--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is, is, and what might have been…" description: "\"What is, is, and what might have been could never have existed.\" — Edward Gorey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/edward-gorey-9339_might_what-is-is-and-what-might-have-been-coul_1080153.jpg" --- # What is, is, and what might have been could never have… ![“What is, is, and what might have been could never have existed.” quote by Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/edward-gorey-9339_might_what-is-is-and-what-might-have-been-coul_1080153.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/edward-gorey-9339_might_what-is-is-and-what-might-have-been-coul_1080153.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/edward-gorey-9339_might_what-is-is-and-what-might-have-been-coul_1080153.jpg) > “What is, is, and what might have been could never have existed.” [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) ## 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 expresses a deterministic view that reality is fixed, and imagined possibilities never materialize. **In simple terms:** Reality is fixed; imagined futures don’t exist. Key Takeaway Accept limits of what can be changed. Themes determinism reality imagination Mood melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - creative writing - personal goal setting - strategic planning - problem solving Key Concepts philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How to balance acceptance with aspiration? - Can imagined futures inspire change? A Different Perspective May discourage innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existed/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Might have been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might-have-been/) ## Related quotes > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [If I'd had a great level of success early on, who knows how I would have responded. I might have been a complete jerk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/if-i-d-had-a-great-level-of-success-early-on-who-knows-how-i-would/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Harry looked around; there was Ginny running toward him; she had a hard blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/harry-looked-around-there-was-ginny-running-toward-him-she-had-a-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's a tradition of reenactment in documentary which is about sort of illustrating what the past might have been like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-oppenheimer/there-s-a-tradition-of-reenactment-in-documentary-which-is-about-sort/) [Joshua Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-oppenheimer/) > [So I'm an ace?' Will grinned. 'I'm flattered Halt, flattered. I had no idea you regarded me so highly.' Halt gave him a long-suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/so-i-m-an-ace-will-grinned-i-m-flattered-halt-flattered-i-had-no-idea/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [In science, each new result, sometimes quite surprising, heralds a step forward and allows one to discard some hypotheses, even though one or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-b-prusiner/in-science-each-new-result-sometimes-quite-surprising-heralds-a-step/) [Stanley B. Prusiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-b-prusiner/) > [ Perhaps \[the critics are right and\] the drama is played out now and Jesus is safely dead and buried. Perhaps. It is ironical and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/perhaps-the-critics-are-right-and-the-drama-is-played-out-now-and/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Yes, Manchester United are the best team in England, but you have to ask how good has the Premier League been since I left?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-mourinho/yes-manchester-united-are-the-best-team-in-england-but-you-have-to/) [Jose Mourinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-mourinho/) > [There is a wealth of unexpressed love in the world. It is one of the chief causes of sorrow evoked by death: what might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hopkins/there-is-a-wealth-of-unexpressed-love-in-the-world-it-is-one-of-the/) [Arthur Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hopkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Pink Panther wasn't shown to the press for reasons that soon became apparent when I saw it at a public performance. Two people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-french/the-pink-panther-wasn-t-shown-to-the-press-for-reasons-that-soon/) [Philip French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-french/) > [He was obviously dead. But since he was a vampire that wasn't as hopless a thing as it might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/he-was-obviously-dead-but-since-he-was-a-vampire-that-wasn-t-as/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [With live-action I think we'd have lost the universal appeal of the Persepolis story. With live-action, it would have turned into a story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/with-live-action-i-think-we-d-have-lost-the-universal-appeal-of-the/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [“The air felt different in my lungs. The world no longer looked the same. You change and then you change again. You become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-air-felt-different-in-my-lungs-the-world-no-longer-looked-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“For a long while I have lived with the notion that I was the most normal being that ever existed. This notion gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/for-a-long-while-i-have-lived-with-the-notion-that-i-was-the-most/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) ## More by Edward Gorey > [I have given up considering happiness as relevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-have-given-up-considering-happiness-as-relevant/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [Interviewer: What is your greatest regret? Gorey: That I don't have one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/interviewer-what-is-your-greatest-regret-gorey-that-i-don-t-have-one/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I should like a parsley sandwich. To the best of my knowledge they are not in season.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-should-like-a-parsley-sandwich-to-the-best-of-my-knowledge-they-are/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I really think I write about everyday life. I don't think I'm quite as odd as others say I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-really-think-i-write-about-everyday-life-i-don-t-think-i-m-quite-as/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [There was a young lady named Mae Who smoked without stopping all day; As pack followed pack, Her lungs first turned black, And eventually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/there-was-a-young-lady-named-mae-who-smoked-without-stopping-all-day/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [“Apropos of nothing at all except that it has been on my mind and I think I had better say it because it accounts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/apropos-of-nothing-at-all-except-that-it-has-been-on-my-mind-and-i/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [Vice is nice, but a little virtue won't hurt you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/vice-is-nice-but-a-little-virtue-won-t-hurt-you/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [“How elegant! how choice! how gay! To think one doesn’t have to pay. There is sound of falling tears; It comes from nowhere