--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So that is over, think I to myself; so…" description: "\"“So that is over, think I to myself; so that is over too! Not because she thinks me dull; not because she has altered—no, not for any of these things, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/erich-maria-remarque-568_quote_so-that-is-over-think-i-to-myself-so-tha_857684.jpg" --- # So that is over, think I to myself; so that is over too!… ![“So that is over, think I to myself; so that is over too! Not because she thinks me dull; not because she has altered—no, not for any of these things, but because I see now that it has all been in vain. —I have been running about and about; I have knocked again at all the doors of my youth and…” quote by Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/erich-maria-remarque-568_quote_so-that-is-over-think-i-to-myself-so-tha_857684.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/erich-maria-remarque-568_quote_so-that-is-over-think-i-to-myself-so-tha_857684.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/erich-maria-remarque-568_quote_so-that-is-over-think-i-to-myself-so-tha_857684.jpg) > ““So that is over, think I to myself; so that is over too! Not because she thinks me dull; not because she has altered—no, not for any of these things, but because I see now that it has all been in vain. —I have been running about and about; I have knocked again at all the doors of my youth and desired to enter in there; I thought, surely it must admit me again, for I am still young and have wished so much to forget; but it fled always before me like a will-o’-the-wisp; it fell away without sound; it crumbled like tinder at my lightest touch. And I could not understand. —Surely here at least something of it must remain? I attempted it again and again, and as a result made myself merely ridiculous and wretched. —But now I know. I know now that a still, silent war has ravaged this country of my memories also; I know now it would be useless for me to look farther. Time lies between like a great gulf; I cannot get back. There is nothing for it; I must go forward, march onward, anywhere; it matters nothing, for I have no goal.”” [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator realizes past attempts to reclaim youth are futile; memory is a silent war, urging forward motion without a specific goal. **In simple terms:** Past cannot be reclaimed; keep moving forward. Key Takeaway Accept loss, move onward. Themes memory loss acceptance forward motion Mood melancholic reflective determined Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - grieving youth - letting go - personal growth - overcoming stagnation Key Concepts nostalgia existential futility psychological conflict Questions to Reflect On - What does moving forward mean without a destination? - How can one find purpose after loss? A Different Perspective Even without a goal, direction is needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [“I have been running all about; I have knocked again at all the doors of my youth and desired to enter in there; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/i-have-been-running-all-about-i-have-knocked-again-at-all-the-doors/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [There was only one human experience I worried about missing. Of course it would be the one he wished I would forget completely. -Bella…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn/there-was-only-one-human-experience-i-worried-about-missing-of-course/) [The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-twilight-saga-breaking-dawn/) > [“I wished, more than anything, to forget. But what I had, more than anything, was time to remember.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-somerville/i-wished-more-than-anything-to-forget-but-what-i-had-more-than/) [Ann Somerville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-somerville/) > [Today I wished I could forget about you </3 all the laughs, smiles, breathless moments you made me feel, the love, the care, the way you make me feel, the butterflies, the trust. I want to feel nothing towards you. I don't want anything to do with you. I know it'll hurt but I'm sure it'll hurt a lot less than seeing you with her, Â and you giving her all the love you use to give to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-i-wished-i-could-forget-about-you-3-all-the-laughs-smiles/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Phantoms of thought and memory thinned and fled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/phantoms-of-thought-and-memory-thinned-and-fled/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [Noon, ripe as thunder and silent as thought, had fled unfingered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mervyn-peake/noon-ripe-as-thunder-and-silent-as-thought-had-fled-unfingered/) [Mervyn Peake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mervyn-peake/) > [“As a refugee who fled civil war as a child, I am still trying to figure out where I fit in - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilhan-omar/as-a-refugee-who-fled-civil-war-as-a-child-i-am-still-trying-to/) [Ilhan Omar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilhan-omar/) > [“A kid ran into the darkness. His clothing was on fire; the flames streamed behind him as he fled screaming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/a-kid-ran-into-the-darkness-his-clothing-was-on-fire-the-flames/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) > [“Do you see? The story I have to tell is so small, of the people who stayed when everyone else fled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-francis-slattery/do-you-see-the-story-i-have-to-tell-is-so-small-of-the-people-who/) [Brian Francis Slattery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-francis-slattery/) > [As she fled fast through sun and shade The happy winds upon her play'd, Blowing the ringlet from the braid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/as-she-fled-fast-through-sun-and-shade-the-happy-winds-upon-her-play/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [ \[...\]women much like this prostitute fled toward Jesus, not away from him. The worse a person felt about herself, the more likely she saw… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/women-much-like-this-prostitute-fled-toward-jesus-not-away-from-him/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [“The winds of wrath came driving him, and blindly in the foam he fled from west to east, and errandless, unheralded he homeward sped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/the-winds-of-wrath-came-driving-him-and-blindly-in-the-foam-he-fled/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [“He ran toward the light. When he passed the corpse of his dead friend, he began to weep again. He picked up his sword.