--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I mean,’ said Marion happily, ‘it’s a…" description: "\"“I mean,’ said Marion happily, ‘it’s a continent in chains, well, isn’t it?’ (Tribune, thought Anna; or possibly the Daily Worker.) ‘And measures ought..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/doris-lessing-501_daily-work_i-mean-said-marion-happily-it-s-a-contin_2296803.png" --- # I mean,’ said Marion happily, ‘it’s a continent in chains… ![“I mean,’ said Marion happily, ‘it’s a continent in chains, well, isn’t it?’ (Tribune, thought Anna; or possibly the Daily Worker.) ‘And measures ought to be taken immediately to restore the Africans’ faith in justice if it is not already too late.’ (The New Statesman, thought Anna.) ‘Well at least…” quote by Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/doris-lessing-501_daily-work_i-mean-said-marion-happily-it-s-a-contin_2296803.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/doris-lessing-501_daily-work_i-mean-said-marion-happily-it-s-a-contin_2296803.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/doris-lessing-501_daily-work_i-mean-said-marion-happily-it-s-a-contin_2296803.png) > ““I mean,’ said Marion happily, ‘it’s a continent in chains, well, isn’t it?’ (Tribune, thought Anna; or possibly the Daily Worker.) ‘And measures ought to be taken immediately to restore the Africans’ faith in justice if it is not already too late.’ (The New Statesman, thought Anna.) ‘Well at least the situation ought to be thoroughly gone into in the interests of everybody.’ (The Manchester Guardian, at a time of acute crisis.) ‘But Anna, I don’t understand your attitude. Surely you’ll admit there’s evidence that something’s gone wrong?’ (The Times, editorializing a week after the news that the white administration has shot twenty Africans and imprisoned fifty more without trial.)”” [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage satirically critiques delayed justice and the need for immediate action to restore faith. **In simple terms:** Justice delayed harms trust; act now. Key Takeaway Demand timely justice and accountability. Themes social justice politics activism Mood urgent reflective Type political social commentary When to use this quote - policy reform - community organizing - media advocacy - legal aid Key Concepts colonialism human rights Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to support justice today? - How can you sustain hope amid systemic delays? A Different Perspective Urgent action may be constrained by political realities and resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Africans Imprisoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/africans-imprisoned-5417407/) [Daily work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daily-work/) [Restore Africans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restore-africans-5417408/) [Said Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-marion-5417406/) [Shot Africans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shot-africans-5417405/) [Thought Anna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-anna-1919138/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) ## Related quotes > [“Before Anna’s eyes she changed from a little girl into a sombre woman. She sat staring: serious, ironical. “Don’t you see, I’ve got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/before-anna-s-eyes-she-changed-from-a-little-girl-into-a-sombre-woman/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“... it was as if she'd shut out the outside world. No, actually, thought Anna-Maria, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. She isn't shutting out the outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sa-larsson/it-was-as-if-she-d-shut-out-the-outside-world-no-actually-thought/) [Åsa Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sa-larsson/) > [“You didn't see us," she said to Anna... "I was... lost in thought," Anna replied. "What were you thinking about?" "You," Anna said. "Isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-michaelis/you-didn-t-see-us-she-said-to-anna-i-was-lost-in-thought-anna-replied/) [Antonia Michaelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-michaelis/) > [Results should not be too voluntarily aimed at or too busily thought of. They are sure to float up of their own accord from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/results-should-not-be-too-voluntarily-aimed-at-or-too-busily-thought/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“we value improvement of our daily work more than daily work itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/we-value-improvement-of-our-daily-work-more-than-daily-work-itself/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [The Prophet introduced a system of prayer in that it was interwoven into man's daily work: a prayer in the morning when he arose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/the-prophet-introduced-a-system-of-prayer-in-that-it-was-interwoven/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [“Grandpa, in his male armchair, deaf aid occasionally whistling and pipe making a hubble-bubble noise as he sucked on it, would shake his head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/grandpa-in-his-male-armchair-deaf-aid-occasionally-whistling-and-pipe/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks, but for the ledger of our daily work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/i-guess-we-all-like-to-be-recognized-not-for-one-piece-of-fireworks/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [“You're thinking of revolution as a great all-or-nothing. I think of it as one more morning in a muggy cotton field, checking the undersides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/you-re-thinking-of-revolution-as-a-great-all-or-nothing-i-think-of-it/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The