-did-not-recognise-the-quest-for-power/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Some of the best of us are quite unambitious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/some-of-the-best-of-us-are-quite-unambitious/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [One passes through the world knowing few, if any, of the important things about even the people with whom one has been from time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/one-passes-through-the-world-knowing-few-if-any-of-the-important/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“He stood pondering this flat, forthright declaration of anti-simianism on Miss Weedon’s part. The notion that some people might not like monkeys was evidently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/he-stood-pondering-this-flat-forthright-declaration-of-anti-simianism/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) [Explore all 156 Anthony Powell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## More Giving quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I don't think my relationship with the idea of womanhood is that attached to giving birth... like, I'm fully aware that I'll never give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-harrison/i-don-t-think-my-relationship-with-the-idea-of-womanhood-is-that/) [Patti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-harrison/) [Browse all 39,303 Giving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Self-pity is essentially humorless, devoid of that lightness of touch which gives understanding of life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Powell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/self-pity-is-essentially-humorless-devoid-of-that-lightness-of-touch/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Giving" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/self-pity-is-essentially-humorless-devoid-of-that-lightness-of-touch/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/anthony-powell-2659_giving_self-pity-is-essentially-humorless-devoi_2993407.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/anthony-powell-2659_giving_self-pity-is-essentially-humorless-devoi_2993407.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/897/anthony-powell-2659_giving_self-pity-is-essentially-humorless-devoi_2993407.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Self-pity is essentially humorless, devoid of that lightness of touch which gives understanding of life.” — Anthony Powell", "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": "Anthony Powell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Self-pity is essentially humorless, devoid of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/self-pity-is-essentially-humorless-devoid-of-that-lightness-of-touch/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/self-pity-is-essentially-humorless-devoid-of-that-lightness-of-touch/#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 } } ] } ```