--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reality doesn't surprise me. But that's…" description: "\"“Reality doesn't surprise me. But that's not true: I suddenly feel such a hunger for the \"thing to really happen\" that I cry out and bite into reality ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/clarice-lispector-1401_reality_reality-doesn-t-surprise-me-but-that-s-n_2893163.jpg" --- # Reality doesn't surprise me. But that's not true: I… ![“Reality doesn't surprise me. But that's not true: I suddenly feel such a hunger for the "thing to really happen" that I cry out and bite into reality with my lacerating teeth. And afterwards give a sigh over the captive whose flesh I ate. And again, for a long while, I do without real reality and…” quote by Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/clarice-lispector-1401_reality_reality-doesn-t-surprise-me-but-that-s-n_2893163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/clarice-lispector-1401_reality_reality-doesn-t-surprise-me-but-that-s-n_2893163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccd/clarice-lispector-1401_reality_reality-doesn-t-surprise-me-but-that-s-n_2893163.jpg) > ““Reality doesn't surprise me. But that's not true: I suddenly feel such a hunger for the "thing to really happen" that I cry out and bite into reality with my lacerating teeth. And afterwards give a sigh over the captive whose flesh I ate. And again, for a long while, I do without real reality and find comfort in living from my imagination.”” [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker craves an intense, visceral experience of reality, feeling both hunger for it and guilt after consuming it, then retreats into imagination for comfort. **In simple terms:** A yearning for raw reality leads to guilt, so imagination offers refuge. Key Takeaway Balance desire for reality with reflective imagination. Themes desire guilt imagination reality escape Mood intense conflicted reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - artistic creation - personal crisis - mental health coping - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism psychology sensory immersion Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish healthy immersion from destructive obsession? - What role does imagination play after reality feels overwhelming? A Different Perspective The intense craving may be unsustainable and harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bite Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bite-reality-4073817/) [Feel Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-hunger-627968/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-comfort-4073819/) [Reality Lacerating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-lacerating-4073818/) ## Related quotes > [If I don't feel the same hunger as I once did then I definitely shouldn't box any more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lennox-lewis/if-i-don-t-feel-the-same-hunger-as-i-once-did-then-i-definitely/) [Lennox Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lennox-lewis/) > [“I feel a hunger now- a real hunger-for letting the pool still itself & seeing the reflections.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-feel-a-hunger-now-a-real-hunger-for-letting-the-pool-still-itself/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [You cannot imagine the craving for rest that I feel-a hunger and thirst. For six long days, since my work was done, my mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-imagine-the-craving-for-rest-that-i-feel-a-hunger-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We all feel that hunger in football. With Cruyff, it was different. He deepened and changed the hunger so you became conscious of why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pep-guardiola/we-all-feel-that-hunger-in-football-with-cruyff-it-was-different-he/) [Pep Guardiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pep-guardiola/) > [“If you hunger long enough, you won’t feel hunger anymore. That’s what I tell myself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-s-wrights/if-you-hunger-long-enough-you-won-t-feel-hunger-anymore-that-s-what-i/) [D.S. Wrights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-s-wrights/) > [But then there are the van Goghs and Hemingways and Mozarts, those who feel a hunger so deep, so far down, that greatness lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/but-then-there-are-the-van-goghs-and-hemingways-and-mozarts-those-who/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [We all die, we all get sick, we all feel hunger and lust and pain, and therefore human life is consistent from one generation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/we-all-die-we-all-get-sick-we-all-feel-hunger-and-lust-and-pain-and/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Fruitful is the entire life of those, who feel hunger for the Name of the Lord in their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-gobind-singh/fruitful-is-the-entire-life-of-those-who-feel-hunger-for-the-name-of/) [Guru Gobind Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-gobind-singh/) > [Alone, human beings can feel hunger. 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Nature takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/things-are-happening-you-feel-hunger-you-feel-love-you-feel-anger/) [OSHO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [The heart can also be naked like the body and can lose its dress and decoration, which is piety, and it can feel hunger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-al-qayyim/the-heart-can-also-be-naked-like-the-body-and-can-lose-its-dress-and/) [Ibn Al Qayyim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-al-qayyim/) > [“When I was in third grade--the age of many of the boys here--my parents had debated whether or not to buy me a pair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-greitens/when-i-was-in-third-grade-the-age-of-many-of-the-boys-here-my-parents/) [Eric Greitens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-greitens/) > [What can be said about chronic hunger. Perhaps that there's a hunger that can make you sick with hunger. That it comes in addition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/what-can-be-said-about-chronic-hunger-perhaps-that-there-s-a-hunger/) [Herta Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [Because life is short. I feel we’re made of a hunger, a desire for life – if that can be described as a material.