--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Probably we’d have been better off born…" description: "\"“Probably we’d have been better off born in nineteenth-century Russia. I’d have been Prince So-and-so and you Count Such-and-such. We’d go hunting toge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/haruki-murakami-21_love_probably-we-d-have-been-better-off-born_1076545.jpg" --- # Probably we’d have been better off born in… ![“Probably we’d have been better off born in nineteenth-century Russia. I’d have been Prince So-and-so and you Count Such-and-such. We’d go hunting together, fight, be rivals in love, have our metaphysical complaints, drink beer watching the sunset from the shores of the Black Sea. In our later…” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/haruki-murakami-21_love_probably-we-d-have-been-better-off-born_1076545.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/haruki-murakami-21_love_probably-we-d-have-been-better-off-born_1076545.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/haruki-murakami-21_love_probably-we-d-have-been-better-off-born_1076545.jpg) > ““Probably we’d have been better off born in nineteenth-century Russia. I’d have been Prince So-and-so and you Count Such-and-such. We’d go hunting together, fight, be rivals in love, have our metaphysical complaints, drink beer watching the sunset from the shores of the Black Sea. In our later years, the two of us would be implicated in the Something-or-other Rebellion and exiled to Siberia, where we’d die. Brilliant, don’t you think?”” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A wistful fantasy about aristocratic rivalry and doomed adventure, reflecting on how history shapes identity and destiny. **In simple terms:** Imagining a dramatic, tragic life in old Russia. Key Takeaway Embrace the stories you tell yourself about destiny. Themes nostalgia identity history destiny romance Mood melancholic reflective dreamy Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - role‑playing games - historical reenactments - creative writing workshops - themed dinner parties Key Concepts Aristocracy exile rebellion metaphysics friendship Questions to Reflect On - What would you change about your imagined past? - How does nostalgia affect your view of history? A Different Perspective The romanticized view ignores the harsh realities of oppression and suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Century Russia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century-russia-2709612/) [Exiled Siberia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exiled-siberia-2709610/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Russia Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russia-prince-2709613/) [Siberia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siberia/) [Siberia Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/siberia-die-2709611/) [Watching The Sunset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching-the-sunset/) ## Related quotes > [“Probably we’d have been better off born in nineteenth-century Russia. I’d have been Prince So-and-so and you Count Such-and-such. We’d go hunting together, fight,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/probably-we-d-have-been-better-off-born-in-nineteenth-century-russia-2/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You couldn’t have established a communist regime in sixteenth-century Russia, because communism necessitates the concentration of information and resources in one hub.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/you-couldn-t-have-established-a-communist-regime-in-sixteenth-century/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I think that Russia was like a lot of other countries, a lot of empires, in being a tyranny up until the early 20th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-that-russia-was-like-a-lot-of-other-countries-a-lot-of/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [“Have you heard of the illness hysteria siberiana ? Try to imagine this: You're a farmer, living all alone on the Siberian tundra. Day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/have-you-heard-of-the-illness-hysteria-siberiana-try-to-imagine-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Marlboro Man paused, his eyes piercing through to my marrow. We’d started out watching the sunset over the ranch, sitting on the tailgate of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ree-drummond/marlboro-man-paused-his-eyes-piercing-through-to-my-marrow-we-d/) [Ree Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ree-drummond/) > [“There is a place they call La Pature, on the top of the hill, on the edge of the forest. Sometimes, on Sundays, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/there-is-a-place-they-call-la-pature-on-the-top-of-the-hill-on-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [My best sunsets are always going to be in my home town, San Diego. Watching the sunset from the Pacific knowing that you're sleeping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/my-best-sunsets-are-always-going-to-be-in-my-home-town-san-diego/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [“Watch the sunset without speaking, just like a bird watching the sunset in complete silence!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/watch-the-sunset-without-speaking-just-like-a-bird-watching-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I enjoy the competition and the process of learning as we compete. The whole thing is just fascinating. I don't know what I'll do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-ellison/i-enjoy-the-competition-and-the-process-of-learning-as-we-compete-the/) [Larry Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-ellison/) > [Hell, I'm an old man. I'm 70 years old. I'm supposed to be sitting on a rocking chair watching the sunset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-emmet-walsh/hell-i-m-an-old-man-i-m-70-years-old-i-m-supposed-to-be-sitting-on-a/) [M. Emmet Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-emmet-walsh/) > [Identify the small things in life that make you feel good, and do one daily. A short walk, a few minutes of writing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/identify-the-small-things-in-life-that-make-you-feel-good-and-do-one/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [The best things in life are free. There is absolute joy and wonder to be had in the simplest of moments. Watching the sunset…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-best-things-in-life-are-free-there-is-absolute-joy-and-wonder-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [A renowned genius once asked a student, "What are you watching when you sit on a hillside in the late afternoon as the colors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-kagan/a-renowned-genius-once-asked-a-student-what-are-you-watching-when-you/) [Jeremy Kagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-kagan/) > [“Not everytime Self Love means pampering your wants, sometimes it just means to pat your self while knowing you did the right thing by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debatrayee-banerjee/not-everytime-self-love-means-pampering-your-wants-sometimes-it-just/) [Debatrayee Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debatrayee-banerjee/) > [I love going to the beach and just sitting and watching the sunset by myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tayshia-adams/i-love-going-to-the-beach-and-just-sitting-and-watching-the-sunset-by/) [Tayshia Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tayshia-adams/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More Love quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [I love going to Columbia, Missouri. That is a really underrated campus. It shocked me when I went there because I really didn't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-herbstreit/i-love-going-to-columbia-missouri-that-is-a-really-underrated-campus/) [Kirk Herbstreit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-herbstreit/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/) [H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/) > [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/) [Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/) > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [“To be loved by a man, truly loved, made a woman feel as if she could burst. Of course, Lia was strong and could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-anne/to-be-loved-by-a-man-truly-loved-made-a-woman-feel-as-if-she-could/) [Melody Anne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-anne/) > [So when you take those tears, don't look to see I'm alright. …\*Seal - Violet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/so-when-you-take-those-tears-don-t-look-to-see-i-m-alright-seal-violet/) [Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Probably we’d have been better off born in nineteenth-century Russia. I’d have been Prince So-and-so and you Count Such-and-such. We’d go hunting together, fight, be rivals in love, have our metaphysical complaints, drink beer watching the sunset from the shores of the Black Sea. In our later years, the two of us would be implicated in the Something-or-other Rebellion and exiled to Siberia, where we’d die. Brilliant, don’t you think?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Haruki Murakami" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/probably-we-d-have-been-better-off-born-in-nineteenth-century-russia/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Love" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/probably-we-d-have-been-better-off-born-in-nineteenth-century-russia/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/haruki-murakami-21_love_probably-we-d-have-been-better-off-born_1076545.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/haruki-murakami-21_love_probably-we-d-have-been-better-off-born_1076545.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/haruki-murakami-21_love_probably-we-d-have-been-better-off-born_1076545.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Probably we’d have been better off born in nineteenth-century Russia. I’d have been Prince So-and-so and you…” — Haruki Murakami", "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": "Haruki Murakami", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Probably we’d have been better off...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/probably-we-d-have-been-better-off-born-in-nineteenth-century-russia/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/probably-we-d-have-been-better-off-born-in-nineteenth-century-russia/#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 } } ] } ```