---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is this outer reach of existential…"
description: "\"“It is this outer reach of existential abnegation – the moment where subjective identity deserts itself and becomes enslaved without consciousness of i..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/emily-apter-235797_abnegation_it-is-this-outer-reach-of-existential-ab_2690827.jpg"
---

#  It is this outer reach of existential abnegation – the…

![“It is this outer reach of existential abnegation – the moment where subjective identity deserts itself and becomes enslaved without consciousness of its subjugated condition – that Mirbeau consistently sought to decry with horror.” quote by Emily Apter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/emily-apter-235797_abnegation_it-is-this-outer-reach-of-existential-ab_2690827.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/emily-apter-235797_abnegation_it-is-this-outer-reach-of-existential-ab_2690827.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/emily-apter-235797_abnegation_it-is-this-outer-reach-of-existential-ab_2690827.jpg)

> ““It is this outer reach of existential abnegation – the moment where subjective identity deserts itself and becomes enslaved without consciousness of its subjugated condition – that Mirbeau consistently sought to decry with horror.””

[Emily Apter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-apter/)

## About This Quote

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

Existential negation leads to loss of self‑awareness, creating a state of subconscious slavery that philosophers like Mirbeau critique.

**In simple terms:** Negating existence erodes identity, causing hidden enslavement.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and resist existential negation.

Themes

existentialism identity philosophy negation freedom

Mood

philosophical reflective serious

Type

Abnegation:1 Existentialism:1 Horror:0 Identity:1 Slavery:1 Time:0 Philosophy of Mind:0 Existential Abnegation:1 Subjective Identity:1 Abnegation Moment:0 Enslaved Consciousness:1

When to use this quote

- personal crisis
- political oppression
- mental health therapy
- academic discourse

Key Concepts

existential philosophy critical theory psychological autonomy

Questions to Reflect On

- How does one reclaim agency after existential negation?
- What practical steps restore self‑awareness?

A Different Perspective

Over‑intellectualizing can alienate practical solutions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Abnegation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abnegation/) [Abnegation Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abnegation-moment-2656136/) [Enslaved Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enslaved-consciousness-2656137/) [Existential Abnegation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existential-abnegation-2656134/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Subjective Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjective-identity-2656135/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [And he’s right to say that every faction loses something when it gains a virtue: the Dauntless, brave but cruel; the Erudite, intelligent but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-he-s-right-to-say-that-every-faction-loses-something-when-it/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [“no wonder you left." Yeah," i say, rolling my eyes. " It was just because of the food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/no-wonder-you-left-yeah-i-say-rolling-my-eyes-it-was-just-because-of/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [I knew by the way he looked at her that he held her in a higher regard than he held even himself. No selfishness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-knew-by-the-way-he-looked-at-her-that-he-held-her-in-a-higher/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [Yeah, well," I say, "I left Abnegation because I wasn't selfless enough, no matter how hard I tried to be." "That's not entirely true."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/yeah-well-i-say-i-left-abnegation-because-i-wasn-t-selfless-enough-no/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [Power is violence, its promise, its deed. Power cares nothing for reason, nothing for justice, nothing for compassion. It is, in fact, the singular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/power-is-violence-its-promise-its-deed-power-cares-nothing-for-reason/)

[Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/)

> [She tips her chin up and looks at me with that Abnegation stubbornness I know so well. She may have left them, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/she-tips-her-chin-up-and-looks-at-me-with-that-abnegation/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [I will be my undoing If I become my obsession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-will-be-my-undoing-if-i-become-my-obsession/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [“I also remember that my father was one of the people who voted to get the Dauntless out of the factionless sector of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-also-remember-that-my-father-was-one-of-the-people-who-voted-to-get/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [“Your Abnegation is showing,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/your-abnegation-is-showing/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [“I guess I grew suspicious of both. Power and knowledge," I say. "To the Abnegation, power should only be given to people who don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-guess-i-grew-suspicious-of-both-power-and-knowledge-i-say-to-the/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [“Dear David, I’m sorry, but it’s not going to happen the way we planned it. I can’t do it. I know you’re just going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/dear-david-i-m-sorry-but-it-s-not-going-to-happen-the-way-we-planned/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [All women are brought up from the very earliest years in the belief that their ideal of character is the very opposite to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-women-are-brought-up-from-the-very-earliest-years-in-the-belief/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [There is in even the most selfish passion a large element of self-abnegation. It is startling to realize that what we call extreme self-seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-is-in-even-the-most-selfish-passion-a-large-element-of-self/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [We all have to lead our own life, and we only have the one life, and the only people who can live life not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-mar-as/we-all-have-to-lead-our-own-life-and-we-only-have-the-one-life-and/)

