--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Her future, she thought, was likely to be…" description: "\"Her future, she thought, was likely to be worse than her past, for after her years of contented renunciation, she had slipped back into desire and long..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/george-eliot-84_becoming_her-future-she-thought-was-likely-to-be_1518766.jpg" --- # Her future, she thought, was likely to be worse than her… ![“Her future, she thought, was likely to be worse than her past, for after her years of contented renunciation, she had slipped back into desire and longing; she found joyless days of distasteful occupation harder and harder; she found the image of the intense and varied life she yearned for, and…” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/george-eliot-84_becoming_her-future-she-thought-was-likely-to-be_1518766.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/george-eliot-84_becoming_her-future-she-thought-was-likely-to-be_1518766.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/329/george-eliot-84_becoming_her-future-she-thought-was-likely-to-be_1518766.jpg) > “Her future, she thought, was likely to be worse than her past, for after her years of contented renunciation, she had slipped back into desire and longing; she found joyless days of distasteful occupation harder and harder; she found the image of the intense and varied life she yearned for, and despaired of, becoming more and more importunate.” [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unfulfilled desire and fear of the future can trap one in dissatisfaction; hope requires confronting longing and embracing change. **In simple terms:** Desire and fear cause stagnation; confront them. Key Takeaway Face longing, seek purposeful change. Themes desire future anxiety hope Mood melancholic hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career stagnation - creative block - relationship doubts - personal growth Key Concepts Existentialism psychology of longing Questions to Reflect On - What does your ideal life look like? - How can you transform longing into actionable goals? A Different Perspective Hope may be fragile without concrete steps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Contented Renunciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contented-renunciation-5609171/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Despaired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despaired-1088904/) [Despaired Importunate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despaired-importunate-5609170/) [Distasteful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distasteful/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Harder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harder/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Occupation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occupation/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Renunciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/renunciation/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Worse Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worse-past-838292/) [Yearned Despaired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yearned-despaired-5609169/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“The houses have been condemned on Memory Lane I’m tired of this struggle that leaves everything the same I’ve tried so hard to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-houses-have-been-condemned-on-memory-lane-i-m-tired-of-this/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [For the first time in the history of our country the majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/for-the-first-time-in-the-history-of-our-country-the-majority-of-our/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“Which is worse, past or future? Neither. I will fold up my mind like a leaf and drift on this stream over the brink.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-styron/which-is-worse-past-or-future-neither-i-will-fold-up-my-mind-like-a-2/) [William Styron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-styron/) > [He doesn't know which is worse, a past he can't regain or a present that will destroy him if he looks at it too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/he-doesn-t-know-which-is-worse-a-past-he-can-t-regain-or-a-present/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [It's simplicity itself that its future will be way worse than its past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/it-s-simplicity-itself-that-its-future-will-be-way-worse-than-its-past/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Posterity will say as usual: "In the past things were better, the present is worse than the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/posterity-will-say-as-usual-in-the-past-things-were-better-the/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Which is worse, past or future? Neither. I will fold up my mind like a leaf and drift on this stream over the brink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-styron/which-is-worse-past-or-future-neither-i-will-fold-up-my-mind-like-a/) [William Styron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-styron/) > [“Hindley, with apparently the stronger head, has shown himself sadly the worse and weaker man ... One hoped, the other despaired: they chose their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/hindley-with-apparently-the-stronger-head-has-shown-himself-sadly-the/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [“Inside the depths of his Genesis knew it was too late however as his heart sank to the floor and rooted him to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-thrussell/inside-the-depths-of-his-genesis-knew-it-was-too-late-however-as-his/) [Jill Thrussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-thrussell/) > [Music is the best consolation for a despaired man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/music-is-the-best-consolation-for-a-despaired-man/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“That man who does not believe that each day contains an earlier, more sacred, and auroral hour than he has yet profaned, has despaired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/that-man-who-does-not-believe-that-each-day-contains-an-earlier-more/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Nothing is to be presumed on, or despaired of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/nothing-is-to-be-presumed-on-or-despaired-of/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“I despaired at the thought that my life might slip by without seeing God show himself mightily on our behalf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cymbala/i-despaired-at-the-thought-that-my-life-might-slip-by-without-seeing/) [Jim Cymbala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cymbala/) > [“Sometimes she despaired at other women - their feebleness, their triviality, the nonsense they absorbed. So many were like little doe-eyed deer waiting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-franklin/sometimes-she-despaired-at-other-women-their-feebleness-their/) [Dave Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-franklin/) > [Dearest Charles-- I found a box of this paper at the back of a bureau so I must write to you as I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/dearest-charles-i-found-a-box-of-this-paper-at-the-back-of-a-bureau/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) ## More by George Eliot > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Mr. Casaubon had never had a strong bodily frame, and his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mr-casaubon-had-never-had-a-strong-bodily-frame-and-his-soul-was/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“... she took her husband's jokes and joviality as patiently as everything else, considering that "men would be so", and viewing the stronger sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-took-her-husband-s-jokes-and-joviality-as-patiently-as-everything/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What is opportunity to the man who can't use it? An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-can-t-use-it-an-unfecundated-egg/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But any one watching keenly the stealthy convergence of human lots, sees a slow preparation of effects from one life on another, which tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-any-one-watching-keenly-the-stealthy-convergence-of-human-lots/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Sane people did what their neighbours did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/sane-people-did-what-their-neighbours-did-so-that-if-any-lunatics/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Explore all 1,492 George Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) [Christopher Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wood/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. 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