---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would be married, but I'd have no wife…"
description: "\"I would be married, but I'd have no wife, I would be married to a single life.\" — Charles Bukowski"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/charles-bukowski-73_life_i-would-be-married-but-i-d-have-no-wife_230779.jpg"
---

#  I would be married, but I'd have no wife, I would be…

![“I would be married, but I'd have no wife, I would be married to a single life.” quote by Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/charles-bukowski-73_life_i-would-be-married-but-i-d-have-no-wife_230779.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/charles-bukowski-73_life_i-would-be-married-but-i-d-have-no-wife_230779.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/charles-bukowski-73_life_i-would-be-married-but-i-d-have-no-wife_230779.jpg)

> “I would be married, but I'd have no wife, I would be married to a single life.”

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Living alone can feel like a marriage to oneself, emphasizing self‑reliance and personal freedom.

**In simple terms:** Being single is like being married to your own life.

Key Takeaway

Value independence, cherish self‑company.

Themes

solitude self‑reliance existence

Mood

reflective melancholic

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- living alone
- self‑reflection
- personal growth

Key Concepts

personal freedom existentialism

Questions to Reflect On

- What does it mean to be married to a single life?
- How can one find fulfillment alone?

A Different Perspective

Isolation may breed loneliness if not managed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Single life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-life/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/)

## Related quotes

> [I think my wife married me for my guacamole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-maclachlan/i-think-my-wife-married-me-for-my-guacamole/)

[Kyle MacLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-maclachlan/)

> [“Many people have asked me, 'How do you make a single life a happy one? My answer is, 'Create the best life possible. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-mcmain-oaks/many-people-have-asked-me-how-do-you-make-a-single-life-a-happy-one/)

[Kristen McMain Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-mcmain-oaks/)

> [I love being married. I was single for a long time, and I just got so sick of finishing my own sentences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-kiley/i-love-being-married-i-was-single-for-a-long-time-and-i-just-got-so/)

[Brian Kiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-kiley/)

> [Well, my wife and I were married in a toilet - it was a marriage of convenience!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-cooper/well-my-wife-and-i-were-married-in-a-toilet-it-was-a-marriage-of/)

[Tommy Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-cooper/)

> [“when suddenly, as if a shelf were shot forth and she stood on it, she said how she was his wife, married years ago…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/when-suddenly-as-if-a-shelf-were-shot-forth-and-she-stood-on-it-she/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“I think you pass your man card off to your wife when you get married. You’re still a man, but you’re her man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-proby/i-think-you-pass-your-man-card-off-to-your-wife-when-you-get-married/)

[Kristen Proby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-proby/)

> [I would be married, but I'd have no wife, I would be married to my Memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/i-would-be-married-but-i-d-have-no-wife-i-would-be-married-to-my/)

[KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/)

> [His tastes were probably formed by whatever wife he was married to at the time and what he could afford.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-hemingway/his-tastes-were-probably-formed-by-whatever-wife-he-was-married-to-at/)

[Jack Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-hemingway/)

> [My wife is married to a part-time husband. That's hard to do. The kids get the short end of the stick, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashad-evans/my-wife-is-married-to-a-part-time-husband-that-s-hard-to-do-the-kids/)

[Rashad Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashad-evans/)

> [My wife's married. I'm not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/my-wife-s-married-i-m-not/)

[Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/)

> [On Retirement: My wife married me for better or worse, but not for lunch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-petersen/on-retirement-my-wife-married-me-for-better-or-worse-but-not-for-lunch/)

Donald Petersen

> [My wife married me when the odds were that I'd be a house-painting bouncer for the rest of my days. She has stuck by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-earl-brown/my-wife-married-me-when-the-odds-were-that-i-d-be-a-house-painting/)

[W. Earl Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-earl-brown/)

> [“My wife married a man; I saw no reason why she should inherit a baby...I am very fortunate in having a wife who likes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/my-wife-married-a-man-i-saw-no-reason-why-she-should-inherit-a-baby-i/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [Chelsea are like a beautiful wife who married a richer man after leaving me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianluca-vialli/chelsea-are-like-a-beautiful-wife-who-married-a-richer-man-after/)

[Gianluca Vialli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianluca-vialli/)

> [“Our testimonies, our closeness to our Father in Heaven, and our ability to serve and love and laugh and enjoy life do not depend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-mcmain-oaks/our-testimonies-our-closeness-to-our-father-in-heaven-and-our-ability/)

[Kristen McMain Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-mcmain-oaks/)

## More by Charles Bukowski

> [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [well, death says, as he walks by, I'm going to get you anyhow no matter what you've been: writer, cab-driver, pimp, butcher, sky-diver, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/well-death-says-as-he-walks-by-i-m-going-to-get-you-anyhow-no-matter/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“There is only one place to write and that is alone at a typewriter. A writer who has to go into the streets is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-only-one-place-to-write-and-that-is-alone-at-a-typewriter-a/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“nerves twitching in the sheets -- to face the sunlight again, that's clearly trouble. I like the city better when the neon lights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/nerves-twitching-in-the-sheets-to-face-the-sunlight-again-that-s/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“Their Love Is Average, Seeks Average But There Is Genius In Their Hatred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/their-love-is-average-seeks-average-but-there-is-genius-in-their/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“I climbed the stairway (there was no elevator) and put the key in. The door swung open. Somebody had changed all the furniture around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-climbed-the-stairway-there-was-no-elevator-and-put-the-key-in-the/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“Strangers when you meet, strangers when you part -a gymnasium of bodies namelessly masturbating each other. People with no morals often considered themselves more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/strangers-when-you-meet-strangers-when-you-part-a-gymnasium-of-bodies/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“I was like a turd that drew flies instead of like a flower that butterflies and bees desired. I wanted to live alone,I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-was-like-a-turd-that-drew-flies-instead-of-like-a-flower-that/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [It's 4:30 in the morning, it's always 4:30 in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/it-s-4-30-in-the-morning-it-s-always-4-30-in-the-morning/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [I had no feeling for the things so many others needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-had-no-feeling-for-the-things-so-many-others-needed/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“I am sick with caring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-sick-with-caring/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [I went home each night dizzy and sick. He was murdering me with the sound of his voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-went-home-each-night-dizzy-and-sick-he-was-murdering-me-with-the/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [“the nights you fight best are when all the weapons are pointed at you, when all the voices hurl their insults while the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-nights-you-fight-best-are-when-all-the-weapons-are-pointed-at-you/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

[Explore all 1,492 Charles Bukowski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

## More Life quotes

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/)

[Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/)

> [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/)

[Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/)

> [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/)

Deanna L. Lawlis

> [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/)

[Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/)

> [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/)

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [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/)

[Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I would be married, but I'd have no wife, I would be married to a single life.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Bukowski"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-would-be-married-but-i-d-have-no-wife-i-would-be-married-to-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-would-be-married-but-i-d-have-no-wife-i-would-be-married-to-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/charles-bukowski-73_life_i-would-be-married-but-i-d-have-no-wife_230779.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/charles-bukowski-73_life_i-would-be-married-but-i-d-have-no-wife_230779.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/charles-bukowski-73_life_i-would-be-married-but-i-d-have-no-wife_230779.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I would be married, but I'd have no wife, I would be married to a single life.” — Charles Bukowski",
                "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": "Charles Bukowski",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I would be married, but I'd...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-would-be-married-but-i-d-have-no-wife-i-would-be-married-to-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-would-be-married-but-i-d-have-no-wife-i-would-be-married-to-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
