--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man's sorrow runs uphill; true it is…" description: "\"A man's sorrow runs uphill; true it is difficult for him to bear, but it is also difficult for him to keep.\" — Djuna Barnes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b2/djuna-barnes-3957_bears_a-man-s-sorrow-runs-uphill-true-it-is-di_1603014.png" --- # A man's sorrow runs uphill; true it is difficult for him… ![“A man's sorrow runs uphill; true it is difficult for him to bear, but it is also difficult for him to keep.” quote by Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b2/djuna-barnes-3957_bears_a-man-s-sorrow-runs-uphill-true-it-is-di_1603014.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b2/djuna-barnes-3957_bears_a-man-s-sorrow-runs-uphill-true-it-is-di_1603014.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b2/djuna-barnes-3957_bears_a-man-s-sorrow-runs-uphill-true-it-is-di_1603014.png) > “A man's sorrow runs uphill; true it is difficult for him to bear, but it is also difficult for him to keep.” [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man's grief is heavy and hard to bear, yet he also struggles to let it go. **In simple terms:** Grief is hard to carry and release. Key Takeaway Accept and process grief. Themes grief emotions resilience Mood somber introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - bereavement - personal loss - therapy - support groups Key Concepts psychological burden emotional release Questions to Reflect On - What helps you release sorrow? - Can grief ever be fully let? A Different Perspective Holding onto grief can hinder healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Man Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-sorrow-1288945/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Runs Uphill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runs-uphill-5330434/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Sorrow Runs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow-runs-6099772/) [Uphill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uphill/) ## Related quotes > [“I don't correct her to let her know her backdoor wisdom yanks me deep into another country, where water runs uphill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-bog/i-don-t-correct-her-to-let-her-know-her-backdoor-wisdom-yanks-me-deep/) [Justin Bog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-bog/) > [The road to success runs uphill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-davis/the-road-to-success-runs-uphill/) [Willie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-davis/) > [No man of sorrow, is grieving over the joys of Others!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/no-man-of-sorrow-is-grieving-over-the-joys-of-others/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [The child's grief throbs against the round of its little heart as heavily as the man's sorrow, and the one finds as much delight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/the-child-s-grief-throbs-against-the-round-of-its-little-heart-as/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) > [There is no sound so terrible as a man's sorrow for his own death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/there-is-no-sound-so-terrible-as-a-man-s-sorrow-for-his-own-death/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“What Gosta,' he said to himself, 'can you no longer endure? You have been hardened in poverty all of your life; you have heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selma-lagerl-f/what-gosta-he-said-to-himself-can-you-no-longer-endure-you-have-been/) [Selma Lagerlöf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selma-lagerl-f/) > [Thou makest the man, O Sorrow!--yes, the whole man,--as the crucible gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/thou-makest-the-man-o-sorrow-yes-the-whole-man-as-the-crucible-gold/) [Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/) > [My mom told me that I should trust the man who could see the sorrow behind my smile, the love behind my anger, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-shalvis/my-mom-told-me-that-i-should-trust-the-man-who-could-see-the-sorrow/) [Jill Shalvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-shalvis/) > [“There was a man whom Sorrow named his Friend, And he, of his high comrade Sorrow dreaming, Went walking with slow steps along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/there-was-a-man-whom-sorrow-named-his-friend-and-he-of-his-high/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [“And then the man whom Sorrow named his friend, Sought once again the shore, and found a shell, And thought, I will my heavy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/and-then-the-man-whom-sorrow-named-his-friend-sought-once-again-the/) [W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/) > [God,' she cried, 'what is love? Man seeking his own head? The human head, so rented by misery that even the teeth weigh! She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/god-she-cried-what-is-love-man-seeking-his-own-head-the-human-head-so/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“Fate has a way of letting us know when we have screwed up by turning everything into an uphill battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-schiller/fate-has-a-way-of-letting-us-know-when-we-have-screwed-up-by-turning/) [Ronnie Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-schiller/) > [Whenever you have a burden on you and if the road is uphill then dont despair¦ cause the view from the top is breathtaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/whenever-you-have-a-burden-on-you-and-if-the-road-is-uphill-then-dont/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [There's no limit to what you can accomplish, but there's always someone one step ahead of you, so it's a constant uphill battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-mary-stewart/there-s-no-limit-to-what-you-can-accomplish-but-there-s-always/) [Catherine Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-mary-stewart/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Djuna Barnes > [“There goes the dismantled—Love has fallen off her wall. A religious woman,” he thought to himself, “without the joy and safety of the Catholic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/there-goes-the-dismantled-love-has-fallen-off-her-wall-a-religious/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Of course I think of the past and of Paris, what else is there to remember?