--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A possession considered of little value…" description: "\"A possession considered of little value up to now suddenly becomes precious to a person if another person desires it, don't you think?\" — Christa Wolf" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/297/christa-wolf-15775_desire_a-possession-considered-of-little-value_147842.jpg" --- # A possession considered of little value up to now suddenly… ![“A possession considered of little value up to now suddenly becomes precious to a person if another person desires it, don't you think?” quote by Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/297/christa-wolf-15775_desire_a-possession-considered-of-little-value_147842.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/297/christa-wolf-15775_desire_a-possession-considered-of-little-value_147842.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/297/christa-wolf-15775_desire_a-possession-considered-of-little-value_147842.jpg) > “A possession considered of little value up to now suddenly becomes precious to a person if another person desires it, don't you think?” [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Value of an object rises when others desire it, revealing social influence on worth. **In simple terms:** Desire by others makes things valuable. Key Takeaway Recognize social bias in value judgments. Themes value desire social influence Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - marketing - collectible markets - gift giving - status symbols Key Concepts subjectivity economics Questions to Reflect On - Why do we value things because others want them? - Can value exist without external desire? A Different Perspective May ignore intrinsic worth independent of desire. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Person Desires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-desires-1280868/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) [Possession Considered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession-considered-1651699/) [Suddenly Precious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suddenly-precious-1651700/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Value Suddenly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-suddenly-1651701/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [“I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not move quickly enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly-precious-water-going-down-an-open/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Love? I wanted to go with him, to be on the stronger side, for him to spare me, like one who seeks shelter in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/love-i-wanted-to-go-with-him-to-be-on-the-stronger-side-for-him-to/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“The person who desires to leave things better than he found them, who does more than his share, who is not attached to rewards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wu-wei/the-person-who-desires-to-leave-things-better-than-he-found-them-who/) [Wu Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wu-wei/) > [“features that speak much more to what a middle-aged person desires for a parent than to what the parent does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/features-that-speak-much-more-to-what-a-middle-aged-person-desires/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [“On any person who desires such queer prizes, New York will bestow the gift of loneliness and the gift of privacy… No one should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white-2/on-any-person-who-desires-such-queer-prizes-new-york-will-bestow-the-2/) [E.B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white-2/) > [A person whose desires and impulses are his own—are the expression of his own nature, as it has been developed and modified by his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/a-person-whose-desires-and-impulses-are-his-own-are-the-expression-of/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [“A person's desires, the things a person found beautiful, were probably best kept to oneself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lodato/a-person-s-desires-the-things-a-person-found-beautiful-were-probably/) [Victor Lodato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lodato/) > [A thoroughly socialized person is one who desires only the rewards that others around him have agreed he should long for - rewards often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/a-thoroughly-socialized-person-is-one-who-desires-only-the-rewards/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [To the person who desires nothing and does not get entangled in desires, the manifold changes of nature are one panorama of beauty and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/to-the-person-who-desires-nothing-and-does-not-get-entangled-in/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [When you see a person who hints too much, so be sure that person is a very weak, coward person who his desires are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gigi/when-you-see-a-person-who-hints-too-much-so-be-sure-that-person-is-a/) [Gigi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gigi/) > [PROPERTY, n. Any material thing, having no particular value, that may be held by A against the cupidity of B. Whatever gratifies the passion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/property-n-any-material-thing-having-no-particular-value-that-may-be/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The gospel assures you that your value is not dependent on your looks or material possessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-l-jack/the-gospel-assures-you-that-your-value-is-not-dependent-on-your-looks/) [Elaine L. Jack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-l-jack/) > [The privilege of prayer to me is one of the most cherished possessions, because faith and experience alike convince me that God himself sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-grenfell/the-privilege-of-prayer-to-me-is-one-of-the-most-cherished/) [Wilfred Grenfell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-grenfell/) > [Never be too busy for the people you love. Never allow pursuits or possessions to become bigger priorities than your relationships. Love