--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know. Sometimes I think it's…" description: "\"“I don't know. Sometimes I think it's better to suffer bitter unhappiness and to fight and to scream out, and even to suffer that terrible pain, than j..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/betty-smith-1012_suffer_i-don-t-know-sometimes-i-think-it-s-bett_401915.png" --- # I don't know. Sometimes I think it's better to suffer… ![“I don't know. Sometimes I think it's better to suffer bitter unhappiness and to fight and to scream out, and even to suffer that terrible pain, than just to be ... safe. At least she knows she's living.” quote by Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/betty-smith-1012_suffer_i-don-t-know-sometimes-i-think-it-s-bett_401915.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/betty-smith-1012_suffer_i-don-t-know-sometimes-i-think-it-s-bett_401915.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1d/betty-smith-1012_suffer_i-don-t-know-sometimes-i-think-it-s-bett_401915.png) > ““I don't know. Sometimes I think it's better to suffer bitter unhappiness and to fight and to scream out, and even to suffer that terrible pain, than just to be ... safe. At least she knows she's living.”” [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Enduring pain can feel more authentic than a hollow safety, because it affirms that one is truly alive. **In simple terms:** Pain can feel more alive than safety. Key Takeaway Embrace discomfort as proof of living. Themes suffering authenticity existence Mood intense reflective Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - grief - personal crisis - creative struggle - mental health Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does “living” mean to you? - When is safety a barrier to growth? A Different Perspective Suffering may lead to harmful consequences if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Suffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-suffer-292318/) [Bitter Unhappiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter-unhappiness-3602114/) [Suffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffer/) [Suffer Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffer-bitter-3602113/) [Unhappiness Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappiness-fight-3602112/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes I think it's better to suffer bitter unhappiness and to fight and to scream out, and even to suffer that terrible pain, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/sometimes-i-think-it-s-better-to-suffer-bitter-unhappiness-and-to/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“I don’t know,” Miss Lizzie said. “Sometimes I think it’s better to suffer bitter unhappiness and to fight and to scream out, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/i-don-t-know-miss-lizzie-said-sometimes-i-think-it-s-better-to-suffer/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [It is better to suffer once than to be in perpetual apprehension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-caesar/it-is-better-to-suffer-once-than-to-be-in-perpetual-apprehension/) [Julius Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-caesar/) > [“It is better to suffer evil than to do evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/it-is-better-to-suffer-evil-than-to-do-evil/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [For it is better to suffer a little want than to have too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/for-it-is-better-to-suffer-a-little-want-than-to-have-too-much/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Better to suffer than to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/better-to-suffer-than-to-die/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [It is better to suffer wrong than to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-better-to-suffer-wrong-than-to-do-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Better one suffer than a nation grieve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/better-one-suffer-than-a-nation-grieve/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [“It is better to suffer for knowledge than to pleasure in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/it-is-better-to-suffer-for-knowledge-than-to-pleasure-in-ignorance/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [It is better to suffer an injustice than to commit one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/it-is-better-to-suffer-an-injustice-than-to-commit-one/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [It is better to suffer injustice than to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-better-to-suffer-injustice-than-to-do-it/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > ['Tis better to suffer wrong than do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/tis-better-to-suffer-wrong-than-do-it/) [Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/) > [ Better suffer ill, then doe ill. \[Better suffer ill, than do ill.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/better-suffer-ill-then-doe-ill-better-suffer-ill-than-do-ill/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“It is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/it-is-better-to-suffer-wrong-than-to-do-wrong/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [It is better to suffer from the truth than to be rewarded from a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain3031/it-is-better-to-suffer-from-the-truth-than-to-be-rewarded-from-a-lie/) [Rain3031](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain3031/) ## More by Betty Smith > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Several times that day, the name or thought of Papa had come up. And each time, Francie had felt a flash of tenderness instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/several-times-that-day-the-name-or-thought-of-papa-had-come-up-and/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [As long as one can suffer, one is living…live and suffer until life is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/as-long-as-one-can-suffer-one-is-living-live-and-suffer-until-life-is/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Sissy told them they were way behind the times; that midwives were things of the past. Besides, she informed them proudly, she had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/sissy-told-them-they-were-way-behind-the-times-that-midwives-were/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Why, Mrs McGarrity's all right. Mr McGarrity's all right, too. Only I guess they aren't all right to each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/why-mrs-mcgarrity-s-all-right-mr-mcgarrity-s-all-right-too-only-i/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“I drink because I don't stand a chance and I know it. I couldn't drive a truck and I couldn't get on the cops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/i-drink-because-i-don-t-stand-a-chance-and-i-know-it-i-couldn-t-drive/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Pipe dreams, he thought to himself, even while he was telling her about his dream winnings. But oh, how wonderful, he thought, if everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/pipe-dreams-he-thought-to-himself-even-while-he-was-telling-her-about/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Who wants to die? Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating. It gets no sun, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/who-wants-to-die-everything-struggles-to-live-look-at-that-tree/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [It takes a lot of doing to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/it-takes-a-lot-of-doing-to-die/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“She sat in the sunshine watching the life on the street and guarding within herself, her own mystery of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/she-sat-in-the-sunshine-watching-the-life-on-the-street-and-guarding/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [...the reading, the observing, the living from day to day. It was something that had been born into her and her only - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/the-reading-the-observing-the-living-from-day-to-day-it-was-something/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [People always think that happiness is a faraway thing … something complicated and hard to get. Yet, what little things can make it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/people-always-think-that-happiness-is-a-faraway-thing-something/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Hildy O’Dair is old for her age,” she thought. “It’s like powder was sprinkled on her yellow hair. But she’s not much older than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/hildy-o-dair-is-old-for-her-age-she-thought-it-s-like-powder-was/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“One day they’re babies in buggies and the next day they’re in here taking picks. Kids grow up quick in this neighborhood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/one-day-they-re-babies-in-buggies-and-the-next-day-they-re-in-here/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“If she never had any lovers, she kicks herself around when the change comes, thinking of all the fun she could have had, didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/if-she-never-had-any-lovers-she-kicks-herself-around-when-the-change/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) [Explore all 306 Betty Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) ## More Suffer quotes > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [“No matter what torture they inflict, don’t let them see you suffer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sansa-rayne/no-matter-what-torture-they-inflict-don-t-let-them-see-you-suffer/) [Sansa Rayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sansa-rayne/) > [“Magrat wondered what it was like, spending your whole life doing something you didn’t want to do. Like being dead, she considered, only worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/magrat-wondered-what-it-was-like-spending-your-whole-life-doing/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [You must suffer me to go my own dark way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-must-suffer-me-to-go-my-own-dark-way/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [As long as one can suffer, one is living…live and suffer until life is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/as-long-as-one-can-suffer-one-is-living-live-and-suffer-until-life-is/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [And remember, you shall suffer all things and again suffer: until you have sufficient sufferance to accept all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/and-remember-you-shall-suffer-all-things-and-again-suffer-until-you/) [Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/) > [I unfortunately do suffer for my art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-unfortunately-do-suffer-for-my-art/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [He who causes suffering shall suffer. There is no escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/he-who-causes-suffering-shall-suffer-there-is-no-escape/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [I wanted to put a human face on anxiety disorders. I thought people who suffer from anxiety might recognize themselves and gain some comfort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stossel/i-wanted-to-put-a-human-face-on-anxiety-disorders-i-thought-people/) [Scott Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stossel/) > [We suffer as a result of our own actions; it is unfair to blame anybody for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarada-devi/we-suffer-as-a-result-of-our-own-actions-it-is-unfair-to-blame/) [Sarada Devi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarada-devi/) > [Poverty urges us to do and suffer anything that we may escape from it, and so leads us away from virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/poverty-urges-us-to-do-and-suffer-anything-that-we-may-escape-from-it/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“My heart’s afraid it’ll have to suffer….”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/my-heart-s-afraid-it-ll-have-to-suffer/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Many people, especially young people, would like to be more independent and on their own. But it is very difficult and they suffer from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/many-people-especially-young-people-would-like-to-be-more-independent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Life is a big fire, you suffer through it but it takes u higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sb/life-is-a-big-fire-you-suffer-through-it-but-it-takes-u-higher/) [Sb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sb/) > [No one should ever suffer in silence. Bullies thrive in silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-whittle/no-one-should-ever-suffer-in-silence-bullies-thrive-in-silence/) [Ricky Whittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-whittle/) [Browse all 1,044 Suffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I don't know. 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