[Javier Marías](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-mar-as/)

> [Few people who are born into Abnegation choose to leave it. When they do, we remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/few-people-who-are-born-into-abnegation-choose-to-leave-it-when-they/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

## More Abnegation quotes

> [And he’s right to say that every faction loses something when it gains a virtue: the Dauntless, brave but cruel; the Erudite, intelligent but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-he-s-right-to-say-that-every-faction-loses-something-when-it/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [We all have to lead our own life, and we only have the one life, and the only people who can live life not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-mar-as/we-all-have-to-lead-our-own-life-and-we-only-have-the-one-life-and/)

[Javier Marías](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-mar-as/)

> [There is in even the most selfish passion a large element of self-abnegation. It is startling to realize that what we call extreme self-seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-is-in-even-the-most-selfish-passion-a-large-element-of-self/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [All women are brought up from the very earliest years in the belief that their ideal of character is the very opposite to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-women-are-brought-up-from-the-very-earliest-years-in-the-belief/)

[John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/)

> [“Dear David, I’m sorry, but it’s not going to happen the way we planned it. I can’t do it. I know you’re just going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/dear-david-i-m-sorry-but-it-s-not-going-to-happen-the-way-we-planned/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [“I guess I grew suspicious of both. Power and knowledge," I say. "To the Abnegation, power should only be given to people who don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-guess-i-grew-suspicious-of-both-power-and-knowledge-i-say-to-the/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [“Your Abnegation is showing,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/your-abnegation-is-showing/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [“I also remember that my father was one of the people who voted to get the Dauntless out of the factionless sector of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-also-remember-that-my-father-was-one-of-the-people-who-voted-to-get/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [I will be my undoing If I become my obsession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-will-be-my-undoing-if-i-become-my-obsession/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [She tips her chin up and looks at me with that Abnegation stubbornness I know so well. She may have left them, but they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/she-tips-her-chin-up-and-looks-at-me-with-that-abnegation/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [Power is violence, its promise, its deed. Power cares nothing for reason, nothing for justice, nothing for compassion. It is, in fact, the singular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/power-is-violence-its-promise-its-deed-power-cares-nothing-for-reason/)

[Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/)

> [Yeah, well," I say, "I left Abnegation because I wasn't selfless enough, no matter how hard I tried to be." "That's not entirely true."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/yeah-well-i-say-i-left-abnegation-because-i-wasn-t-selfless-enough-no/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [I knew by the way he looked at her that he held her in a higher regard than he held even himself. No selfishness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-knew-by-the-way-he-looked-at-her-that-he-held-her-in-a-higher/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [“no wonder you left." Yeah," i say, rolling my eyes. " It was just because of the food.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/no-wonder-you-left-yeah-i-say-rolling-my-eyes-it-was-just-because-of/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [Few people who are born into Abnegation choose to leave it. When they do, we remember.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/few-people-who-are-born-into-abnegation-choose-to-leave-it-when-they/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

[Browse all 82 Abnegation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abnegation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It is this outer reach of existential abnegation – the moment where subjective identity deserts itself and becomes enslaved without consciousness of its subjugated condition – that Mirbeau consistently sought to decry with horror.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Emily Apter"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-apter/it-is-this-outer-reach-of-existential-abnegation-the-moment-where/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Abnegation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-apter/it-is-this-outer-reach-of-existential-abnegation-the-moment-where/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/emily-apter-235797_abnegation_it-is-this-outer-reach-of-existential-ab_2690827.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/emily-apter-235797_abnegation_it-is-this-outer-reach-of-existential-ab_2690827.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b9/emily-apter-235797_abnegation_it-is-this-outer-reach-of-existential-ab_2690827.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is this outer reach of existential abnegation – the moment where subjective identity deserts itself and…” — Emily Apter",
                "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": "Emily Apter",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-apter/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It is this outer reach of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-apter/it-is-this-outer-reach-of-existential-abnegation-the-moment-where/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-apter/it-is-this-outer-reach-of-existential-abnegation-the-moment-where/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