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-john-harrison/he-ran-toward-the-light-when-he-passed-the-corpse-of-his-dead-friend/) [M. John Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-john-harrison/) > [I am like the she-wolf / I broke with the pack / I fled to the mountains / Growing tired of the flatlands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfonsina-storni/i-am-like-the-she-wolf-i-broke-with-the-pack-i-fled-to-the-mountains/) Alfonsina Storni > [Fancy the happiness of Pinocchio on finding himself free! Without saying yes or no, he fled from the city and set out on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-collodi/fancy-the-happiness-of-pinocchio-on-finding-himself-free-without/) [Carlo Collodi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-collodi/) ## More by Erich Maria Remarque > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our minds with a greater insight and a more humane wisdom. But the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/the-idea-of-authority-which-they-represented-was-associated-in-our/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“It was a long time since I had been in a theatre. And I would not have come now had Pat not wanted it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/it-was-a-long-time-since-i-had-been-in-a-theatre-and-i-would-not-have/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“Besides,” continued Gottfried, “you’re coming now to the time when the difference between a bourgeois and a cavalier begins to show. A bourgeois always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/besides-continued-gottfried-you-re-coming-now-to-the-time-when-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“They are wearing new uniforms and greatcoats; their boots are water-tight and fit well; their rifles are good and their pouches full of ammunition.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/they-are-wearing-new-uniforms-and-greatcoats-their-boots-are-water/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“Shortly after the war Valentin had come into a little money, and had been drinking it ever since. He considered it his duty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/shortly-after-the-war-valentin-had-come-into-a-little-money-and-had/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“A man has to have something he can put faith in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/a-man-has-to-have-something-he-can-put-faith-in/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“It is very queer that the unhappiness of the world is so often brought on by small men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/it-is-very-queer-that-the-unhappiness-of-the-world-is-so-often/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [I, too, am going to go away soon,' she says, 'I am weary and weary of my weariness. Everything is beginning to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/i-too-am-going-to-go-away-soon-she-says-i-am-weary-and-weary-of-my/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“One is never too young. Only always too old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/one-is-never-too-young-only-always-too-old/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [You take it from me, we are losing the war because we can salute too well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/you-take-it-from-me-we-are-losing-the-war-because-we-can-salute-too/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“It keeps them going, staves off the evil day when they will be alone. And to be alone, really alone, without illusion, that way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/it-keeps-them-going-staves-off-the-evil-day-when-they-will-be-alone/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“Suddenly he knew all the things he should have said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/suddenly-he-knew-all-the-things-he-should-have-said/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“To hell with it. What was the use trying to make safe and sure our little life? Sooner or later the great wave must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/to-hell-with-it-what-was-the-use-trying-to-make-safe-and-sure-our/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [“I glance at my boots. They are big and clumsy, the breeches are tucked into them, and standing up one looks well-built and powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/i-glance-at-my-boots-they-are-big-and-clumsy-the-breeches-are-tucked/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) [Explore all 360 Erich Maria Remarque quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) ## More Memories quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [What keeps me motivated is not the food itself but all the bonds and memories the food represents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chiarello/what-keeps-me-motivated-is-not-the-food-itself-but-all-the-bonds-and/) Michael Chiarello > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [In the name of Jerusalem. If I forget the extermination of the Jews, may my right hand wither, may my tongue stick to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/in-the-name-of-jerusalem-if-i-forget-the-extermination-of-the-jews/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) > [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/) [Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) > [Children, Never look Back!" and this meant that we must never allow the future to be weighed down by memory . for children have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/children-never-look-back-and-this-meant-that-we-must-never-allow-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) [Browse all 11,132 Memories quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So that is over, think I to myself; so that is over too! Not because she thinks me dull; not because she has altered—no, not for any of these things, but because I see now that it has all been in vain. —I have been running about and about; I have knocked again at all the doors of my youth and desired to enter in there; I thought, surely it must admit me again, for I am still young and have wished so much to forget; but it fled always before me like a will-o’-the-wisp; it fell away without sound; it crumbled like tinder at my lightest touch. And I could not understand. —Surely here at least something of it must remain? I attempted it again and again, and as a result made myself merely ridiculous and wretched. —But now I know. I know now that a still, silent war has ravaged this country of my memories also; I know now it would be useless for me to look farther. Time lies between like a great gulf; I cannot get back. There is nothing for it; I must go forward, march onward, anywhere; it matters nothing, for I have no goal.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erich Maria Remarque" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/so-that-is-over-think-i-to-myself-so-that-is-over-too-not-because-she/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Memories" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/so-that-is-over-think-i-to-myself-so-that-is-over-too-not-because-she/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/erich-maria-remarque-568_quote_so-that-is-over-think-i-to-myself-so-tha_857684.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/erich-maria-remarque-568_quote_so-that-is-over-think-i-to-myself-so-tha_857684.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1b/erich-maria-remarque-568_quote_so-that-is-over-think-i-to-myself-so-tha_857684.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So that is over, think I to myself; so that is over too! Not because she thinks me dull; not because she has…” — Erich Maria Remarque", "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": "Erich Maria Remarque", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“So that is over, think I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/so-that-is-over-think-i-to-myself-so-that-is-over-too-not-because-she/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/so-that-is-over-think-i-to-myself-so-that-is-over-too-not-because-she/#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 } } ] } ```