to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/how-elegant-how-choice-how-gay-to-think-one-doesn-t-have-to-pay-there/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I just kind of conjured them up out of my subconscious and put them in order of ascending peculiarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-just-kind-of-conjured-them-up-out-of-my-subconscious-and-put-them/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I've never had any intentions about anything. That's why I am where I am today, which is neither here nor there, in a literal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-ve-never-had-any-intentions-about-anything-that-s-why-i-am-where-i/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [The Suicide, as she is falling, Illuminated by the moon, Regrets her act, and finds appalling The thought she will be dead so soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/the-suicide-as-she-is-falling-illuminated-by-the-moon-regrets-her-act/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [“He presented it with a length of string and passed on to the statue of Corrupted Endeavor to await the arrival of Autumn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/he-presented-it-with-a-length-of-string-and-passed-on-to-the-statue/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I don't know what it is I'm doing. But it's not that. Despite all evidence to the contrary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-don-t-know-what-it-is-i-m-doing-but-it-s-not-that-despite-all/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I realize that homosexuality is a serious problem for anyone who is - but then, of course, heterosexuality is a serious problem for anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-realize-that-homosexuality-is-a-serious-problem-for-anyone-who-is/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) > [I really think I write about everyday life. I don't think I'm quite as odd as others say I am. Life is intrinsically, well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/i-really-think-i-write-about-everyday-life-i-don-t-think-i-m-quite-as-2/) [Edward Gorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) [Explore all 73 Edward Gorey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/) ## More Existed quotes > [“For a long while I have lived with the notion that I was the most normal being that ever existed. This notion gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/for-a-long-while-i-have-lived-with-the-notion-that-i-was-the-most/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [“The air felt different in my lungs. The world no longer looked the same. You change and then you change again. You become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-air-felt-different-in-my-lungs-the-world-no-longer-looked-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Perfect happiness existed, but perhaps only in small increments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elin-hilderbrand/perfect-happiness-existed-but-perhaps-only-in-small-increments/) [Elin Hilderbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elin-hilderbrand/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Above all else, it is about leaving a mark that I existed: I was here. I was hungry. I was defeated. I was happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-gonzalez-torres/above-all-else-it-is-about-leaving-a-mark-that-i-existed-i-was-here-i/) [Felix Gonzalez-Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-gonzalez-torres/) > [“If Erik existed and lived life in despair, We wish him to know we are here and we care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/if-erik-existed-and-lived-life-in-despair-we-wish-him-to-know-we-are/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [Karma has always existed, as have you, I, and all things in this wonderful universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/karma-has-always-existed-as-have-you-i-and-all-things-in-this/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [For me, Mexploitation seemed like something that should have existed, but didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rodriguez/for-me-mexploitation-seemed-like-something-that-should-have-existed/) [Robert Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rodriguez/) > [“Sometimes, when I was looking out for my own happiness, I almost forgot you existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gibbons/sometimes-when-i-was-looking-out-for-my-own-happiness-i-almost-forgot/) [Alan Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gibbons/) > [I was progressive before the term progressive actually existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-adams/i-was-progressive-before-the-term-progressive-actually-existed/) [Eric Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-adams/) > [“(We) consist of everything the world consists of, each of us, and just as our body contains the genealogical table of evolution as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/we-consist-of-everything-the-world-consists-of-each-of-us-and-just-as/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“The only thing she could be certain of was that she existed. All else was suspect, even her own thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/the-only-thing-she-could-be-certain-of-was-that-she-existed-all-else/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [We've decided what we are. That's the dream. When the dream fades, it's not that we don't exist. How could we not exist since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-ve-decided-what-we-are-that-s-the-dream-when-the-dream-fades-it-s/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [If I find out that you stopped caring for no reason.. I am going to stop believing you ever existed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-find-out-that-you-stopped-caring-for-no-reason-i-am-going-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At a lot of companies founded on principles, the notion of making money is almost antithetical to the ethos of the place. From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mackey/at-a-lot-of-companies-founded-on-principles-the-notion-of-making/) [John Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mackey/) [Browse all 439 Existed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is, is, and what might have been could never have existed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Gorey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/what-is-is-and-what-might-have-been-could-never-have-existed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Existed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/what-is-is-and-what-might-have-been-could-never-have-existed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/edward-gorey-9339_might_what-is-is-and-what-might-have-been-coul_1080153.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/edward-gorey-9339_might_what-is-is-and-what-might-have-been-coul_1080153.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/119/edward-gorey-9339_might_what-is-is-and-what-might-have-been-coul_1080153.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is, is, and what might have been could never have existed.” — Edward Gorey", "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": "Edward Gorey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gorey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What is, is, and what might...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/what-is-is-and-what-might-have-been-could-never-have-existed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gorey/what-is-is-and-what-might-have-been-could-never-have-existed/#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 } } ] } ```