--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who have never suffered the…" description: "\"Those who have never suffered the iniquities of exile cannot possibly understand the significance, the gravitas, of a mattress.\" — Ariel Dorfman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ariel-dorfman-26206_exile_those-who-have-never-suffered-the-iniqui_678330.jpg" --- # Those who have never suffered the iniquities of exile… ![“Those who have never suffered the iniquities of exile cannot possibly understand the significance, the gravitas, of a mattress.” quote by Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ariel-dorfman-26206_exile_those-who-have-never-suffered-the-iniqui_678330.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ariel-dorfman-26206_exile_those-who-have-never-suffered-the-iniqui_678330.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ariel-dorfman-26206_exile_those-who-have-never-suffered-the-iniqui_678330.jpg) > “Those who have never suffered the iniquities of exile cannot possibly understand the significance, the gravitas, of a mattress.” [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Exile creates a deep, often unspoken, connection to ordinary objects like a mattress. **In simple terms:** Exile makes simple things profoundly meaningful. Key Takeaway Value everyday objects for their emotional weight. Themes exile memory material culture Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - traveling abroad - reflecting on home - writing memoirs Key Concepts Psychology of belonging symbolic objects Questions to Reflect On - How do objects anchor identity? - What makes a mattress symbolic? A Different Perspective Not all exiles feel the same intensity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exile/) [Gravitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravitas/) [Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance/) ## Related quotes > [It would be awesome to be so impressive that we could sway people to our way of thinking just by declaiming our thoughts, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/it-would-be-awesome-to-be-so-impressive-that-we-could-sway-people-to/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [Gravitas is the soup bone in the stew of television news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/gravitas-is-the-soup-bone-in-the-stew-of-television-news/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I think there is a certain gravitas about me. My energy can be very big and yet contained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marvel/i-think-there-is-a-certain-gravitas-about-me-my-energy-can-be-very/) [Elizabeth Marvel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marvel/) > [Part of me also knows that this generation is the least racist and most pro-gay, so that's great. But they have a real lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-behrendt/part-of-me-also-knows-that-this-generation-is-the-least-racist-and/) [Greg Behrendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-behrendt/) > [Bikers, in general, have just been so attractive to people. 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Serious and moving in voice and ambition, this passionately lyrical and articulate work reminds me very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoagland/these-poems-possess-intelligence-erudition-gravitas-and-urgency/) [Tony Hoagland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoagland/) > [I wasn't allowed to be clever when I was young and blonde, but now I am 50 and an old blonde, I am allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/i-wasn-t-allowed-to-be-clever-when-i-was-young-and-blonde-but-now-i/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) > [It's curiosity, and always a sense of poetry. You see it in particular in the chapter "Iceland" where I'm reciting ancient Icelandic poetry. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/it-s-curiosity-and-always-a-sense-of-poetry-you-see-it-in-particular/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [Lestat and Louie feel sorry for vampires that sparkle in the sun. They would never hurt immortals who choose to spend eternity going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/lestat-and-louie-feel-sorry-for-vampires-that-sparkle-in-the-sun-they/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) ## More by Ariel Dorfman > [Most writers who leave their country physically have already left it mentally and emotionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/most-writers-who-leave-their-country-physically-have-already-left-it/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [Beware of turning into the enemy you most fear. All it takes is to lash out violently at someone who has done you some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/beware-of-turning-into-the-enemy-you-most-fear-all-it-takes-is-to/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [Life may unfold chronologically for the body and for bureaucracies that keep track of such things as births, marriages, deaths, visas, tax returns, expulsions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the-body-and-for-bureaucracies/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [You want to free the world, free humanity, from oppression? Look inside, look sideways, look at the hidden violence of language. Never forget that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/you-want-to-free-the-world-free-humanity-from-oppression-look-inside/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [I think to be in exile is a curse, and you need to turn it into a blessing. Youve been thrown into exile to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/i-think-to-be-in-exile-is-a-curse-and-you-need-to-turn-it-into-a/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [“She was not willing to let others narrate her life and her death. While there is one person like her in this world, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/she-was-not-willing-to-let-others-narrate-her-life-and-her-death/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [Responsibility without power, the fate of the secretary through the ages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/responsibility-without-power-the-fate-of-the-secretary-through-the/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [Can't the United States see that when we allow someone to be tortured by our agents, it is not only the victim and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/can-t-the-united-states-see-that-when-we-allow-someone-to-be-tortured/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [I feel as if I can take Indian stories, make them mine and take them to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/i-feel-as-if-i-can-take-indian-stories-make-them-mine-and-take-them/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [This America has been the country of greed rather than the country of need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/this-america-has-been-the-country-of-greed-rather-than-the-country-of/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [Torture presupposes, it requires, it craves the abrogation of our capacity to imagine others suffering, dehumanizing them so much that their pain is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/torture-presupposes-it-requires-it-craves-the-abrogation-of-our/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [“Gerardo; People can