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-slean/because-life-is-short-i-feel-we-re-made-of-a-hunger-a-desire-for-life/) [Sarah Slean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-slean/) > [“I can feel her hunger, can see the want in her eyes. Her teeth grow sharp - sharp enough to eat me. And she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-gratton/i-can-feel-her-hunger-can-see-the-want-in-her-eyes-her-teeth-grow/) [Tessa Gratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-gratton/) ## More by Clarice Lispector > [“I find it hard to believe that I shall die. Because I'm bubbling in cold freshness. My life will be very long because each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/i-find-it-hard-to-believe-that-i-shall-die-because-i-m-bubbling-in/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“We shall be inhuman - as humankind's greatest conquest. To be is to be beyond the human. To be a human being doesn't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/we-shall-be-inhuman-as-humankind-s-greatest-conquest-to-be-is-to-be/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [The only truth is that I live. Sincerely, I live. Who am I? Well, that's a bit much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/the-only-truth-is-that-i-live-sincerely-i-live-who-am-i-well-that-s-a/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [Brazil is where I have to be, where I have my roots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/brazil-is-where-i-have-to-be-where-i-have-my-roots/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“her short stories read like perfect songs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/her-short-stories-read-like-perfect-songs/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“Between two musical notes there exists another note, between two facts there exists another fact, between two grains of sand, no matter how close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/between-two-musical-notes-there-exists-another-note-between-two-facts/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [I' is merely one of the world's instantaneous spasms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/i-is-merely-one-of-the-world-s-instantaneous-spasms/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“It isn't for us that cows' milk comes forth, but we drink it. Flowers weren't made for us to look at or for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/it-isn-t-for-us-that-cows-milk-comes-forth-but-we-drink-it-flowers/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [To think is an act. To feel is a fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/to-think-is-an-act-to-feel-is-a-fact/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [Love is now, is always. All that is missing is the coup de grâce- which is called passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/love-is-now-is-always-all-that-is-missing-is-the-coup-de-gr-ce-which/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [What I want is to live of that initial and primordial something that was what made some things reach the point of aspiring to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/what-i-want-is-to-live-of-that-initial-and-primordial-something-that/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“I see that the wardrobe looks penetrable because it has a door. But when I open it, I see that penetration has been put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/i-see-that-the-wardrobe-looks-penetrable-because-it-has-a-door-but/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“I knew that cockroaches could go more than a month without food or water. And they could even survive on wood for food. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/i-knew-that-cockroaches-could-go-more-than-a-month-without-food-or/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“Beatitude starts in the moment when the act of thinking has freed itself from the necessity of form. Beatitude starts at the moment when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/beatitude-starts-in-the-moment-when-the-act-of-thinking-has-freed/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [“Beyond thought I reach a state. I refuse to divide it up into words - and what I cannot and do not want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/beyond-thought-i-reach-a-state-i-refuse-to-divide-it-up-into-words/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) [Explore all 196 Clarice Lispector quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) ## More Reality quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [In the Green Zone in Iraq you have your radio, you have your food, you have your own electricity, your own toilets. Everything is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-the-green-zone-in-iraq-you-have-your-radio-you-have-your-food-you/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Check out the albums, ... Check out the live performances. That's the reality of it all. Music is such an energizing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayall/check-out-the-albums-check-out-the-live-performances-that-s-the/) [John Mayall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayall/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“The universe is not punishing you or blessing you. The universe is simply responding to the vibrational attitude that you are emitting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-hicks/the-universe-is-not-punishing-you-or-blessing-you-the-universe-is/) [Abraham Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-hicks/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [With every product, the delta between the brand and the reality determines its power over the minds of consumers, and with Trump, that delta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/with-every-product-the-delta-between-the-brand-and-the-reality/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [Being under-recruited coming out of Highland, I've carried that with me. I keep pushing forward, keep working hard every day, keep my head on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-daniels/being-under-recruited-coming-out-of-highland-i-ve-carried-that-with/) [Mike Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-daniels/) [Browse all 19,710 Reality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Reality doesn't surprise me. But that's not true: I suddenly feel such a hunger for the \"thing to really happen\" that I cry out and bite into reality with my lacerating teeth. And afterwards give a sigh over the captive whose flesh I ate. 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