---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I considered; my life was so wretched it…"
description: "\"“I considered; my life was so wretched it must be changed, or I must die. After a season of darkness and struggling, light broke and relief fell. My cr..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/charlotte-bronte-144_darkness_i-considered-my-life-was-so-wretched-it_2998460.jpg"
---

#  I considered; my life was so wretched it must be changed…

![“I considered; my life was so wretched it must be changed, or I must die. After a season of darkness and struggling, light broke and relief fell. My cramped existence all at once spread out to a plain without bounds...” quote by Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/charlotte-bronte-144_darkness_i-considered-my-life-was-so-wretched-it_2998460.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/charlotte-bronte-144_darkness_i-considered-my-life-was-so-wretched-it_2998460.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/charlotte-bronte-144_darkness_i-considered-my-life-was-so-wretched-it_2998460.jpg)

> ““I considered; my life was so wretched it must be changed, or I must die. After a season of darkness and struggling, light broke and relief fell. My cramped existence all at once spread out to a plain without bounds...””

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

## About This Quote

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

Despair drives a desire for change; after darkness, light and freedom emerge, expanding one’s horizons.

**In simple terms:** Despair leads to change and new possibilities.

Key Takeaway

Seek transformation after hardship.

Themes

despair hope transformation

Mood

reflective hopeful

Type

literary inspirational

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- therapy sessions
- life transitions

Key Concepts

existential change personal liberation

Questions to Reflect On

- What darkness have you overcome?
- How did emerging light reshape your life?

A Different Perspective

Change can be frightening and uncertain.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

## Related quotes

> [“David Levithan lives in the best of times and the worst of times, the age of wisdom and the age of foolishness, the epoch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/david-levithan-lives-in-the-best-of-times-and-the-worst-of-times-the/)

[David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/)

> [Waiting for the Lord in a season of darkness should not be a time of inactivity. We should do what we can do. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/waiting-for-the-lord-in-a-season-of-darkness-should-not-be-a-time-of/)

[John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/)

> [“Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/light-it-was-the-season-of-darkness-it-was-the-spring-of-hope-it-was/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [Is life so wretched? Isn't it rather your hands which are too small, your vision which is muddled? You are the one who must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/is-life-so-wretched-isn-t-it-rather-your-hands-which-are-too-small/)

[Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/)

> [An income means life to wretched mortals, but it is a terrible fate to die among the waves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/an-income-means-life-to-wretched-mortals-but-it-is-a-terrible-fate-to/)

[Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/)

> [Money is life to us wretched mortals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesiod/money-is-life-to-us-wretched-mortals/)

[Hesiod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesiod/)

> [Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both...Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/life-is-glorious-but-life-is-also-wretched-it-is-both-life-is/)

[Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/)

> [“My life seemed so wretched, the future so hopeless, the past so black!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/my-life-seemed-so-wretched-the-future-so-hopeless-the-past-so-black/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [“I can understand the ignorant masses loving to soak themselves in drink—oh, yes, it's very shocking that they should, of course—very shocking to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/i-can-understand-the-ignorant-masses-loving-to-soak-themselves-in/)

[Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/)

> [Life is a wretched gray Saturday, but it has to be lived through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/life-is-a-wretched-gray-saturday-but-it-has-to-be-lived-through/)

[Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/)

> [The best education in the world is that got by struggling to get a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-best-education-in-the-world-is-that-got-by-struggling-to-get-a/)

[Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/)

> [The world around us is an increasingly hostile and sinful place. Occasionally that splashes onto us, and perhaps, in the case of a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-world-around-us-is-an-increasingly-hostile-and-sinful-place/)

[Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/)

> [I have been struggling to find my way back into my body my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/i-have-been-struggling-to-find-my-way-back-into-my-body-my-whole-life/)

[Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/)

> [I want to help people struggling with whatever it is they're going through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santan-dave/i-want-to-help-people-struggling-with-whatever-it-is-they-re-going/)

[Santan Dave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santan-dave/)

> [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

## More by Charlotte Brontë

> [When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should - so hard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/when-we-are-struck-at-without-a-reason-we-should-strike-back-again/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“A deal of people, Miss, are for trusting all to Providence; but I say Providence will not dispense with the means, though He often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/a-deal-of-people-miss-are-for-trusting-all-to-providence-but-i-say/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“This night is not calm; the equinox still struggles in its storms. The wild rains of the day are abated; the great single cloud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/this-night-is-not-calm-the-equinox-still-struggles-in-its-storms-the/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“How dare I, Mrs Reed? How dare I? Because it is the truth. You think I have no feelings, and that I can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/how-dare-i-mrs-reed-how-dare-i-because-it-is-the-truth-you-think-i/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the acutest men are often under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-men-could-see-us-as-we-really-are-they-would-be-a-little-amazed/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [Poverty, for me, is synonymous with degradation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/poverty-for-me-is-synonymous-with-degradation/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [When his first-born was put into his arms, he could see that the boy had inherited his own eyes, as they once were -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/when-his-first-born-was-put-into-his-arms-he-could-see-that-the-boy/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [Talented people almost always know full well the excellence that is in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/talented-people-almost-always-know-full-well-the-excellence-that-is/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“Not one spark of spirit, not one symptom of resistance, would they have shown till the hand of the Corsican bandit had grasped that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/not-one-spark-of-spirit-not-one-symptom-of-resistance-would-they-have/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“Love can excuse anything except meanness; but meanness kills love, cripples even natural affection; without esteem true love cannot exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/love-can-excuse-anything-except-meanness-but-meanness-kills-love/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [I think you will learn to be natural with me, as I find it impossible to be conventional with you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-think-you-will-learn-to-be-natural-with-me-as-i-find-it-impossible/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“You are no ruin sir--no lighting-struck tree: you are green and vigorous. Plants will grow about your roots, whether you ask them or not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/you-are-no-ruin-sir-no-lighting-struck-tree-you-are-green-and/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

[Explore all 1,082 Charlotte Brontë quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

## More Darkness quotes

> [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/)

[Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/)

> [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

> [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/)

[Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/)

> [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/)

[Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/)

> [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/)

[anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/)

> [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/)

[Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/)

> [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/)

[Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/)

> [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/)

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

> [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/)

[Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/)

> [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/)

[Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/)

> [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/)

[Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/)

> [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/)

Nicole Gentile

[Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I considered; my life was so wretched it must be changed, or I must die. After a season of darkness and struggling, light broke and relief fell. My cramped existence all at once spread out to a plain without bounds...”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charlotte Brontë"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-considered-my-life-was-so-wretched-it-must-be-changed-or-i-must-die/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Darkness"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-considered-my-life-was-so-wretched-it-must-be-changed-or-i-must-die/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/charlotte-bronte-144_darkness_i-considered-my-life-was-so-wretched-it_2998460.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/charlotte-bronte-144_darkness_i-considered-my-life-was-so-wretched-it_2998460.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/charlotte-bronte-144_darkness_i-considered-my-life-was-so-wretched-it_2998460.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I considered; my life was so wretched it must be changed, or I must die. After a season of darkness and…” — Charlotte Brontë",
                "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": "Charlotte Brontë",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I considered; my life was so...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-considered-my-life-was-so-wretched-it-must-be-changed-or-i-must-die/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-considered-my-life-was-so-wretched-it-must-be-changed-or-i-must-die/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
