--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But at three o'clock in the morning, a…" description: "\"“But at three o'clock in the morning, a forgotten package has the same tragic importance as a death sentence, and the cure doesn't work-- and in a real..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_dark-night_but-at-three-o-clock-in-the-morning-a-fo_1069527.jpg" --- # But at three o'clock in the morning, a forgotten package… ![“But at three o'clock in the morning, a forgotten package has the same tragic importance as a death sentence, and the cure doesn't work-- and in a real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning, day after day.” quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_dark-night_but-at-three-o-clock-in-the-morning-a-fo_1069527.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_dark-night_but-at-three-o-clock-in-the-morning-a-fo_1069527.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_dark-night_but-at-three-o-clock-in-the-morning-a-fo_1069527.jpg) > ““But at three o'clock in the morning, a forgotten package has the same tragic importance as a death sentence, and the cure doesn't work-- and in a real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning, day after day.”” [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Late‑night anxieties feel as fatal as death, emphasizing the relentless, oppressive nature of personal crises. **In simple terms:** Night worries feel deadly. Key Takeaway Address recurring anxieties early. Themes anxiety despair time Mood melancholic intense Type literary psychological When to use this quote - nighttime rumination - stress management - creative blocks - health crises Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What “three‑o’clock” moments haunt you? - How can you break the cycle of recurring dread? A Different Perspective Some crises are not as catastrophic as perceived. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Dark night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-night/) [Dark night of the soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-night-of-the-soul/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death sentence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-sentence/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) ## Related quotes > [Now the standard cure for one who is sunk is to consider those in actual destitution or physical suffering—this is an all-weather beatitude for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/now-the-standard-cure-for-one-who-is-sunk-is-to-consider-those-in/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [In a real dark night of the soul, it is always three o'clock in the morning, day after day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/in-a-real-dark-night-of-the-soul-it-is-always-three-o-clock-in-the/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I could not of any, no I was not, where to roost anywhere \| anywhere, not dark like my heart, my desires are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-could-not-of-any-no-i-was-not-where-to-roost-anywhere-anywhere-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In community, where you have all the affection you could ever dream of, you feel that there is a place where even community cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/in-community-where-you-have-all-the-affection-you-could-ever-dream-of/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [“You see my state, and still increase my pain I see your face, the need for union regain. For my welfare, you have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafiz/you-see-my-state-and-still-increase-my-pain-i-see-your-face-the-need/) [Hafiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafiz/) > [“Maslow emphasized the “heights”, but to get to the heights you must have the Dark Night of the soul, and make your trip to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-armstrong/maslow-emphasized-the-heights-but-to-get-to-the-heights-you-must-have/) Rob Armstrong > [I believe that the 'dark night of the soul' is a common spiritual experience. I believe, too, that the answer is continued seeking and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/i-believe-that-the-dark-night-of-the-soul-is-a-common-spiritual/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [There can be no rebirth without a dark night of the soul, a total annihilation of all that you believed in and thought that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-can-be-no-rebirth-without-a-dark-night-of-the-soul-a-total/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“While the Dark Night of the Soul is a process of death, the Spiritual Awakening Process is the rebirth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mateo-sol/while-the-dark-night-of-the-soul-is-a-process-of-death-the-spiritual/) [Mateo Sol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mateo-sol/) > [The dark night of the soul for me was one night in Florida, when I had been on the road for about four years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-manilow/the-dark-night-of-the-soul-for-me-was-one-night-in-florida-when-i-had/) [Barry Manilow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-manilow/) > [“The journey of the dark night of the soul is where we learn who we are, without people telling us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-le-green/the-journey-of-the-dark-night-of-the-soul-is-where-we-learn-who-we/) Adèle Green > [“The idea is a complicated one, as the burden falls to us to differentiate this Divine Darkness from other kinds of darknesses-- that off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/the-idea-is-a-complicated-one-as-the-burden-falls-to-us-to/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“There is another reason also why the soul has traveled safely in this obscurity; it has suffered: for the way of suffering is safer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-of-the-cross/there-is-another-reason-also-why-the-soul-has-traveled-safely-in-this/) Saint John of the Cross > [And through a dark night of the soul, I came to realize that salvation happens through a mysterious, indefinable, relational interaction with Jesus in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/and-through-a-dark-night-of-the-soul-i-came-to-realize-that-salvation/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“...the important questions are answered by not liking only but disliking and accepting equally what one likes and dislikes. Otherwise there is no access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/the-important-questions-are-answered-by-not-liking-only-but-disliking/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) ## More by F. Scott Fitzgerald > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-a-ripe-mystery-about-it-a-hint-of-bedrooms-upstairs-more/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I found something! Courage--just that; courage as a rule of life and something to cling to always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-found-something-courage-just-that-courage-as-a-rule-of-life-and/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Life is a series of successful gestures...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/life-is-a-series-of-successful-gestures/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Another dawn flung itself across the river; a belated taxi hurried along the street, its lamps still shining like burning eyes in a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/another-dawn-flung-itself-across-the-river-a-belated-taxi-hurried/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“She plucked a twig and broke it, but she found no spring in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/she-plucked-a-twig-and-broke-it-but-she-found-no-spring-in-it/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“I'm one of those people who go through the world giving other people thrills but getting few myself except those I read into men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-m-one-of-those-people-who-go-through-the-world-giving-other-people/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The Montana sunset lay between the mountains like a giant bruise from which darkened arteries spread across a poisoned sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-montana-sunset-lay-between-the-mountains-like-a-giant-bruise-from/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“You loved me too?" he repeated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/you-loved-me-too-he-repeated/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“He was good looking, "sort of distinguished when he wants to be", had a line, and was properly inconstant. In fact, he summed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/he-was-good-looking-sort-of-distinguished-when-he-wants-to-be-had-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [What are you going to do? "Can't say - run for president, write -" "Greenwich Village?" "Good heavens, no - I said write -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-are-you-going-to-do-can-t-say-run-for-president-write-greenwich/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“The latter was considered a good fellow and a fine leader, until a year later, when he disappeared with a mess fund of eleven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-latter-was-considered-a-good-fellow-and-a-fine-leader-until-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/it-eluded-us-then-but-that-s-no-matter-tomorrow-we-will-run-faster/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Explore all 1,568 F. 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