--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes I have the feeling that we're…" description: "\"“Sometimes I have the feeling that we're in one room with two opposite doors and each of us holds the handle of one door, one of us flicks an eyelash a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/franz-kafka-214_quote_sometimes-i-have-the-feeling-that-we-re_186910.jpg" --- # Sometimes I have the feeling that we're in one room with… ![“Sometimes I have the feeling that we're in one room with two opposite doors and each of us holds the handle of one door, one of us flicks an eyelash and the other is already behind his door, and now the first one has but to utter a word ad immediately the second one has closed his door behind him…” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/franz-kafka-214_quote_sometimes-i-have-the-feeling-that-we-re_186910.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/franz-kafka-214_quote_sometimes-i-have-the-feeling-that-we-re_186910.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/franz-kafka-214_quote_sometimes-i-have-the-feeling-that-we-re_186910.jpg) > ““Sometimes I have the feeling that we're in one room with two opposite doors and each of us holds the handle of one door, one of us flicks an eyelash and the other is already behind his door, and now the first one has but to utter a word ad immediately the second one has closed his door behind him and can no longer be seen. He's sure to open the door again for it's a room which perhaps one cannot leave. If only the first one were not precisely like the second, if he were calm, if he would only pretend not to look at the other, if he slowly set the room in order as though it were a room like any other; but instead he does exactly the same as the other at his door, sometimes even both are behind the doors and the the beautiful room is empty.”” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes two people in a room with opposite doors, each holding a handle, where one’s action closes the other's door, creating a cycle of missed connections and isolation. **In simple terms:** Two people hold opposite doors; one’s move closes the other’s, leading to isolation. Key Takeaway Recognize how actions can unintentionally shut others out. Themes communication isolation perception choice relationships Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - social gatherings - conflict resolution - team projects - personal relationships Key Concepts interdependence timing misunderstanding existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you make about others’ motives? - How can you keep doors open for dialogue? A Different Perspective Assuming intent may misinterpret others’ actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/door/) [Door Room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/door-room-1795395/) [Feeling Room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-room-443402/) [Opposite Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposite-doors-1287660/) [Room Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/room-like-267803/) [Room Opposite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/room-opposite-1287659/) ## Related quotes > [“Sometimes I have the feeling that we're in one room with two opposite doors and each of us holds the handle of one door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/sometimes-i-have-the-feeling-that-we-re-in-one-room-with-two-opposite-2/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [Mona knocked at the wrong time. “Uh…yeah…wait a minute, Mona -- ” Mona shouted through the door. “Room service, gentlemen. Just pull the covers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armistead-maupin/mona-knocked-at-the-wrong-time-uh-yeah-wait-a-minute-mona-mona/) [Armistead Maupin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armistead-maupin/) > [If you knock on the door of an empty room, it is at least normal for no one to answer...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/if-you-knock-on-the-door-of-an-empty-room-it-is-at-least-normal-for/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [Admit it , once in our life we have lock the door to are room play are favorte music and dance in our underwear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/none/admit-it-once-in-our-life-we-have-lock-the-door-to-are-room-play-are/) [None](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/none/) > [“Death is a door to another room of your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mcnulty/death-is-a-door-to-another-room-of-your-life/) [Patrick McNulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mcnulty/) > [“She was plagued again by the feeling that the room in which she stood, the earth on which it was built, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/she-was-plagued-again-by-the-feeling-that-the-room-in-which-she-stood/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [I truly do feel like scent can change your mood and the feeling in a room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tish-cyrus/i-truly-do-feel-like-scent-can-change-your-mood-and-the-feeling-in-a/) [Tish Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tish-cyrus/) > [Be wary of feeling as through there is not enough room at the table. Oftentimes a female Chinese-American might feel as through she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zz-packer-64818/be-wary-of-feeling-as-through-there-is-not-enough-room-at-the-table/) [ZZ Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zz-packer-64818/) > [The worst feeling: Being in a room full of PEOPLE & still being lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-j-wilson/the-worst-feeling-being-in-a-room-full-of-people-still-being-lonely/) [Kiana J Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-j-wilson/) > [If you do enough rap shows, you get a pretty good sense of an audience. You start to develop this sense of what a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daveed-diggs/if-you-do-enough-rap-shows-you-get-a-pretty-good-sense-of-an-audience/) [Daveed Diggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daveed-diggs/) > [“Then, like a scene in a comedy - their lips but a breath away from touching - the door to the library burst open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kady-cross/then-like-a-scene-in-a-comedy-their-lips-but-a-breath-away-from/) [Kady Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kady-cross/) > [Sometimes I say working on a story in a writers' room is like saying the same word over and over and over again until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marti-noxon/sometimes-i-say-working-on-a-story-in-a-writers-room-is-like-saying/) [Marti Noxon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marti-noxon/) > [I used to sit in class and listen to the terms come floating down the room like paper airplanes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/i-used-to-sit-in-class-and-listen-to-the-terms-come-floating-down-the/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [You know it was a good night when you wake up and run to your BFF's room like...How did I get in my bed?