--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He's looking into the night, in case a…" description: "\"“He's looking into the night, in case a shadow comes to listen and look.”\" — Herta Müller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/herta-m-ller-4269_night_he-s-looking-into-the-night-in-case-a-sh_1551898.jpg" --- # He's looking into the night, in case a shadow comes to… ![“He's looking into the night, in case a shadow comes to listen and look.” quote by Herta Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/herta-m-ller-4269_night_he-s-looking-into-the-night-in-case-a-sh_1551898.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/herta-m-ller-4269_night_he-s-looking-into-the-night-in-case-a-sh_1551898.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/herta-m-ller-4269_night_he-s-looking-into-the-night-in-case-a-sh_1551898.jpg) > ““He's looking into the night, in case a shadow comes to listen and look.”” [Herta Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Listening to the night suggests a yearning for unseen truths and the fear of being unheard. **In simple terms:** Seeking hidden voices at night. Key Takeaway Listen for silent truths. Themes literature existential silence Mood melancholic reflective Type literary poetic When to use this quote - creative writing - psychological introspection - nighttime walks Key Concepts night shadow listening Questions to Reflect On - What shadows do you hear? - How does silence affect you? A Different Perspective May be overly poetic, lacking concrete action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) ## Related quotes > [Face to face, each classic case. We shadow box and double cross. Yet need the chase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade/face-to-face-each-classic-case-we-shadow-box-and-double-cross-yet/) [Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade/) > [Seek for duty, and happiness will follow as the shadow comes with the sunshine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/seek-for-duty-and-happiness-will-follow-as-the-shadow-comes-with-the/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [When will you see the star in me, all you have to do is look into my eyes, I'm looking towards the night sky!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise/when-will-you-see-the-star-in-me-all-you-have-to-do-is-look-into-my/) [Elise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise/) > [Sometimes, the shadow comes over me and then, inside, we are two, outside, illusion...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/sometimes-the-shadow-comes-over-me-and-then-inside-we-are-two-outside/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [“When life is difficult, try looking up at the night sky. A million stars proclaim aloud His Handiwork. And you know you are never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anusha-atukorala/when-life-is-difficult-try-looking-up-at-the-night-sky-a-million/) [Anusha Atukorala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anusha-atukorala/) > [Love and stars are similar in one way. They keep you looking up every night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-and-stars-are-similar-in-one-way-they-keep-you-looking-up-every/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Seek happiness for its own sake, and you will not find it; seek for duty, and happiness will follow as the shadow comes with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/seek-happiness-for-its-own-sake-and-you-will-not-find-it-seek-for/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [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/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There is no budget for travel for a Shadow Foreign Secretary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hague/there-is-no-budget-for-travel-for-a-shadow-foreign-secretary/) [William Hague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hague/) > [Everything comes home, my mother used to say; every word spoken, every shadow cast, every footprint in the sand. It can't be helped; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/everything-comes-home-my-mother-used-to-say-every-word-spoken-every/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) ## More by Herta Müller > [“And I’m different without you. You’re the only one who thinks you’re never different.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/and-i-m-different-without-you-you-re-the-only-one-who-thinks-you-re/) [Herta Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [Working with language requires beauty for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/working-with-language-requires-beauty-for-me/) [Herta Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [“I wanted to work out a trade with things that aren’t alive but aren’t dead either. I wanted to make an emergency exchange, trading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/i-wanted-to-work-out-a-trade-with-things-that-aren-t-alive-but-aren-t/) [Herta Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [My first book, 'Nadirs,' was very important for me. I'll leave its literary worth for others to judge. But its publication in Berlin in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/my-first-book-nadirs-was-very-important-for-me-i-ll-leave-its/) [Herta Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [“I'm drawn outside to the empty yard of the afternoon. The wind tosses thin snow that crackles against my neck. With open hunger the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/i-m-drawn-outside-to-the-empty-yard-of-the-afternoon-the-wind-tosses/) [Herta Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [“The cabbage white flies through the tailor's cheek. The tailor sinks his head. The cabbage white flies out of the back of the tailor's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/the-cabbage-white-flies-through-the-tailor-s-cheek-the-tailor-sinks/) [Herta Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [“The reasaon I'm shy of objects is because I like them. I transfer the thoughts that are against me onto them. Then these thoughts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/the-reasaon-i-m-shy-of-objects-is-because-i-like-them-i-transfer-the/) [Herta Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [“The gym instructor was the first to raise his hand. All the other hands flew up after his. While raising their hands, everybody looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/the-gym-instructor-was-the-first-to-raise-his-hand-all-the-other/) [Herta Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [I have packed myself into silence so deeply and for so long that I can never unpack myself using words. When I speak, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/i-have-packed-myself-into-silence-so-deeply-and-for-so-long-that-i/) [Herta Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [I never wanted to be a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/i-never-wanted-to-be-a-writer/) [Herta Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [To combat death you don't need much of a life, just one that isn't yet finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/to-combat-death-you-don-t-need-much-of-a-life-just-one-that-isn-t-yet/) [Herta Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [Some people speak and sing and walk and sit and sleep and silence their homesickness, for a long time, and to no avail. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/some-people-speak-and-sing-and-walk-and-sit-and-sleep-and-silence/) [Herta Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [“I wanted love to grow back, like the grass when it’s mown down. To grow differently, if need be, like children’s teeth, like hair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/i-wanted-love-to-grow-back-like-the-grass-when-it-s-mown-down-to-grow/) [Herta Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [Whatever I read went under my skin. I almost devoured the literature, which became like a road to discovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/whatever-i-read-went-under-my-skin-i-almost-devoured-the-literature/) [Herta Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) > [“Some say that over time homesickness loses its specific content, that it starts to smolder and only then becomes all-consuming, because it’s no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/some-say-that-over-time-homesickness-loses-its-specific-content-that/) [Herta Müller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) [Explore all 92 Herta Müller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/) ## More Night quotes > [I don't drink much anymore, but when I traveled with Frank Sinatra, God rest his soul, I used to drink like I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-don-t-drink-much-anymore-but-when-i-traveled-with-frank-sinatra-god/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't like working all hours of the night and having an unreliable working pattern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-giacchino/i-don-t-like-working-all-hours-of-the-night-and-having-an-unreliable/) [Michael Giacchino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-giacchino/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“We drive west the rest of the night, away from where the sun will come up, trying to outrace it, trying not to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-drive-west-the-rest-of-the-night-away-from-where-the-sun-will-come/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) [Browse all 17,282 Night quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He's looking into the night, in case a shadow comes to listen and look.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herta Müller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/he-s-looking-into-the-night-in-case-a-shadow-comes-to-listen-and-look/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Night" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/he-s-looking-into-the-night-in-case-a-shadow-comes-to-listen-and-look/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/herta-m-ller-4269_night_he-s-looking-into-the-night-in-case-a-sh_1551898.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/herta-m-ller-4269_night_he-s-looking-into-the-night-in-case-a-sh_1551898.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/herta-m-ller-4269_night_he-s-looking-into-the-night-in-case-a-sh_1551898.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He's looking into the night, in case a shadow comes to listen and look.” — Herta Müller", "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": "Herta Müller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herta-m-ller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He's looking into the night, in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/he-s-looking-into-the-night-in-case-a-shadow-comes-to-listen-and-look/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herta-m-ller/he-s-looking-into-the-night-in-case-a-shadow-comes-to-listen-and-look/#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 } } ] } ```