welfare, the happiness, the energy and spirit of the men and women who do the daily workis the underlying necessity of all prosperity……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-welfare-the-happiness-the-energy-and-spirit-of-the-men-and-women/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Once you are accustomed to giving your body a daily workout, you feel constrained when you don't exercise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-ellen/once-you-are-accustomed-to-giving-your-body-a-daily-workout-you-feel/) [Vera-Ellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-ellen/) > [“Wars and elections are both too big and too small to matter in the long run. The daily work--that goes on, and it adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/wars-and-elections-are-both-too-big-and-too-small-to-matter-in-the/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Joyfully we undertake our daily work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/joyfully-we-undertake-our-daily-work/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Our daily work ethic - that need to always do better and top our last performance - is what makes USWNT football players who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-krieger/our-daily-work-ethic-that-need-to-always-do-better-and-top-our-last/) [Ali Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-krieger/) > [“Sometimes its was better to keep silent, Because when we are silent we know what we forget back in life, In this fast daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pradeep-h-hivare/sometimes-its-was-better-to-keep-silent-because-when-we-are-silent-we/) [Pradeep H Hivare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pradeep-h-hivare/) ## More by Doris Lessing > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“In the morning, when she wishes me to wake, she crouches on my chest, and pats my face with her paw. Or, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/in-the-morning-when-she-wishes-me-to-wake-she-crouches-on-my-chest/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-know-whenever-women-make-imaginary-female-kingdoms-in-literature/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second best is anything but second best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/there-is-only-one-real-sin-and-that-is-to-persuade-oneself-that-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“She was using the water as she had used the fruit earlier—to calm herself, to assure herself of the possibility of normality. Yet all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/she-was-using-the-water-as-she-had-used-the-fruit-earlier-to-calm/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I remember World War II when there were very few books, very little paper available. For me to walk into a shop or look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-remember-world-war-ii-when-there-were-very-few-books-very-little/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“While she strode rapidly through the ward to the door at the other end, she was able to see that every bed or cot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/while-she-strode-rapidly-through-the-ward-to-the-door-at-the-other/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I do not think that marriage is one of my talents. I've been much happier unmarried than married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-that-marriage-is-one-of-my-talents-i-ve-been-much/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I haven't got the energy to write now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-haven-t-got-the-energy-to-write-now/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-really-fascinates-me-is-this-need-that-is-so-strong-now-that-if/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The charge that the United Nations are using bacteriological warfare in Korea cannot be dismissed merely because it would be insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-charge-that-the-united-nations-are-using-bacteriological-warfare/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What I did have, which others perhaps didn't, was a capacity for sticking at it, which really is the point, not the talent at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-i-did-have-which-others-perhaps-didn-t-was-a-capacity-for/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The human community is evolving... . We can survive anything you care to mention. We are supremely equipped to survive, to adapt and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-human-community-is-evolving-we-can-survive-anything-you-care-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [So love is rest? The cosy corner? The little nook? Sometimes it ought to be. Sometimes it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/so-love-is-rest-the-cosy-corner-the-little-nook-sometimes-it-ought-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) [Explore all 508 Doris Lessing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## More Daily work quotes > [“Sometimes its was better to keep silent, Because when we are silent we know what we forget back in life, In this fast daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pradeep-h-hivare/sometimes-its-was-better-to-keep-silent-because-when-we-are-silent-we/) [Pradeep H Hivare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pradeep-h-hivare/) > [Our daily work ethic - that need to always do better and top our last performance - is what makes USWNT football players who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-krieger/our-daily-work-ethic-that-need-to-always-do-better-and-top-our-last/) [Ali Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-krieger/) > [“Joyfully we undertake our daily