--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why does that obstinate little voice in…" description: "\"“Why does that obstinate little voice in our heads torment us so? Could it be because it reminds us that we are alive, of our mortality, of our individ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/donna-tartt-391_aches-and-pains_why-does-that-obstinate-little-voice-in_2463063.jpg" --- # Why does that obstinate little voice in our heads torment… ![“Why does that obstinate little voice in our heads torment us so? Could it be because it reminds us that we are alive, of our mortality, of our individual souls – which, after all, we are too afraid to surrender but yet make us feel more miserable than any other thing? It is a terrible thing to…” quote by Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/donna-tartt-391_aches-and-pains_why-does-that-obstinate-little-voice-in_2463063.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/donna-tartt-391_aches-and-pains_why-does-that-obstinate-little-voice-in_2463063.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/503/donna-tartt-391_aches-and-pains_why-does-that-obstinate-little-voice-in_2463063.jpg) > ““Why does that obstinate little voice in our heads torment us so? Could it be because it reminds us that we are alive, of our mortality, of our individual souls – which, after all, we are too afraid to surrender but yet make us feel more miserable than any other thing? It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from the world, that no one and no thing hurts along with one’s burned tongues and skinned knees, that one’s aches and pains are all one’s own. Even more terrible, as we grow older, to learn that no person, no matter how beloved, can ever truly understand us. Our own selves make us most unhappy, and that’s why we’re so anxious to lose them, don’t you think?”” [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote explores existential anxiety stemming from self-awareness, mortality, and the isolation of personal experience, suggesting that our inner voice both affirms life and fuels misery. **In simple terms:** Self‑awareness brings both life and suffering. Key Takeaway Accept the self, but seek connection. Themes existentialism psychology loneliness identity mortality Mood melancholic contemplative Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative writing - personal reflection - grief counseling Key Concepts self‑awareness subjectivity alienation Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging mortality change daily choices? - Can shared vulnerability reduce personal anxiety? A Different Perspective The insight may overlook communal bonds that can alleviate isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aches and pains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aches-and-pains/) ## Related quotes > [“Could it be because it reminds us that we are alive, of our mortality, of our individual souls- which, after all, we are too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/could-it-be-because-it-reminds-us-that-we-are-alive-of-our-mortality/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from all the world, that no one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-learn-as-a-child-that-one-is-a-being/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [To understand ourself, we must understand our "selves," or the parts of us that motivate our thoughts, decisions, and behaviors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-crawford/to-understand-ourself-we-must-understand-our-selves-or-the-parts-of/) [Bill Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-crawford/) > [For far too long we have been seduced into walking a path that did not lead us to ourselves. For far too long we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/for-far-too-long-we-have-been-seduced-into-walking-a-path-that-did/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [When I look in the mirror, I see a woman with secrets. When we don’t listen to our intuition, we abandon our souls. 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We're too much alike to understand each other because we don't even understand our own selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/and-that-s-where-the-whole-trouble-is-we-re-too-much-alike-to/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [Wisdom may require us to be cautious, but good souls must never be afraid to live who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-dowdy/wisdom-may-require-us-to-be-cautious-but-good-souls-must-never-be/) Patricia Dowdy > [“you’ll always come out all right – no matter what. You’re like me that way.’ And that’s where the whole trouble is,” thought Francie.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/you-ll-always-come-out-all-right-no-matter-what-you-re-like-me-that/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“So you're afraid, eh?" he sneered. "Yes," I said defiantly and honestly, "I am afraid." "That's the way with you fellows," he cried, half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/so-you-re-afraid-eh-he-sneered-yes-i-said-defiantly-and-honestly-i-am/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [I try not to tolerate the extent of the life, times, I began to understand them selves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/i-try-not-to-tolerate-the-extent-of-the-life-times-i-began-to/) Mak\_786 > [“It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from all the world, that no one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-learn-as-a-child-that-one-is-a-being-2/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Your great employment is to bring the individual souls of men to Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norris-kirk/your-great-employment-is-to-bring-the-individual-souls-of-men-to/) Edward Norris Kirk > [Mankind is engaged in an eternal quest for that ‘something else' he hopes will bring him happiness, complete and unending.For those individual souls who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/mankind-is-engaged-in-an-eternal-quest-for-that-something-else-he/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) ## More by Donna Tartt > [I hope we're all ready to leave the phenomenal world, and enter into the sublime?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/i-hope-we-re-all-ready-to-leave-the-phenomenal-world-and-enter-into/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-i-add-my-own-love-to-the-history-of-people-who-have-loved/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The world won't come to me...so I must go to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-world-won-t-come-to-me-so-i-must-go-to-it/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [There's an expectation these days that novels - like any other consumer product - should be made on a production line, with one dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/there-s-an-expectation-these-days-that-novels-like-any-other-consumer/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. 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We can’t make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-great-sorrow-and-one-that-i-am-only-beginning-to-understand-we-don/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Upon meeting Julian Morrow, one has the impression that he is a man of extraordinary sympathy and warmth. But what you call his 'Asiatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/upon-meeting-julian-morrow-one-has-the-impression-that-he-is-a-man-of/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) [Explore all 590 Donna Tartt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## More Aches and pains quotes > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. 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And now he finally had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/joe-hid-his-grin-a-little-grab-ass-is-not-accosting-at-the-worst-of/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) > [It's one thing to be twenty and touring the world, but doing it in your forties, you wake up with aches and pains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wiedlin/it-s-one-thing-to-be-twenty-and-touring-the-world-but-doing-it-in/) [Jane Wiedlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wiedlin/) > [If you'd asked me when I was younger what life would be like in my 50s, I'd probably have imagined someone like my grandmother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-jones/if-you-d-asked-me-when-i-was-younger-what-life-would-be-like-in-my/) [Ruth Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-jones/) > [Each day it's like: 'How many more days am I going to feel young and vibrant? 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I woke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-seen-better-days-but-i-ve-also-seen-worse-i-don-t-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 80 Aches and pains quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aches-and-pains/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Why does that obstinate little voice in our heads torment us so? Could it be because it reminds us that we are alive, of our mortality, of our individual souls – which, after all, we are too afraid to surrender but yet make us feel more miserable than any other thing? It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from the world, that no one and no thing hurts along with one’s burned tongues and skinned knees, that one’s aches and pains are all one’s own. Even more terrible, as we grow older, to learn that no person, no matter how beloved, can ever truly understand us. 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