is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-willis/never-be-too-busy-for-the-people-you-love-never-allow-pursuits-or/) [Dave Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-willis/) > [In sports teams, apart from talk of sporting prowess and the imparting of inspirational thought, an extraordinary amount of time is spent discussing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsha-bhogle/in-sports-teams-apart-from-talk-of-sporting-prowess-and-the-imparting/) [Harsha Bhogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsha-bhogle/) ## More by Christa Wolf > [I forget very fast and want to record thus simply impress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/i-forget-very-fast-and-want-to-record-thus-simply-impress/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [The past is not dead - it isn't even past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/the-past-is-not-dead-it-isn-t-even-past/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [“I often wonder if the bill is yet to be presented during our lifetime. If not, I must present it to myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/i-often-wonder-if-the-bill-is-yet-to-be-presented-during-our-lifetime/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [To prevent wars, people must criticize, in their own country, the abuses that occur in their own country. The role taboos play in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/to-prevent-wars-people-must-criticize-in-their-own-country-the-abuses/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [It is this ability to bear what is unbearable and to go on living, to go on doing what one is used to doing—it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/it-is-this-ability-to-bear-what-is-unbearable-and-to-go-on-living-to/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [“The real question is: How sturdy and solid is the floor our civilization stands on? How many lives with no prospects, shattered and senseless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/the-real-question-is-how-sturdy-and-solid-is-the-floor-our/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [Autonomous people, nations, and systems can promote each other's welfare; they do not have to fight each other like those whose inner insecurity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/autonomous-people-nations-and-systems-can-promote-each-other-s/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [“Wir können, was wir sehen, noch nicht glauben. Was wir schon glauben, nicht aussprechen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/wir-k-nnen-was-wir-sehen-noch-nicht-glauben-was-wir-schon-glauben/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [I claim that every woman in this century and in our culture sphere who has ventured into male-dominated institutions - 'literature' and 'aesthetics' are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/i-claim-that-every-woman-in-this-century-and-in-our-culture-sphere/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [Between killing and dying there's a third way: live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/between-killing-and-dying-there-s-a-third-way-live/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [“Every system of power in the world has a vested interest in weakening the individuality of its subjects and tries to weaken or it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/every-system-of-power-in-the-world-has-a-vested-interest-in-weakening/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [Night thoughts have a different color than day thoughts, a different slant, more than anything else they know all the secret paths and chinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/night-thoughts-have-a-different-color-than-day-thoughts-a-different/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [The most beautiful thing under the sun is being under the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/the-most-beautiful-thing-under-the-sun-is-being-under-the-sun/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [When we stop hoping, that which we fear will certainly come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/when-we-stop-hoping-that-which-we-fear-will-certainly-come/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) > [You love tenderly and warmly, but your love is like friendship. That's why you have good friends, you're sociable, sympathetic toward people. Until this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/you-love-tenderly-and-warmly-but-your-love-is-like-friendship-that-s/) [Christa Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) [Explore all 21 Christa Wolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“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/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A possession considered of little value up to now suddenly becomes precious to a person if another person desires it, don't you think?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christa Wolf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/a-possession-considered-of-little-value-up-to-now-suddenly-becomes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/a-possession-considered-of-little-value-up-to-now-suddenly-becomes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/297/christa-wolf-15775_desire_a-possession-considered-of-little-value_147842.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/297/christa-wolf-15775_desire_a-possession-considered-of-little-value_147842.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/297/christa-wolf-15775_desire_a-possession-considered-of-little-value_147842.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A possession considered of little value up to now suddenly becomes precious to a person if another person…” — Christa Wolf", "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": "Christa Wolf", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christa-wolf/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A possession considered of little value...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/a-possession-considered-of-little-value-up-to-now-suddenly-becomes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christa-wolf/a-possession-considered-of-little-value-up-to-now-suddenly-becomes/#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 } } ] } ```