--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Here, beside this great black surface…" description: "\"Here, beside this great black surface that is my desk, I feel as though I am on a desert island.\" — Etty Hillesum" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8b/etty-hillesum-9002_black_here-beside-this-great-black-surface-tha_243387.jpg" --- # Here, beside this great black surface that is my desk, I… ![“Here, beside this great black surface that is my desk, I feel as though I am on a desert island.” quote by Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8b/etty-hillesum-9002_black_here-beside-this-great-black-surface-tha_243387.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8b/etty-hillesum-9002_black_here-beside-this-great-black-surface-tha_243387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8b/etty-hillesum-9002_black_here-beside-this-great-black-surface-tha_243387.jpg) > “Here, beside this great black surface that is my desk, I feel as though I am on a desert island.” [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling isolated at her desk, she likens it to being stranded on a desert island, reflecting emotional solitude. **In simple terms:** Desk feels like a lonely island. Key Takeaway Acknowledge feelings of isolation. Themes loneliness isolation reflection Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - remote work - creative writing - personal crisis - mental health Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What comforts can you bring to your “island”? - How does environment shape your mood? A Different Perspective Isolation may be self‑imposed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-surface-326090/) [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Desert island](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert-island/) [Desk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desk/) [Desk Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desk-feel-2435823/) [Desks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desks/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Feel Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-desert-2265635/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Islands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islands/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Cress?" "It's beautiful out there." A hesitation, before, "Could you be more specific?" "The sky is gorgeous, intense blue color." 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I don't care.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/i-don-t-have-a-bloomberg-on-my-desk-i-don-t-care/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [It seemed to me that I should have a desk, even though I had no real need for a desk. I was afraid that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/it-seemed-to-me-that-i-should-have-a-desk-even-though-i-had-no-real/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [I have three boxes on my desk: In, Out, and Too Hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/i-have-three-boxes-on-my-desk-in-out-and-too-hard/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [I'm terrible in the mornings, but I'm always at my desk by 10 A.M.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-herbert/i-m-terrible-in-the-mornings-but-i-m-always-at-my-desk-by-10-a-m/) [James Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-herbert/) > [The way I see it, more people are wired with broadband from 9 to 5 during the day than watch TV at night. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-burnett/the-way-i-see-it-more-people-are-wired-with-broadband-from-9-to-5/) [Mark Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-burnett/) > [Ireland starts for me with the end of 'The Dead,' which my father read to me from his desk in his basement office in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/ireland-starts-for-me-with-the-end-of-the-dead-which-my-father-read/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) ## More by Etty Hillesum > [A large group of us were crowded into the Gestapo hall, and at that moment the circumstances of all our lives were the same.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/a-large-group-of-us-were-crowded-into-the-gestapo-hall-and-at-that/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [Every word born of an inner necessity - writing must never be anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/every-word-born-of-an-inner-necessity-writing-must-never-be-anything/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [That fear of missing out on things makes you miss out on everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/that-fear-of-missing-out-on-things-makes-you-miss-out-on-everything/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [There are moments when I feel like giving up or giving in, but I soon rally again and do my duty as I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/there-are-moments-when-i-feel-like-giving-up-or-giving-in-but-i-soon/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [The externals are simply so many props; everything we need is within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/the-externals-are-simply-so-many-props-everything-we-need-is-within-us/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [If one finds the strength to deal with small things, one finds it to deal with the large ones as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/if-one-finds-the-strength-to-deal-with-small-things-one-finds-it-to/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [All disasters stem from us. Why is there a war? Perhaps because now and then I might be inclined to snap at my neighbour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/all-disasters-stem-from-us-why-is-there-a-war-perhaps-because-now-and/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/sometimes-the-most-important-thing-in-a-whole-day-is-the-rest-we-take/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [We human beings cause monstrous conditions, but precisely because we cause them we soon learn to adapt ourselves to them. Only if we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/we-human-beings-cause-monstrous-conditions-but-precisely-because-we/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [Despite everything, life is full of beauty and meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/despite-everything-life-is-full-of-beauty-and-meaning/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [Sometimes my day is crammed full of people and talk and yet I have the feeling of living in utter peace and quiet. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/sometimes-my-day-is-crammed-full-of-people-and-talk-and-yet-i-have/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [To live fully, outwardly and inwardly, not to ignore the external reality for the sake of the inner life, or the reverse, that's quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/to-live-fully-outwardly-and-inwardly-not-to-ignore-the-external/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [If one burdens the future with one's worries, it cannot grow organically. I am filled with confidence, not that I shall succeed in worldly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/if-one-burdens-the-future-with-one-s-worries-it-cannot-grow/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [We have to fight them daily, like fleas, those many small worries about the morrow, for they sap our energies. 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