work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/joyfully-we-undertake-our-daily-work/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Wars and elections are both too big and too small to matter in the long run. The daily work--that goes on, and it adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/wars-and-elections-are-both-too-big-and-too-small-to-matter-in-the/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Once you are accustomed to giving your body a daily workout, you feel constrained when you don't exercise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-ellen/once-you-are-accustomed-to-giving-your-body-a-daily-workout-you-feel/) [Vera-Ellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-ellen/) > [The welfare, the happiness, the energy and spirit of the men and women who do the daily workis the underlying necessity of all prosperity……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-welfare-the-happiness-the-energy-and-spirit-of-the-men-and-women/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [“You're thinking of revolution as a great all-or-nothing. I think of it as one more morning in a muggy cotton field, checking the undersides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/you-re-thinking-of-revolution-as-a-great-all-or-nothing-i-think-of-it/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks, but for the ledger of our daily work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-armstrong/i-guess-we-all-like-to-be-recognized-not-for-one-piece-of-fireworks/) [Neil Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-armstrong/) > [“Grandpa, in his male armchair, deaf aid occasionally whistling and pipe making a hubble-bubble noise as he sucked on it, would shake his head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/grandpa-in-his-male-armchair-deaf-aid-occasionally-whistling-and-pipe/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [The Prophet introduced a system of prayer in that it was interwoven into man's daily work: a prayer in the morning when he arose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/the-prophet-introduced-a-system-of-prayer-in-that-it-was-interwoven/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [“we value improvement of our daily work more than daily work itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-kim/we-value-improvement-of-our-daily-work-more-than-daily-work-itself/) [Gene Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-kim/) > [Results should not be too voluntarily aimed at or too busily thought of. They are sure to float up of their own accord from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/results-should-not-be-too-voluntarily-aimed-at-or-too-busily-thought/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Nothing about the daily workings of the prison system focuses its inhabitants’ attention on what life back on the outside, as a free citizen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/nothing-about-the-daily-workings-of-the-prison-system-focuses-its/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [I used to think hard work made me come alive, honestly. I used to have a daily work schedule with millions of things on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-bingbing/i-used-to-think-hard-work-made-me-come-alive-honestly-i-used-to-have/) [Li Bingbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-bingbing/) > [It feels like it is a daily work and an ongoing task to undo all of the f - - g programming that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/it-feels-like-it-is-a-daily-work-and-an-ongoing-task-to-undo-all-of/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) [Browse all 120 Daily work quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daily-work/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I mean,’ said Marion happily, ‘it’s a continent in chains, well, isn’t it?’ (Tribune, thought Anna; or possibly the Daily Worker.) ‘And measures ought to be taken immediately to restore the Africans’ faith in justice if it is not already too late.’ (The New Statesman, thought Anna.) ‘Well at least the situation ought to be thoroughly gone into in the interests of everybody.’ (The Manchester Guardian, at a time of acute crisis.) ‘But Anna, I don’t understand your attitude. Surely you’ll admit there’s evidence that something’s gone wrong?’ (The Times, editorializing a week after the news that the white administration has shot twenty Africans and imprisoned fifty more without trial.)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Doris Lessing" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-mean-said-marion-happily-it-s-a-continent-in-chains-well-isn-t-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Daily work" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-mean-said-marion-happily-it-s-a-continent-in-chains-well-isn-t-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/doris-lessing-501_daily-work_i-mean-said-marion-happily-it-s-a-contin_2296803.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/doris-lessing-501_daily-work_i-mean-said-marion-happily-it-s-a-contin_2296803.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/doris-lessing-501_daily-work_i-mean-said-marion-happily-it-s-a-contin_2296803.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I mean,’ said Marion happily, ‘it’s a continent in chains, well, isn’t it?’ (Tribune, thought Anna; or…” — Doris Lessing", "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": "Doris Lessing", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I mean,’ said Marion happily, ‘it’s...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-mean-said-marion-happily-it-s-a-continent-in-chains-well-isn-t-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-mean-said-marion-happily-it-s-a-continent-in-chains-well-isn-t-it/#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 } } ] } ```