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/of-course-i-think-of-the-past-and-of-paris-what-else-is-there-to/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [A strong sense of identity gives man an idea he can do no wrong; too little accomplishes the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/a-strong-sense-of-identity-gives-man-an-idea-he-can-do-no-wrong-too/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [My war brought me many things; let yours bring you as much. Life is not to be told, call it as loud as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/my-war-brought-me-many-things-let-yours-bring-you-as-much-life-is-not/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [When one wants to become cognizant of the color and the texture of the soil, one does not get a ladder; one gets a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/when-one-wants-to-become-cognizant-of-the-color-and-the-texture-of/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [I can draw and write, and you'd be foolish not to hire me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-can-draw-and-write-and-you-d-be-foolish-not-to-hire-me/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“The perfume that her body exhaled was of the quality of that earth-flesh, fungi, which smells of captured dampness and yet is so dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/the-perfume-that-her-body-exhaled-was-of-the-quality-of-that-earth/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [God,' she cried, 'what is love? Man seeking his own head? The human head, so rented by misery that even the teeth weigh! She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/god-she-cried-what-is-love-man-seeking-his-own-head-the-human-head-so/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Suffering for love is how I have learned practically everything I know, love of grandmother up and on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/suffering-for-love-is-how-i-have-learned-practically-everything-i/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“No man need curing of his individual sickness; his universal malady is what he should look to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/no-man-need-curing-of-his-individual-sickness-his-universal-malady-is/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [When autumn shadows throw their patterns across the land, they are not the images of fragile, dying leaves, not the bared arms of lofty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/when-autumn-shadows-throw-their-patterns-across-the-land-they-are-not/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Our bones ache only while the flesh is on them. Stretch it as thin as the temple flesh of an ailing woman and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/our-bones-ache-only-while-the-flesh-is-on-them-stretch-it-as-thin-as/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“I tell you, Madame, if one gave birth to a heart on a plate, it would say “Love” and twitch like the lopped leg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-tell-you-madame-if-one-gave-birth-to-a-heart-on-a-plate-it-would/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“Those who turn the day into night, the young, the drug addict, the profligate, the drunken and that most miserable, the lover who watches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/those-who-turn-the-day-into-night-the-young-the-drug-addict-the/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [I couldn't ever boil potatoes over the heat of your affection. Your love would never bridge a gap; it wouldn't even fill up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-couldn-t-ever-boil-potatoes-over-the-heat-of-your-affection-your/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) [Explore all 116 Djuna Barnes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) ## More Bears quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Television series are like the stock market. There's room for bears and bulls but no room for pigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/television-series-are-like-the-stock-market-there-s-room-for-bears/) [Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/) > [The Germans are the most philosophic people in the world, and the greatest smokers: now I trace their philosophy to their smoking. Smoking has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-borrow/the-germans-are-the-most-philosophic-people-in-the-world-and-the/) [George Henry Borrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-borrow/) > [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [You've had a whole lot of experience, but everything is also radically new at each moment, and you have to bring a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/you-ve-had-a-whole-lot-of-experience-but-everything-is-also-radically/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [Pay no heed to the passing religious vogue. Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/pay-no-heed-to-the-passing-religious-vogue-go-back-to-the-grass-roots/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [And if anyone knows anything about anything," said Bear to himself, "it's Owl who knows something about something," he said, "or my name's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-anyone-knows-anything-about-anything-said-bear-to-himself-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I'm supportive of women, absolutely, and it's so gratifying to have girls come up and say, 'I'm really inspired by your guitar playing.' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-vincent/i-m-supportive-of-women-absolutely-and-it-s-so-gratifying-to-have/) [St. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-vincent/) [Browse all 4,111 Bears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A man's sorrow runs uphill; true it is difficult for him to bear, but it is also difficult for him to keep.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Djuna Barnes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/a-man-s-sorrow-runs-uphill-true-it-is-difficult-for-him-to-bear-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bears" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/a-man-s-sorrow-runs-uphill-true-it-is-difficult-for-him-to-bear-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b2/djuna-barnes-3957_bears_a-man-s-sorrow-runs-uphill-true-it-is-di_1603014.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b2/djuna-barnes-3957_bears_a-man-s-sorrow-runs-uphill-true-it-is-di_1603014.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b2/djuna-barnes-3957_bears_a-man-s-sorrow-runs-uphill-true-it-is-di_1603014.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A man's sorrow runs uphill; true it is difficult for him to bear, but it is also difficult for him to keep.” — Djuna Barnes", "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": "Djuna Barnes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A man's sorrow runs uphill; true...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/a-man-s-sorrow-runs-uphill-true-it-is-difficult-for-him-to-bear-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/a-man-s-sorrow-runs-uphill-true-it-is-difficult-for-him-to-bear-but/#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 } } ] } ```