die from an excessive dose of the truth, you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/gerardo-people-can-die-from-an-excessive-dose-of-the-truth-you-know/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [“A wave of embarrassment washed over him, and he checked to see if any of his posters had noticed. They stayed put, emotionless and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/a-wave-of-embarrassment-washed-over-him-and-he-checked-to-see-if-any/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [I'm a mongrel in the sense that I'm Spanish, English, Latino, Jewish, north, south - all these things are mixed in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/i-m-a-mongrel-in-the-sense-that-i-m-spanish-english-latino-jewish/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [There's a tendency, especially among revolutionaries, to only show the good side of yourself and then when you come to power, the bad side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/there-s-a-tendency-especially-among-revolutionaries-to-only-show-the/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) [Explore all 22 Ariel Dorfman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) ## More Exile quotes > [Were you indeed not blinded by the Curse Of Self-exile, that still grows worse and worse, Yourselves would know that, though you see him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farid-al-din-attar/were-you-indeed-not-blinded-by-the-curse-of-self-exile-that-still/) [Farid al-Din Attar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farid-al-din-attar/) > [What can my enemies do to me? My paradise is in my heart, it is with me wherever I go. To imprison me is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-taymiyyah/what-can-my-enemies-do-to-me-my-paradise-is-in-my-heart-it-is-with-me/) [Ibn Taymiyyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-taymiyyah/) > [To live is to hurt others, and through others, to hurt oneself. Cruel earth! How can we manage not to touch anything? To find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/to-live-is-to-hurt-others-and-through-others-to-hurt-oneself-cruel/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I had severed relations with the Romanian exiles who had become politically conservative and even extremely right wing; I was giving chess lessons to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dumitru-tepeneag/i-had-severed-relations-with-the-romanian-exiles-who-had-become/) [Dumitru Tepeneag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dumitru-tepeneag/) > [They came to know the incorrigible sorrow of all prisoners and exiles, which is to live in company with a memory that serves no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/they-came-to-know-the-incorrigible-sorrow-of-all-prisoners-and-exiles/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Independence didn't have to be exile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-alvarez/independence-didn-t-have-to-be-exile/) [Julia Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-alvarez/) > [In our culture of constant access and nonstop media, nothing feels more like a curse from God than time in the wilderness. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/in-our-culture-of-constant-access-and-nonstop-media-nothing-feels/) [Jonathan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/) > [“The growth of his power and fame was matched, in my imagination, by the degree of the punishment I would have liked to inflict…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nabokov-i-tyrants-destroyed-i/the-growth-of-his-power-and-fame-was-matched-in-my-imagination-by-the/) Nabokov i Tyrants Destroyed i > [I turned what was a wonderful case of self-reliance into a case of self-exile. Which is not uncommon, I think, in people who grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-newman/i-turned-what-was-a-wonderful-case-of-self-reliance-into-a-case-of/) [Leigh Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-newman/) > [Humor is widely used by Indians to deal with life. Indian gatherings are marked by laughter and jokes, many directed at the horrors of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-gunn-allen/humor-is-widely-used-by-indians-to-deal-with-life-indian-gatherings/) [Paula Gunn Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-gunn-allen/) > [The Gnostics believed that exile was the essential condition of man. Do you agree? I do. The artist and the addict both wrestle with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-gnostics-believed-that-exile-was-the-essential-condition-of-man/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The perpetuation of slavery, the exile and extermination of American Indians, and the passage of Jim Crow laws weren't carried out at the bidding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-perpetuation-of-slavery-the-exile-and-extermination-of-american/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [In New York City, everyone is an exile, none more so than the Americans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/in-new-york-city-everyone-is-an-exile-none-more-so-than-the-americans/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [I have always seen the Clinton Foundation - yes, they do a lot of charitable good works. But by my lights, the charitable good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/i-have-always-seen-the-clinton-foundation-yes-they-do-a-lot-of/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [We live in an era where masses of people come and go across a hostile planet, desolate and violent. Refugees, emigrants, exiles, deportees. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/we-live-in-an-era-where-masses-of-people-come-and-go-across-a-hostile/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) [Browse all 512 Exile quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exile/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those who have never suffered the iniquities of exile cannot possibly understand the significance, the gravitas, of a mattress.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ariel Dorfman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/those-who-have-never-suffered-the-iniquities-of-exile-cannot-possibly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Exile" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/those-who-have-never-suffered-the-iniquities-of-exile-cannot-possibly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ariel-dorfman-26206_exile_those-who-have-never-suffered-the-iniqui_678330.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ariel-dorfman-26206_exile_those-who-have-never-suffered-the-iniqui_678330.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ariel-dorfman-26206_exile_those-who-have-never-suffered-the-iniqui_678330.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those who have never suffered the iniquities of exile cannot possibly understand the significance, the…” — Ariel Dorfman", "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": "Ariel Dorfman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Those who have never suffered the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/those-who-have-never-suffered-the-iniquities-of-exile-cannot-possibly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/those-who-have-never-suffered-the-iniquities-of-exile-cannot-possibly/#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 } } ] } ```