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rihanna/you-know-it-was-a-good-night-when-you-wake-up-and-run-to-your-bff-s/) [Rihanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rihanna/) > [Those days where you crank the music and jump around your room like an idiot trying to dance with your 19 year old brother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily/those-days-where-you-crank-the-music-and-jump-around-your-room-like/) [Lily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-job-is-unbearable-to-me-because-it-conflicts-with-my-only-desire/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Faith, like a guillotine. As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More Door quotes > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When one door closes another doesn't just open, you can either open the same door or open a different one...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-one-door-closes-another-doesn-t-just-open-you-can-either-open/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [We can't love a place or a person if we always have one foot out the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/we-can-t-love-a-place-or-a-person-if-we-always-have-one-foot-out-the/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [Kindness unlocks doors that were thought to be closed forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/kindness-unlocks-doors-that-were-thought-to-be-closed-forever/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [Dear parents,knocking while open the door to my bedroom kind of defeats the purpose of knocking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-parents-knocking-while-open-the-door-to-my-bedroom-kind-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [I won't be managing the Mets. I am closing the door on managing the Mets and probably everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-torre/i-won-t-be-managing-the-mets-i-am-closing-the-door-on-managing-the/) [Joe Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-torre/) > [If opportunity doesnt knock, build a door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-opportunity-doesnt-knock-build-a-door/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Couples Therapy' is pretty big for me because it's opening the door to a new audience - a hip-hop following, which I feel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-carrera/couples-therapy-is-pretty-big-for-me-because-it-s-opening-the-door-to/) [Carmen Carrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-carrera/) > [“Happiness isn't something that you plan for. It comes knocking unexpectedly, just like opportunity. And it's up to you to answer the door and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autumn-doughton/happiness-isn-t-something-that-you-plan-for-it-comes-knocking/) [Autumn Doughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autumn-doughton/) > [Nothing attracts me like a closed door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bourke-white/nothing-attracts-me-like-a-closed-door/) [Margaret Bourke-White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bourke-white/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Hayley Haslett raised her hand and tapped on the door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rose/hayley-haslett-raised-her-hand-and-tapped-on-the-door/) [Carol Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rose/) > [I think you've still got to try to be good, day-to-day. You see a granny, you hold the door open for her. You just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sami-zayn/i-think-you-ve-still-got-to-try-to-be-good-day-to-day-you-see-a/) [Sami Zayn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sami-zayn/) [Browse all 3,104 Door quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/door/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sometimes I have the feeling that we're in one room with two opposite doors and each of us holds the handle of one door, one of us flicks an eyelash and the other is already behind his door, and now the first one has but to utter a word ad immediately the second one has closed his door behind him and can no longer be seen. He's sure to open the door again for it's a room which perhaps one cannot leave. If only the first one were not precisely like the second, if he were calm, if he would only pretend not to look at the other, if he slowly set the room in order as though it were a room like any other; but instead he does exactly the same as the other at his door, sometimes even both are behind the doors and the the beautiful room is empty.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Franz Kafka" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sometimes-i-have-the-feeling-that-we-re-in-one-room-with-two-opposite/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Door" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sometimes-i-have-the-feeling-that-we-re-in-one-room-with-two-opposite/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/franz-kafka-214_quote_sometimes-i-have-the-feeling-that-we-re_186910.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/franz-kafka-214_quote_sometimes-i-have-the-feeling-that-we-re_186910.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e06/franz-kafka-214_quote_sometimes-i-have-the-feeling-that-we-re_186910.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes I have the feeling that we're in one room with two opposite doors and each of us holds the handle…” — Franz Kafka", "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": "Franz Kafka", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Sometimes I have the feeling that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sometimes-i-have-the-feeling-that-we-re-in-one-room-with-two-opposite/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sometimes-i-have-the-feeling-that-we-re-in-one-room-with-two-opposite/#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 } } ] } ```