--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This was hell then; it wasn't anything to…" description: "\"“This was hell then; it wasn't anything to worry about: it was just his own familiar room.”\" — Graham Greene" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/graham-greene-441_hell_this-was-hell-then-it-wasn-t-anything-to_3165603.jpg" --- # This was hell then; it wasn't anything to worry about: it… ![“This was hell then; it wasn't anything to worry about: it was just his own familiar room.” quote by Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/graham-greene-441_hell_this-was-hell-then-it-wasn-t-anything-to_3165603.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/graham-greene-441_hell_this-was-hell-then-it-wasn-t-anything-to_3165603.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/graham-greene-441_hell_this-was-hell-then-it-wasn-t-anything-to_3165603.jpg) > ““This was hell then; it wasn't anything to worry about: it was just his own familiar room.”” [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character perceives his space as a personal hell, yet it feels harmless. **In simple terms:** His room feels like a personal nightmare but is not dangerous. Key Takeaway Recognize internal turmoil versus external threat. Themes psychology perception danger comfort inner conflict Mood introspective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - Living alone - creative work - mental health - stress management Key Concepts Existential dread subjective reality self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - Do you confuse discomfort with danger? - How can you transform a dreaded space into a safe one? A Different Perspective The statement may romanticize suffering, overlooking real harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Familiar Room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar-room-333189/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Hell Wasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell-wasn-608037/) [Room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/room/) [Wasn Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasn-worry-1688883/) ## Related quotes > [“...how a familiar room slowly changes colour as morning arrives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-thomsen-brits/how-a-familiar-room-slowly-changes-colour-as-morning-arrives/) [Louisa Thomsen Brits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-thomsen-brits/) > [What surprised me about the Oscars was how familiar it was - because you're in the room with all these people that have inspired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/what-surprised-me-about-the-oscars-was-how-familiar-it-was-because/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [“I never said there wasn't anything to worry about. Just that I'd handle the situation. Take a deep breath, stop calling, and don't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riley-shane/i-never-said-there-wasn-t-anything-to-worry-about-just-that-i-d/) [Riley Shane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riley-shane/) > [“Albert had done all he could, and if it wasn't enough, he'd worry about it in another life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-l-anderson/albert-had-done-all-he-could-and-if-it-wasn-t-enough-he-d-worry-about/) [Howard L. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-l-anderson/) > [“Payback was always hell, wasn't it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/payback-was-always-hell-wasn-t-it/) [Linda howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“Oh, go to hell." But there wasn't any heat in the response. 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But is sure as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/whoever-named-himmel-street-certainly-had-a-healthy-sense-of-irony/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“When I said I'd follow you to hell and back, I wasn't trying to be literal, princess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/when-i-said-i-d-follow-you-to-hell-and-back-i-wasn-t-trying-to-be/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [“That child of hell wasn't human. Nothing lived in him but fear and hatred.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/that-child-of-hell-wasn-t-human-nothing-lived-in-him-but-fear-and/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“But he’d gone back into his hell, and there wasn’t room for me there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-knight/but-he-d-gone-back-into-his-hell-and-there-wasn-t-room-for-me-there/) [Natasha Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-knight/) > [“Perhaps the truth was that Hell wasn’t a physical location; it was an idea that could be summoned into being. Hell had been created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-sakey/perhaps-the-truth-was-that-hell-wasn-t-a-physical-location-it-was-an/) [Marcus Sakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-sakey/) > [“This must not be planet earth,” Cone told his partner. “This must be hell.” But it wasn’t. It was just Odessa.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-bissinger/this-must-not-be-planet-earth-cone-told-his-partner-this-must-be-hell/) [H.G. Bissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-bissinger/) > [It's weird to take your work into a room and everybody reads it. Then comes the terror part, the dissection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-shires/it-s-weird-to-take-your-work-into-a-room-and-everybody-reads-it-then/) [Amanda Shires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-shires/) > [I do whatever entertains me. If it entertains me to throw flowers halfway across the room, then that's what I'll do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-owens/i-do-whatever-entertains-me-if-it-entertains-me-to-throw-flowers/) [Kevin Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-owens/) ## More by Graham Greene > [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Hate is a lack of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/hate-is-a-lack-of-imagination/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“Knowledge