--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I felt rather exhausted, and wondered…" description: "\"I felt rather exhausted, and wondered, rather shocked at my callous thought, why old people were sometimes such a strain. Worse than young children or ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/daphne-du-maurier-1185_callous_i-felt-rather-exhausted-and-wondered-rat_789292.png" --- # I felt rather exhausted, and wondered, rather shocked at… ![“I felt rather exhausted, and wondered, rather shocked at my callous thought, why old people were sometimes such a strain. Worse than young children or puppies because one had to be polite.” quote by Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/daphne-du-maurier-1185_callous_i-felt-rather-exhausted-and-wondered-rat_789292.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/daphne-du-maurier-1185_callous_i-felt-rather-exhausted-and-wondered-rat_789292.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/daphne-du-maurier-1185_callous_i-felt-rather-exhausted-and-wondered-rat_789292.png) > “I felt rather exhausted, and wondered, rather shocked at my callous thought, why old people were sometimes such a strain. Worse than young children or puppies because one had to be polite.” [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels exhausted and shocked by her harsh thoughts about elderly people, seeing them as burdens despite their politeness. **In simple terms:** Elderly can feel burdensome, causing guilt. Key Takeaway Reflect on age‑related biases. Themes ageism guilt empathy Mood melancholic thoughtful Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - caregiving - intergenerational relationships - workplace age diversity Key Concepts social perception family dynamics psychology Questions to Reflect On - Why do we view aging negatively? - How can we foster respect for elders? A Different Perspective Biases may be rooted in societal expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Old people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Polite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polite/) [Puppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puppy/) [Young children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-children/) ## Related quotes > [“How in the name of the gods did he expect her to sleep after that? She felt both exhausted and exhilarated, hyperaware of everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-savage/how-in-the-name-of-the-gods-did-he-expect-her-to-sleep-after-that-she/) [Vivienne Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-savage/) > [“I felt exhausted, and worried, and friendless and hopeless and everything-else-less.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-felt-exhausted-and-worried-and-friendless-and-hopeless-and/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I've never felt so exhausted in my life like when playing Candy Crush Saga.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lleeann/i-ve-never-felt-so-exhausted-in-my-life-like-when-playing-candy-crush/) [Lleeann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lleeann/) > [I took only twice a time-out, once, when I was hurt, and a second time, when I much felt I was exhausted out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-freeman/i-took-only-twice-a-time-out-once-when-i-was-hurt-and-a-second-time/) [Cathy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-freeman/) > [I suppose my insecurity with dating someone a lot younger would be that he'd get to a point where he thought I was too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleen-nolan/i-suppose-my-insecurity-with-dating-someone-a-lot-younger-would-be/) [Coleen Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleen-nolan/) > [“Georgie never thought she’d be old enough to talk about life in big decade-long chunks like this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/georgie-never-thought-she-d-be-old-enough-to-talk-about-life-in-big/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“What the hell am I? I thought. Too old to be a real teenager, too young to drink. Old enough to die in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/what-the-hell-am-i-i-thought-too-old-to-be-a-real-teenager-too-young/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) > [ In fact, \[Bernard Leach\] was several generations removed from us. At that time we were there, I think Alix \[MacKenzie\] and I were 26… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/in-fact-bernard-leach-was-several-generations-removed-from-us-at-that/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [I used to think that I could be successful if I pretended to be a 23-year-old black woman. I wanted to find a young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/i-used-to-think-that-i-could-be-successful-if-i-pretended-to-be-a-23/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [...for a moment people set down their glasses in county clubs and speak-easies and thought of their old best dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/for-a-moment-people-set-down-their-glasses-in-county-clubs-and-speak/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“And here I thought you were too old to play with toys.” “You’re never too old to play with magic,” said Mom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darinne-paciotti/and-here-i-thought-you-were-too-old-to-play-with-toys-you-re-never/) [Darinne Paciotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darinne-paciotti/) > [“I was staring down thirty-five in a few months. While I might have thought forty was old when I was her age, I’d since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-thornton/i-was-staring-down-thirty-five-in-a-few-months-while-i-might-have/) [Marshall Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-thornton/) > [After the last shovel of dirt was patted in place, I sat down and let my mind drift back through the years. I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-rawls/after-the-last-shovel-of-dirt-was-patted-in-place-i-sat-down-and-let/) [Wilson Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-rawls/) > [“Son, if there's on thing I know," and Colin thought about how old people always like to tell you the one thing they know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/son-if-there-s-on-thing-i-know-and-colin-thought-about-how-old-people/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Valancy herself had never quite relinquished a certain pitiful, shamed, little hope that Romance would come her way yet—never, until this wet, horrible morning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/valancy-herself-had-never-quite-relinquished-a-certain-pitiful-shamed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Daphne du Maurier > [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“You understand now... how simple life becomes when things like mirrors are forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/you-understand-now-how-simple-life-becomes-when-things-like-mirrors/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [I could fight with the living but I could not fight the dead. If there was some woman in London that Maxim loved, someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-could-fight-with-the-living-but-i-could-not-fight-the-dead-if-there/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [It wouldn't make for sanity would it, living with the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/it-wouldn-t-make-for-sanity-would-it-living-with-the-devil/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“The only time I got into trouble was when I forged M's signature on the weekly report we had to take home every Friday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/the-only-time-i-got-into-trouble-was-when-i-forged-m-s-signature-on/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/they-are-not-brave-the-days-when-we-are-twenty-one-they-are-full-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [Women want love to be a novel, men a short story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/women-want-love-to-be-a-novel-men-a-short-story/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“We all of us have our particular devil who ruses us and torments us, and we must