--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anna thought about the men outside on the…" description: "\"“Anna thought about the men outside on the gallery. She was glad they were there; finding them smoking and talking quietly had been comforting, it was ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8eb/howard-bahr-45175_comfort_anna-thought-about-the-men-outside-on-th_1447801.jpg" --- # Anna thought about the men outside on the gallery. She was… ![“Anna thought about the men outside on the gallery. She was glad they were there; finding them smoking and talking quietly had been comforting, it was what men did in the evenings when the work was done. Of course, the work was not done, and she doubted that it ever would be. It would go on and on…” quote by Howard Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8eb/howard-bahr-45175_comfort_anna-thought-about-the-men-outside-on-th_1447801.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8eb/howard-bahr-45175_comfort_anna-thought-about-the-men-outside-on-th_1447801.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8eb/howard-bahr-45175_comfort_anna-thought-about-the-men-outside-on-th_1447801.jpg) > ““Anna thought about the men outside on the gallery. She was glad they were there; finding them smoking and talking quietly had been comforting, it was what men did in the evenings when the work was done. Of course, the work was not done, and she doubted that it ever would be. It would go on and on, even after the house was emptied of strangers, long after the wildflowers had blossomed a hundred times on their graves.”” [Howard Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bahr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on the endless, unfulfilling labor of life, finding brief comfort in ordinary scenes while doubting ever‑lasting resolution. **In simple terms:** Life feels endless, small comforts are fleeting. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence, seek meaning beyond routine. Themes loneliness work comfort time mortality Mood melancholy reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - post‑war life - grief processing - daily chores - seeking solace Key Concepts existentialism routine comfort impermanence Questions to Reflect On - What small actions can break the cycle of endless work? - How do you find meaning in routine? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize hardship, overlooking agency for change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Comforting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforting/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“Adults were always quick to tell her how much she looked like her mother, and how little like her father. Though Anna thought that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-michaelis/adults-were-always-quick-to-tell-her-how-much-she-looked-like-her/) [Antonia Michaelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-michaelis/) > [My father would take you wherever you wanted to go," he told her softly. 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She would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-johnson/dreams-of-freedom-and-country-cottages-were-all-well-and-good-but/) [Alissa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-johnson/) > [The person in misery does not need a look that judges and criticizes but a comforting presence that brings peace and hope and life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/the-person-in-misery-does-not-need-a-look-that-judges-and-criticizes/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [The upshot here is that Gil Scott-Heron is still a warrior, even if the front lines have moved. He's made a record not without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hermes/the-upshot-here-is-that-gil-scott-heron-is-still-a-warrior-even-if/) [Will Hermes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hermes/) > [I've been sent down to the minor leagues six or seven times in my career. You've just got to have that stability. It's huge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-diaz/i-ve-been-sent-down-to-the-minor-leagues-six-or-seven-times-in-my/) [Matt Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-diaz/) > [Truth is often uncomfortable. It is only comforting to those who do not wish to ignore it. Then, truth becomes not only comforting, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/truth-is-often-uncomfortable-it-is-only-comforting-to-those-who-do/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [At first, I had such stage fright, and it was always comforting to look over and see my big brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-spielberg/at-first-i-had-such-stage-fright-and-it-was-always-comforting-to-look/) [Sasha Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-spielberg/) > [Euthanasia" is an excellent and comforting word! I am grateful to whoever invented it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/euthanasia-is-an-excellent-and-comforting-word-i-am-grateful-to/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [“Reth reached out and took my fingers in his own, his touch light but comforting. “I’ve found that sacrifice is called that for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/reth-reached-out-and-took-my-fingers-in-his-own-his-touch-light-but/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Soothing touch, whether it be applied to a ruffled cat, a crying infant, or a frightened child, has a universally recognized power to ameliorate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deane-juhan/soothing-touch-whether-it-be-applied-to-a-ruffled-cat-a-crying-infant/) [Deane Juhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deane-juhan/) > [“Because the truth wouldn't be comforting and wouldn't bring them closer again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/because-the-truth-wouldn-t-be-comforting-and-wouldn-t-bring-them/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than found your friend whom you trust and can show the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-get-lost-in-a-really-strange-place-nothing-is-more/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) ## More by Howard Bahr > [“Then as Anna listened another sound began to rise within the first. It began as a low keening, like the wind in a bottle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-bahr/then-as-anna-listened-another-sound-began-to-rise-within-the-first-it/) [Howard Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bahr/) > [“The dawn that Anna feared might never come would appear on schedule, just as it always had - and after it another, and another.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-bahr/the-dawn-that-anna-feared-might-never-come-would-appear-on-schedule/) [Howard Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bahr/) > [“So Anna did not blame the women of her time for what they had created; it was different only in kind from what she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-bahr/so-anna-did-not-blame-the-women-of-her-time-for-what-they-had-created/) [Howard Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bahr/) > [“Maybe that's what the night is for, just so's we can know the difference when the light comes again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-bahr/maybe-that-s-what-the-night-is-for-just-so-s-we-can-know-the/) [Howard Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bahr/) > [“In spite of all he had seen, Cass still believed in the fundamental decency of cats and men. He knew that God believed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-bahr/in-spite-of-all-he-had-seen-cass-still-believed-in-the-fundamental/) [Howard Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bahr/) > [“They had three cadences, these spectral drummers, which they called First Kings, Second Kings, and Revelations. Going into a fight, they went from one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-bahr/they-had-three-cadences-these-spectral-drummers-which-they-called/) [Howard Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bahr/) > [“So the women would not forgive. Their passion remained intact, carefully guarded and nurtured by the bitter knowledge of all they had lost, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-bahr/so-the-women-would-not-forgive-their-passion-remained-intact/) [Howard Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bahr/) > [“Through the door at the end of the hall, Bushrod could see daylight. Gray and sullen it was, but daylight all the same. Through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-bahr/through-the-door-at-the-end-of-the-hall-bushrod-could-see-daylight/) [Howard Bahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bahr/) [Explore all 9 Howard Bahr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-bahr/) ## More Comfort quotes > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [For many, the call to be a Christian can seem demanding, even overwhelming. But we need not be afraid or feel inadequate. The Savior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/for-many-the-call-to-be-a-christian-can-seem-demanding-even/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. 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That said, I really love Naple-style pizza.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-zakarian/comfort-food-is-really-anything-you-want-at-that-time-that-said-i/) [Geoffrey Zakarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-zakarian/) > [I actually like getting out of my comfort zone. It shakes me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-actually-like-getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone-it-shakes-me-up/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/throughout-human-history-as-our-species-has-faced-the-frightening/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Maybe that was why she couldn't cry, she realized, staring dry-eyed at the ceiling. Because what was the point in crying when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/maybe-that-was-why-she-couldn-t-cry-she-realized-staring-dry-eyed-at/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I think that comfort is underrated in a lot of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/i-think-that-comfort-is-underrated-in-a-lot-of-ways/) [Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/) [Browse all 4,542 Comfort quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Anna thought about the men outside on the gallery. She was glad they were there; finding them smoking and talking quietly had been comforting, it was what men did in the evenings when the work was done. Of course, the work was not done, and she doubted that it ever would be. 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