---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Misfortune, and recited misfortune…"
description: "\"Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, may be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation.\" — Dorothy Parker"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/dorothy-parker-700_misfortune_misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especi_2928412.jpg"
---

#  Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, may be…

![“Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, may be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation.” quote by Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/dorothy-parker-700_misfortune_misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especi_2928412.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/dorothy-parker-700_misfortune_misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especi_2928412.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73a/dorothy-parker-700_misfortune_misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especi_2928412.jpg)

> “Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, may be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation.”

[Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Repeated misfortune can become tiresome, shifting from pity to irritation.

**In simple terms:** Too much tragedy loses its impact.

Key Takeaway

Avoid overexposure to negativity.

Themes

misfortune empathy pity irritation

Mood

reflective critical

Type

philosophical advice

When to use this quote

- media consumption
- personal storytelling
- public speaking

Key Concepts

psychology social dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- When does repeated suffering become desensitizing?
- How can you maintain compassion?

A Different Perspective

Some may argue repeated tragedy deserves attention.

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[Excite Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excite-pity-3956880/) [Misfortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortune/) [Misfortune Especially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortune-especially-1172803/) [Misfortune Recited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortune-recited-1172801/) [Pity Arouses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity-arouses-1172802/) [Recited Misfortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recited-misfortune-1172804/)

## Related quotes

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> [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/)

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> [“When the tide of misfortune moves over you, even jelly will break your teeth     —Persian Proverb”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-fallon/when-the-tide-of-misfortune-moves-over-you-even-jelly-will-break-your/)

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> [All men can bear a familiar, definite misfortune better than the cruel alternations of a fate which, from one moment to another, brings excessive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-men-can-bear-a-familiar-definite-misfortune-better-than-the-cruel/)

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> [It is a misfortune that necessity has induced men to accord greater license to this formidable engine, in order to obtain liberty, than can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-f-cooper/it-is-a-misfortune-that-necessity-has-induced-men-to-accord-greater/)

[James F. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-f-cooper/)

> [\[It is hard to know what is good luck and what isn't and therefore whether we should be happy or sad about it. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelig-pliskin/it-is-hard-to-know-what-is-good-luck-and-what-isn-t-and-therefore/)

[Zelig Pliskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelig-pliskin/)

> [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [“Modern man’s misfortune lies not in having to live a mediocre life, but in believing that he could live one that is not mediocre.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/modern-man-s-misfortune-lies-not-in-having-to-live-a-mediocre-life/)

[Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/)

> [When the sun is shining, think of the time it won't be, because even when you're sitting in your house with the doors shut,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/when-the-sun-is-shining-think-of-the-time-it-won-t-be-because-even/)

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[Jomari Consuelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jomari-consuelo/)

> [Misfortune is the test of a person's merit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/misfortune-is-the-test-of-a-person-s-merit/)

[Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/)

> [Many things would be changed for Americans if they would only admit that there is ill-luck in this world and that misfortune is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/many-things-would-be-changed-for-americans-if-they-would-only-admit/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [If we cannot meet our everyday surroundings with equanimity and pleasure and grow each day in some useful direction, then... life is on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/if-we-cannot-meet-our-everyday-surroundings-with-equanimity-and/)

[Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/)

## More by Dorothy Parker

> [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/)

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> [Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/writing-is-the-art-of-applying-the-ass-to-the-seat/)

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> [Hollywood is the one place on earth where you could die of encouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/hollywood-is-the-one-place-on-earth-where-you-could-die-of/)

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> [Sometimes I think Ill give up trying, and just go completely Russian and sit on a stove and moan all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/sometimes-i-think-ill-give-up-trying-and-just-go-completely-russian/)

[Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/)

> [I was always sweet, at first. Oh, it's so easy to be sweet to people before you love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-was-always-sweet-at-first-oh-it-s-so-easy-to-be-sweet-to-people/)

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[Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/)

> [Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, can be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especially-can-be-prolonged-to-the/)

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> [If we cannot meet our everyday surroundings with equanimity and pleasure and grow each day in some useful direction, then... life is on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/if-we-cannot-meet-our-everyday-surroundings-with-equanimity-and/)

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