--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In bed our yesterdays are too oppressive…" description: "\"In bed our yesterdays are too oppressive: if a man can only get up, though it be but to whistle or to smoke, he has a present which offers some resista..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/george-eliot-84_bed_in-bed-our-yesterdays-are-too-oppressive_1749594.jpg" --- # In bed our yesterdays are too oppressive: if a man can… ![“In bed our yesterdays are too oppressive: if a man can only get up, though it be but to whistle or to smoke, he has a present which offers some resistance to the past—sensations which assert themselves against tyrannous memories.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/george-eliot-84_bed_in-bed-our-yesterdays-are-too-oppressive_1749594.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/george-eliot-84_bed_in-bed-our-yesterdays-are-too-oppressive_1749594.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/george-eliot-84_bed_in-bed-our-yesterdays-are-too-oppressive_1749594.jpg) > “In bed our yesterdays are too oppressive: if a man can only get up, though it be but to whistle or to smoke, he has a present which offers some resistance to the past—sensations which assert themselves against tyrannous memories.” [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. Past memories can dominate present life unless one finds small joys to resist them. **In simple terms:** Small pleasures resist oppressive memories. Key Takeaway Seek simple joys to counter past pain. Themes memory resilience joy Mood melancholic hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - daily routines - creative hobbies - therapy sessions - social gatherings Key Concepts literature psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What small act lifts you today? - How do you balance past and present? A Different Perspective Joy may be fleeting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) [Inertia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inertia/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Offers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offers/) [Oppressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressive/) [Oppressive Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressive-man-1594986/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Sensations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-sensations-1594988/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) [Resistance Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance-past-1594987/) [Yesterday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday/) [Yesterdays Oppressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterdays-oppressive-1594985/) ## Related quotes > [Art need no longer be an account of past sensations. It can become the direct organization of more highly evolved sensations. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/art-need-no-longer-be-an-account-of-past-sensations-it-can-become-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Art need no longer be an account of past sensations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/art-need-no-longer-be-an-account-of-past-sensations/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [An event in the present evokes past sensations. But science couldn't explain how a foolish heart had the power to overrule common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/an-event-in-the-present-evokes-past-sensations-but-science-couldn-t/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [To return after long years of painful absence to some place which has been the scene of our former joys, and whence the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lover/to-return-after-long-years-of-painful-absence-to-some-place-which-has/) [Samuel Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lover/) > [To me, when you're at a hotel and your home environment is ultimately dictated by somebody else, I always find that a little bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-bomer/to-me-when-you-re-at-a-hotel-and-your-home-environment-is-ultimately/) [Matt Bomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-bomer/) > [When a system of oppression has become institutionalized it is unnecessary for individuals to be oppressive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-a-system-of-oppression-has-become-institutionalized-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The true focus of revolutionary change is never merely the oppressive situations that we seek to escape, but that piece of the oppressor which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-true-focus-of-revolutionary-change-is-never-merely-the-oppressive/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The burden of the past is only, I think, oppressive when you've got to go on the experience of the avant garde.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-miller/the-burden-of-the-past-is-only-i-think-oppressive-when-you-ve-got-to/) [Jonathan Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-miller/) > [Who do you think is more difficult to face: oppressive governments, or oppressive societies?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manal-al-sharif/who-do-you-think-is-more-difficult-to-face-oppressive-governments-or/) [Manal al-Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manal-al-sharif/) > [Even if it's a definition that feels oppressive to us, that oppression can be inspiring because it helps us push up against something while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/even-if-it-s-a-definition-that-feels-oppressive-to-us-that-oppression/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [Old forms of government finally grow so oppressive that they must be thrown off even at the risk of reigns of terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/old-forms-of-government-finally-grow-so-oppressive-that-they-must-be/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The people who hold that our culture is an oppressive patriarchy, they don't want to admit that the current hierarchy might be predicated on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-peterson/the-people-who-hold-that-our-culture-is-an-oppressive-patriarchy-they/) [Jordan Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-peterson/) > [When I look at American history, I see how it has been driven by resistance and protest against a system that has been oppressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaal-bowman/when-i-look-at-american-history-i-see-how-it-has-been-driven-by/) [Jamaal Bowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaal-bowman/) > [Commercial shackles are generally unjust, oppressive, and impolitic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/commercial-shackles-are-generally-unjust-oppressive-and-impolitic/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Christmas always used to get me down. There was something oppressive about all those twinkling colored lights. "Are you happy?" "Do you fit in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chica-umino/christmas-always-used-to-get-me-down-there-was-something-oppressive/) [Chica Umino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chica-umino/) ## 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 Bed quotes > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Your idea of fidelity is not having more than one man in bed at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/your-idea-of-fidelity-is-not-having-more-than-one-man-in-bed-at-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish I had as much in bed as I get in the newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-wish-i-had-as-much-in-bed-as-i-get-in-the-newspapers/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [I have to meditate before I go to bed, always. I have to let the day go and let the eternal in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bellamy-young/i-have-to-meditate-before-i-go-to-bed-always-i-have-to-let-the-day-go/) [Bellamy Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bellamy-young/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I think life is full of challenges and problems. I don't believe that anyone is perfect. We all make mistakes. It's not a bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-mansell/i-think-life-is-full-of-challenges-and-problems-i-don-t-believe-that/) [Nigel Mansell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-mansell/) > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [I always wanted to be a movie star. I thought it meant being famous and having breakfast in bed. I didn't know you had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-allyson/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-movie-star-i-thought-it-meant-being-famous/) [June Allyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-allyson/) [Browse all 4,159 Bed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In bed our yesterdays are too oppressive: if a man can only get up, though it be but to whistle or to smoke, he has a present which offers some resistance to the past—sensations which assert themselves against tyrannous memories.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/in-bed-our-yesterdays-are-too-oppressive-if-a-man-can-only-get-up/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/in-bed-our-yesterdays-are-too-oppressive-if-a-man-can-only-get-up/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/george-eliot-84_bed_in-bed-our-yesterdays-are-too-oppressive_1749594.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/george-eliot-84_bed_in-bed-our-yesterdays-are-too-oppressive_1749594.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/george-eliot-84_bed_in-bed-our-yesterdays-are-too-oppressive_1749594.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In bed our yesterdays are too oppressive: if a man can only get up, though it be but to whistle or to smoke…” — George Eliot", "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": "George Eliot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In bed our yesterdays are too...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/in-bed-our-yesterdays-are-too-oppressive-if-a-man-can-only-get-up/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/in-bed-our-yesterdays-are-too-oppressive-if-a-man-can-only-get-up/#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 } } ] } ```