was the great thing--not abstract knowledge in which Dr. Forester had been so rich, the theories which lead one enticingly on with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/knowledge-was-the-great-thing-not-abstract-knowledge-in-which-dr/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [With Your great schemes, You ruin our happiness like a harvester ruins a mouse's nest: I hate You, God, I hate You as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/with-your-great-schemes-you-ruin-our-happiness-like-a-harvester-ruins/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/heresy-is-only-another-word-for-freedom-of-thought/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“He had thought that home was something one possessed, but the things one had possessed were cursed with change; it was what one didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-had-thought-that-home-was-something-one-possessed-but-the-things/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Perhaps the comparison is closer to the Chinese cook who leaves hardly any part of a duck unserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/perhaps-the-comparison-is-closer-to-the-chinese-cook-who-leaves/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“He said, ‘Oh god, help her. Damn me, I deserve it, but let her live forever.’ This was the love he should have felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-said-oh-god-help-her-damn-me-i-deserve-it-but-let-her-live-forever/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“A police photograph is like a passport photograph: the intelligence which casts a veil over the crude common shape is never recorded by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/a-police-photograph-is-like-a-passport-photograph-the-intelligence/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [ “I tossed up whether I'd see \[the critic\] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-or-not-i-knew-too-well-the/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/success-is-more-dangerous-than-failure-the-ripples-break-over-a-wider/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“But we do not love people for what they do for us. Love happens to us; it isn't created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/but-we-do-not-love-people-for-what-they-do-for-us-love-happens-to-us/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) [Explore all 550 Graham Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## More Hell quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“Hell is only loneliness, a place without play for the soul, a place without God. How could there be God in loneliness when God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/hell-is-only-loneliness-a-place-without-play-for-the-soul-a-place/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Just when I thought that I was gtting better, boy was I wrong.. Things just turned to hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cupecake/just-when-i-thought-that-i-was-gtting-better-boy-was-i-wrong-things/) [Cupecake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cupecake/) > [I believe that on any trip to heaven, there are always detours through hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-finney/i-believe-that-on-any-trip-to-heaven-there-are-always-detours-through/) [Richard Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-finney/) > [Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/every-saved-person-this-side-of-heaven-owes-the-gospel-to-every-lost/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [I'm what is known as gradually disintegrating. I don't fear the next world, or anything. I don't fear hell, and I don't look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-m-what-is-known-as-gradually-disintegrating-i-don-t-fear-the-next/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [Hey...Hey...What's up?. Nothing much, you? Nothing. K!..What the hell was the point of this communication?...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hey-hey-what-s-up-nothing-much-you-nothing-k-what-the-hell-was-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“ALAS, IF ALL HUMANS WERE WISE AND HAD MORE GOOD WILL THE WORLD WOULD BE A PARADISE NOW IT IS MOSTLY A HELL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/alas-if-all-humans-were-wise-and-had-more-good-will-the-world-would/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It is through suppression that hells are formed in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/it-is-through-suppression-that-hells-are-formed-in-us/) [Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) [Browse all 8,212 Hell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This was hell then; it wasn't anything to worry about: it was just his own familiar room.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Graham Greene" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/this-was-hell-then-it-wasn-t-anything-to-worry-about-it-was-just-his/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hell" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/this-was-hell-then-it-wasn-t-anything-to-worry-about-it-was-just-his/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/graham-greene-441_hell_this-was-hell-then-it-wasn-t-anything-to_3165603.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/graham-greene-441_hell_this-was-hell-then-it-wasn-t-anything-to_3165603.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/graham-greene-441_hell_this-was-hell-then-it-wasn-t-anything-to_3165603.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This was hell then; it wasn't anything to worry about: it was just his own familiar room.” — Graham Greene", "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": "Graham Greene", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“This was hell then; it wasn't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/this-was-hell-then-it-wasn-t-anything-to-worry-about-it-was-just-his/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/this-was-hell-then-it-wasn-t-anything-to-worry-about-it-was-just-his/#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 } } ] } ```