--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To die is as if one's eyes had been put…" description: "\"To die is as if one's eyes had been put out and one cannot see anything any more. Perhaps it is like being shut in a cellar. One is abandoned by all. T..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/edvard-munch-8669_abandoned_to-die-is-as-if-one-s-eyes-had-been-put_2583831.png" --- # To die is as if one's eyes had been put out and one cannot… ![“To die is as if one's eyes had been put out and one cannot see anything any more. Perhaps it is like being shut in a cellar. One is abandoned by all. They have slammed the door and are gone. One does not see anything and notices only the damp smell of putrefaction.” quote by Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/edvard-munch-8669_abandoned_to-die-is-as-if-one-s-eyes-had-been-put_2583831.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/edvard-munch-8669_abandoned_to-die-is-as-if-one-s-eyes-had-been-put_2583831.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/edvard-munch-8669_abandoned_to-die-is-as-if-one-s-eyes-had-been-put_2583831.png) > “To die is as if one's eyes had been put out and one cannot see anything any more. Perhaps it is like being shut in a cellar. One is abandoned by all. They have slammed the door and are gone. One does not see anything and notices only the damp smell of putrefaction.” [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Death is described as a sensory loss and isolation, likened to being shut in a dark cellar. **In simple terms:** Death feels like sensory loss and isolation. Key Takeaway Recognize the depth of existential fear. Themes existence isolation death Mood somber reflective Type philosophical artistic When to use this quote - grief counseling - philosophical debate - art therapy Key Concepts existential dread sensory deprivation psychological darkness Questions to Reflect On - What does darkness symbolize for you? - How can we confront isolation? A Different Perspective Metaphor may not capture all aspects of death. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandoned/) [Cellar Abandoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cellar-abandoned-1799877/) [Damp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damp/) [Die Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die-eyes-499927/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Smell Putrefaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell-putrefaction-1799876/) ## Related quotes > [And here I am, dying in my bed, like cattle die. May the eyes of cowards never sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalid-ibn-al-walid/and-here-i-am-dying-in-my-bed-like-cattle-die-may-the-eyes-of-cowards/) [Khalid ibn al-Walid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalid-ibn-al-walid/) > [“You watch the man that you were charged to protect die in front of your eyes and then the person responsible announces their intention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cole/you-watch-the-man-that-you-were-charged-to-protect-die-in-front-of/) [Daniel Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cole/) > [So we die before our own eyes; so we see some chapters of our lives come to their natural end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-orne-jewett/so-we-die-before-our-own-eyes-so-we-see-some-chapters-of-our-lives/) [Sarah Orne Jewett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-orne-jewett/) > [My heart longs for you, my soal die's for you, my eyes cry for you, my empty arms reach out for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-heart-longs-for-you-my-soal-die-s-for-you-my-eyes-cry-for-you-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If I have to watch my precious comrades die with my own eyes, I would not be able to atone for it no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amano-akira/if-i-have-to-watch-my-precious-comrades-die-with-my-own-eyes-i-would/) [Amano Akira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amano-akira/) > [Beautiful and minimalist, the traditional Japanese art of ikebana - arranging bouquets of cut flowers and leaves using very few elements - ideally corresponded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-ellena/beautiful-and-minimalist-the-traditional-japanese-art-of-ikebana/) [Jean-Claude Ellena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-ellena/) > [Early on in my life, I had a broken soul. I was abused by my father, abandoned by my mother and ended up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/early-on-in-my-life-i-had-a-broken-soul-i-was-abused-by-my-father/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [There is nothing pleasanter than spading when the ground is soft and damp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/there-is-nothing-pleasanter-than-spading-when-the-ground-is-soft-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I can't live without mousse. When my hair is damp I put it at the roots. When I blow dry my hair it makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-mitchell/i-can-t-live-without-mousse-when-my-hair-is-damp-i-put-it-at-the/) [Shay Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shay-mitchell/) > [Write what you know. Every guide for the aspiring author advises this. Because I live in a long-settled rural place, I know certain things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/write-what-you-know-every-guide-for-the-aspiring-author-advises-this/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [The triumph of the Confederacy... would be a victory for the powers of evil which would give courage to the enemies of progress and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-triumph-of-the-confederacy-would-be-a-victory-for-the-powers-of/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Don't tell me about the world. Not today. It's springtime and they're knocking baseball around fields where the grass is damp and green in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hamill/don-t-tell-me-about-the-world-not-today-it-s-springtime-and-they-re/) [Pete Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hamill/) > [It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank clothed with many plants of many kinds with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-interesting-to-contemplate-an-entangled-bank-clothed-with-many/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“The morning was so damp and misty”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-morning-was-so-damp-and-misty/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) ## More by Edvard Munch > [When I paint, I never think of selling. People simply fail to understand that we paint in order to experiment and to develop ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/when-i-paint-i-never-think-of-selling-people-simply-fail-to/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [For as long as I can remember I have suffered from a deep feeling of anxiety which I have tried to express in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/for-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-have-suffered-from-a-deep-feeling-of/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [The Academies of Art are nothing but great painting factories - those with talent are fed in at one end, and they come out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/the-academies-of-art-are-nothing-but-great-painting-factories-those/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [I was walking along a road one evening – on one side lay the city, and below me was the fjord. The sun went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/i-was-walking-along-a-road-one-evening-on-one-side-lay-the-city-and/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [I was walking along the road with two friends. The sun set. I felt a tinge of melancholy. Suddenly the sky became a bloody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/i-was-walking-along-the-road-with-two-friends-the-sun-set-i-felt-a/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [The notes I have made are not a diary in the ordinary sense, but partly lengthy records of my spiritual experiences, and partly poems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/the-notes-i-have-made-are-not-a-diary-in-the-ordinary-sense-but/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [A work of art comes only from inside a human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/a-work-of-art-comes-only-from-inside-a-human-being/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [I sense a scream passing through nature. I painted ... the clouds as actual blood. The colour shrieked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/i-sense-a-scream-passing-through-nature-i-painted-the-clouds-as/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [Youth must go ahead and prosper. These young painters are all very talented people, but they all paint frescoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/youth-must-go-ahead-and-prosper-these-young-painters-are-all-very/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [ But can they \[great works\] get rid of the worm that lies gnawing at the roots of my heart? No, never. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/but-can-they-great-works-get-rid-of-the-worm-that-lies-gnawing-at-the/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [My fear of life is necessary to me, as is my illness. Without anxiety and illness, I am a ship without a rudder. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/my-fear-of-life-is-necessary-to-me-as-is-my-illness-without-anxiety/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [It would be quite amusing to preach a bit to all those people who for many years now have been looking at our paintings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/it-would-be-quite-amusing-to-preach-a-bit-to-all-those-people-who-for/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [The viewers must come to understand the sacredness of painting, so they will remove their hats as if they were in church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/the-viewers-must-come-to-understand-the-sacredness-of-painting-so/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [The way one sees is also dependent upon one's emotional state of mind. This is why a motif can be looked at in so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/the-way-one-sees-is-also-dependent-upon-one-s-emotional-state-of-mind/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) > [It is better to have a good painting with ten holes than ten bad paintings without any holes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/it-is-better-to-have-a-good-painting-with-ten-holes-than-ten-bad/) [Edvard Munch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) [Explore all 79 Edvard Munch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/) ## More Abandoned quotes > [“I'm surprised when I walk right into yet another abandoned hunters' camp. Tattered plastic sheeting still hangs askew here and there. Blackened aerosol cans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bass/i-m-surprised-when-i-walk-right-into-yet-another-abandoned-hunters/) [Rick Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bass/) > [It’s hard to feel attracted to someone who has abandoned her sense of autonomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/it-s-hard-to-feel-attracted-to-someone-who-has-abandoned-her-sense-of/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [In Russia there is an emigration of intelligence: émigrés cross the frontier in order to read and to write good books. But in doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-russia-there-is-an-emigration-of-intelligence-migr-s-cross-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Early on in my life, I had a broken soul. I was abused by my father, abandoned by my mother and ended up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/early-on-in-my-life-i-had-a-broken-soul-i-was-abused-by-my-father/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [We should be recklessly abandoned to Jesus, and just turn it over to Him. Through the support I think the sacrifices will be made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacie-orrico/we-should-be-recklessly-abandoned-to-jesus-and-just-turn-it-over-to/) [Stacie Orrico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacie-orrico/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [The whole force of the respectable circles to which I belonged, that respectable circle which knew as I did notthe value of security won,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/the-whole-force-of-the-respectable-circles-to-which-i-belonged-that/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [Barack Obama became president, and he abandoned Iraq. He left, and when he left Al Qaida was done for. ISIS was created because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/barack-obama-became-president-and-he-abandoned-iraq-he-left-and-when/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [“The desperate loneliness is nothing compared to the torture of falling in love and then being abandoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-nuest/the-desperate-loneliness-is-nothing-compared-to-the-torture-of/) [A.J. Nuest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-nuest/) > [Through it all, this wild life on and off the road , through Jordanian deserts , Spanish islands, German prisons, Caribbean tax scams, halls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-burdon/through-it-all-this-wild-life-on-and-off-the-road-through-jordanian/) [Eric Burdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-burdon/) > [I've never been keen on open adoption. It doesn't seem to solve the main problem with adoption, which is that somebody feels she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-ve-never-been-keen-on-open-adoption-it-doesn-t-seem-to-solve-the/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Blacks abandoned morals, fathers, and real belief in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lee-peterson/blacks-abandoned-morals-fathers-and-real-belief-in-god/) [Jesse Lee Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lee-peterson/) > [I just feel abandoned. And I feel, I don't feel represented by the Republican Party. I have always had to defend the social side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-johnson/i-just-feel-abandoned-and-i-feel-i-don-t-feel-represented-by-the/) [Gary Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-johnson/) > [While society cannot provide employment for its members, the production/work/income nexus has to be abandoned as a justification for our present parsimony to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hawke/while-society-cannot-provide-employment-for-its-members-the/) [Bob Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hawke/) [Browse all 932 Abandoned quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandoned/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To die is as if one's eyes had been put out and one cannot see anything any more. Perhaps it is like being shut in a cellar. One is abandoned by all. They have slammed the door and are gone. One does not see anything and notices only the damp smell of putrefaction.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edvard Munch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/to-die-is-as-if-one-s-eyes-had-been-put-out-and-one-cannot-see/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abandoned" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/to-die-is-as-if-one-s-eyes-had-been-put-out-and-one-cannot-see/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/edvard-munch-8669_abandoned_to-die-is-as-if-one-s-eyes-had-been-put_2583831.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/edvard-munch-8669_abandoned_to-die-is-as-if-one-s-eyes-had-been-put_2583831.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/edvard-munch-8669_abandoned_to-die-is-as-if-one-s-eyes-had-been-put_2583831.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To die is as if one's eyes had been put out and one cannot see anything any more. Perhaps it is like being…” — Edvard Munch", "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": "Edvard Munch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edvard-munch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To die is as if one's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/to-die-is-as-if-one-s-eyes-had-been-put-out-and-one-cannot-see/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edvard-munch/to-die-is-as-if-one-s-eyes-had-been-put-out-and-one-cannot-see/#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 } } ] } ```