--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sunday morning dawned bright and…" description: "\"“Sunday morning dawned bright and cloudless. Ernest awoke early as always. He put on the red \"Emporor's robe\" and padded softly down the carpeted stair..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/carlos-baker-70820_gaze_sunday-morning-dawned-bright-and-cloudle_2722152.jpg" --- # Sunday morning dawned bright and cloudless. Ernest awoke… ![“Sunday morning dawned bright and cloudless. Ernest awoke early as always. He put on the red "Emporor's robe" and padded softly down the carpeted stairway. The early sunlight lay in pools on the living room floor. He had noticed that the guns were locked up in the basement. But the keys, as he well…” quote by Carlos Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/carlos-baker-70820_gaze_sunday-morning-dawned-bright-and-cloudle_2722152.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/carlos-baker-70820_gaze_sunday-morning-dawned-bright-and-cloudle_2722152.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bb/carlos-baker-70820_gaze_sunday-morning-dawned-bright-and-cloudle_2722152.jpg) > ““Sunday morning dawned bright and cloudless. Ernest awoke early as always. He put on the red "Emporor's robe" and padded softly down the carpeted stairway. The early sunlight lay in pools on the living room floor. He had noticed that the guns were locked up in the basement. But the keys, as he well knew, were on the window ledge above the kitchen sink. He tiptoed down the basement stairs and unlocked the storage room. It smelled as dank as a grave. He chose a double-barreled Boss shotgun with a tight choke. He had used it for years of pigeon shooting. He took some shells from one of the boxes in the storage room, closed and locked the door, and climbed the basement stairs. If he saw the bright day outside, it did not deter him. He crossed the living room to the front foyer, a shrinelike entryway five by seven feet, with oak-paneled walls and a floor of linoleum tile. He had held for years to the maxim: "il faut (d'abord) durer". Now it had been succeeded by another: "il faut (apres tout) mourir". The idea, if not the phrase, filled all his mind. He slipped in two shells, lowered the gun butt carefully to the floor, leaned forward, pressed the twin barrels against his forehead just above the eyebrows, and tripped both triggers.”” Carlos Baker ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man contemplates suicide, reflecting on life’s impermanence and inevitability of death, choosing to end his life despite the bright day outside. **In simple terms:** He decides to kill himself, feeling life is fleeting and ending is inevitable. Key Takeaway Acknowledge mortality, seek help before acting. Themes mortality despair existentialism Mood somber tragic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - mental health - isolated individuals - early morning routines Key Concepts nihilism fatalism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What drove him to this final act? - How could external support have changed his choice? A Different Perspective The narrative lacks context about his mental state, making it hard to assess underlying causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-room/) [Sunday morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunday-morning/) ## Related quotes > [It's sometimes better to pretend I don't hear the sound of somebody in the nearby woods with a shotgun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/it-s-sometimes-better-to-pretend-i-don-t-hear-the-sound-of-somebody/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [If I had a shotgun, know what I'd do, I'd point that shit straight at the sky and shoot heaven on down to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-nowell/if-i-had-a-shotgun-know-what-i-d-do-i-d-point-that-shit-straight-at/) [Brad Nowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-nowell/) > [I got a shotgun, a rifle, and a four-wheel drive and a country GIRL can survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-got-a-shotgun-a-rifle-and-a-four-wheel-drive-and-a-country-girl-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My cousin cleaned out a shotgun for me and let me carry it around the house, because he said, 'Anybody who knows anything about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lawrence/my-cousin-cleaned-out-a-shotgun-for-me-and-let-me-carry-it-around-the/) [Jennifer Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lawrence/) > [Monk on the hunt for machine gun foes I keeps you open like a slug from the shotgun punk. 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In a completely unrelated topic, have you seen my shotgun?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-sivec/a-shirt-that-said-sure-you-can-date-my-daughter-in-a-completely/) [Tara Sivec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-sivec/) > [Berretts mi 12 guage nyam it. De shotgun vomit, yuh head shot slam it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aidonia/berretts-mi-12-guage-nyam-it-de-shotgun-vomit-yuh-head-shot-slam-it/) [Aidonia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidonia/) > [“I had the shotgun. I was also carrying my two pistols, two knives, and a derringer stuffed in the pocket of my jacket. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/i-had-the-shotgun-i-was-also-carrying-my-two-pistols-two-knives-and-a/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [It's harder and more sporting to hunt turkey with a shotgun, because it is difficult to get next to them with a scattergun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fuller/it-s-harder-and-more-sporting-to-hunt-turkey-with-a-shotgun-because/) [Robert Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fuller/) > [To a police officer, a sawed off shotgun is the ultimate nightmare. You can blow someone in half!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-seagal/to-a-police-officer-a-sawed-off-shotgun-is-the-ultimate-nightmare-you/) [Steven Seagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-seagal/) > [News flash, lady. There are no queens anymore,” Shane said. He loaded shells in a shotgun and snapped it shut, then searched for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/news-flash-lady-there-are-no-queens-anymore-shane-said-he-loaded/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [“After my daughter was born, I'd considered buying a shotgun to ward off potention suitors fourteen or so years up the road. Now, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/after-my-daughter-was-born-i-d-considered-buying-a-shotgun-to-ward/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [“That sound, the sound of a shell inserted into the receiver of the shotgun changed everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perry-perrett/that-sound-the-sound-of-a-shell-inserted-into-the-receiver-of-the/) Perry Perrett ## More by Carlos Baker > [“We're kicking our way into adolescence from the minute we're born. Gradually you form your own ideas of how you should lead your life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-baker/we-re-kicking-our-way-into-adolescence-from-the-minute-we-re-born/) Carlos Baker > [“Anyone who had died young after a happy childhood had won a great victory, since he would be forever spared the discovery of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-baker/anyone-who-had-died-young-after-a-happy-childhood-had-won-a-great/) Carlos Baker > [“But the past, he concluded, was as dead as a smashed Victrola record. "Chasing yesterdays," said he, "is a bum show".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-baker/but-the-past-he-concluded-was-as-dead-as-a-smashed-victrola-record/) Carlos Baker Explore all 4 Carlos Baker quotes ## More Gaze quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. 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"Yes, you, the invisible truck driver," she added, giving me a wicked grin. "Go stand next to Rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/now-you-grandma-barks-at-him-yes-you-the-invisible-truck-driver-she/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [His fingertips slid down from my face, lightly stroking the line of my neck, down toward my shoulder. Everywhere he touched, a trail of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/his-fingertips-slid-down-from-my-face-lightly-stroking-the-line-of-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) > [“You know when I said I didn't need you?" I asked. He lifted one brow. 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What the devil was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-dare/this-explains-so-much-she-said-clucking-her-tongue-in-mother-hen/) [Tessa Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-dare/) Browse all 15,087 Gaze quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sunday morning dawned bright and cloudless. Ernest awoke early as always. He put on the red \"Emporor's robe\" and padded softly down the carpeted stairway. The early sunlight lay in pools on the living room floor. He had noticed that the guns were locked up in the basement. But the keys, as he well knew, were on the window ledge above the kitchen sink. He tiptoed down the basement stairs and unlocked the storage room. It smelled as dank as a grave. He chose a double-barreled Boss shotgun with a tight choke. He had used it for years of pigeon shooting. He took some shells from one of the boxes in the storage room, closed and locked the door, and climbed the basement stairs. 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