give battle in the end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/we-all-of-us-have-our-particular-devil-who-ruses-us-and-torments-us/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“Happy in his silence yet eager for his words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/happy-in-his-silence-yet-eager-for-his-words/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“There have been men in arid deserts where the sun has so disfigured them that they have become things of horror – parched and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/there-have-been-men-in-arid-deserts-where-the-sun-has-so-disfigured/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“Packing up. The nagging worry of departure. When shutting drawers and flinging wide an hotel wardrobe, or the impersonal shelves of a furnished villa,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/packing-up-the-nagging-worry-of-departure-when-shutting-drawers-and/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“And perhaps one day, in after years, someone would wander there and listen to the silence, as she had done, and catch the whisper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/and-perhaps-one-day-in-after-years-someone-would-wander-there-and/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“You thought I was mad. Perhaps I was. Perhaps I am. It doesn't make for sanity, does it, living with the devil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/you-thought-i-was-mad-perhaps-i-was-perhaps-i-am-it-doesn-t-make-for/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [“many impressions to seize and hold, familiar loved façades, balconies, windows, water lapping the cellar steps of decaying palaces, the little red house where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/many-impressions-to-seize-and-hold-familiar-loved-fa-ades-balconies/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [People who travel are always fugitives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/people-who-travel-are-always-fugitives/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) [Explore all 269 Daphne du Maurier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) ## More Callous quotes > [Me seeing how thick my callous is on my hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-country/me-seeing-how-thick-my-callous-is-on-my-hand/) [Michael Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-country/) > [Remember chief of staff Rahm Emanuel's callous enjoinder 'you never want a serious crisis to go to waste'? This White House is a serious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-tyrrell/remember-chief-of-staff-rahm-emanuel-s-callous-enjoinder-you-never/) [Bob Tyrrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-tyrrell/) > [And the point is, is it possible for the mind to be totally free from suffering and yet not become indifferent, callous, irresponsible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/and-the-point-is-is-it-possible-for-the-mind-to-be-totally-free-from/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people through vicious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-lapierre/there-exists-in-this-country-sadly-a-callous-corrupt-and-corrupting/) [Wayne LaPierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-lapierre/) > [Among sportsmen are the noble, the diligent and the caring, as there are the callous, the cheats and the criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsha-bhogle/among-sportsmen-are-the-noble-the-diligent-and-the-caring-as-there/) [Harsha Bhogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsha-bhogle/) > [Evolution is, as well as smarter than we are, infinitely more callous and cruel, and also capricious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/evolution-is-as-well-as-smarter-than-we-are-infinitely-more-callous/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“I have found that happiness is a defiant act of bravery in spite of a callous world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-newman/i-have-found-that-happiness-is-a-defiant-act-of-bravery-in-spite-of-a/) [Liz Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-newman/) > [Is it because you are sunk in the cruelty of superstition, or feel no interest in the honor of your Creator, that you listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/is-it-because-you-are-sunk-in-the-cruelty-of-superstition-or-feel-no/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [In my blood there is no Jewish blood. In their callous rage, all anti-Semites must hate me now as a Jew. For that reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-yevtushenko/in-my-blood-there-is-no-jewish-blood-in-their-callous-rage-all-anti/) [Yevgeny Yevtushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-yevtushenko/) > [One of the fundamental reasons why so many doctors become cynical and disillusioned is precisely because, when the abstract idealism has worn thin, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/one-of-the-fundamental-reasons-why-so-many-doctors-become-cynical-and/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [I suggest we depict penguins as callous and unfeeling creatures who insist on bringing up their children in what is little more than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/i-suggest-we-depict-penguins-as-callous-and-unfeeling-creatures-who/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [How many students ... were rendered callous to ideas, and how many lost the impetus to learn because of the way in which learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/how-many-students-were-rendered-callous-to-ideas-and-how-many-lost/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“A tearless heart is a callous heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-george/a-tearless-heart-is-a-callous-heart/) [Jim George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-george/) > [Humans call animals 'dumb'... after they robbed their entire own precious world. They are intelligent beings in their own right, and thoroughly self-sufficient... if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adela-popescu/humans-call-animals-dumb-after-they-robbed-their-entire-own-precious/) [Adela Popescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adela-popescu/) > [ \[On being deaf:\] We can never get beyond the necessity of keeping in full view the worst and the best that can be made… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/on-being-deaf-we-can-never-get-beyond-the-necessity-of-keeping-in/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) Browse all 112 Callous quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I felt rather exhausted, and wondered, rather shocked at my callous thought, why old people were sometimes such a strain. Worse than young children or puppies because one had to be polite.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Daphne du Maurier" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-felt-rather-exhausted-and-wondered-rather-shocked-at-my-callous/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Callous" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-felt-rather-exhausted-and-wondered-rather-shocked-at-my-callous/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/daphne-du-maurier-1185_callous_i-felt-rather-exhausted-and-wondered-rat_789292.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/daphne-du-maurier-1185_callous_i-felt-rather-exhausted-and-wondered-rat_789292.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/daphne-du-maurier-1185_callous_i-felt-rather-exhausted-and-wondered-rat_789292.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I felt rather exhausted, and wondered, rather shocked at my callous thought, why old people were sometimes…” — Daphne du Maurier", "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": "Daphne du Maurier", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I felt rather exhausted, and wondered,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-felt-rather-exhausted-and-wondered-rather-shocked-at-my-callous/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/i-felt-rather-exhausted-and-wondered-rather-shocked-at-my-callous/#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 } } ] } ```