--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Kingbitter, as he did frequently…" description: "\"“Kingbitter, as he did frequently nowadays, was standing at his window and looking out onto the street below. This street offered the most mundane and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/imre-kert-sz-20119_dark-thoughts_kingbitter-as-he-did-frequently-nowadays_1756648.jpg" --- # Kingbitter, as he did frequently nowadays, was standing at… ![“Kingbitter, as he did frequently nowadays, was standing at his window and looking out onto the street below. This street offered the most mundane and ordinary sights of Budapest's mundane and ordinary streets. The muck-, oil-, and dog-dirt-spattered sidewalk was lined with parked cars, and in the…” quote by Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/imre-kert-sz-20119_dark-thoughts_kingbitter-as-he-did-frequently-nowadays_1756648.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/imre-kert-sz-20119_dark-thoughts_kingbitter-as-he-did-frequently-nowadays_1756648.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/imre-kert-sz-20119_dark-thoughts_kingbitter-as-he-did-frequently-nowadays_1756648.jpg) > ““Kingbitter, as he did frequently nowadays, was standing at his window and looking out onto the street below. This street offered the most mundane and ordinary sights of Budapest's mundane and ordinary streets. The muck-, oil-, and dog-dirt-spattered sidewalk was lined with parked cars, and in the one-yard gaps between the cars and the leprotically peeling house walls the most mundane and ordinary passersby were attempting to go about their business, their hostile features an outward clue to their dark thoughts. Every now and then, perhaps in a hurry to overtake the single file inching along the front, one of them would step off the sidewalk, only for an entire chorus of rancorous car horns to give the lie to any groundless hope of breaking free from the line.”” [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage portrays urban monotony and the oppressive atmosphere of everyday life, where individuals feel trapped in routine and hostile surroundings. **In simple terms:** City life feels suffocating and repetitive. Key Takeaway Recognize and break patterns that imprison you. Themes urban life oppression mundane routine alienation Mood melancholic reflective tense Type literary descriptive observational When to use this quote - commuting - city walking - waiting in line - public transport - crowded markets Key Concepts existentialism social critique psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does routine shape your thoughts? - Can you find freedom within constraints? A Different Perspective The description may romanticize suffering, overlooking moments of joy or resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-thoughts/) ## Related quotes > [The population at large is neither 'ordinary' or 'normal'. They seem to be bound together by a collective ignorance of themselves and what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-nilsen/the-population-at-large-is-neither-ordinary-or-normal-they-seem-to-be/) [Dennis Nilsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-nilsen/) > [Our greatest strength isn't our ability to imagine brighter days ahead, it is that we are empowered-in every present moment-to effortlessly dismiss any dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/our-greatest-strength-isn-t-our-ability-to-imagine-brighter-days/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [Maybe we all have a dark place inside of us, a place where dark thoughts and darker dreams live, but it doesn't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/maybe-we-all-have-a-dark-place-inside-of-us-a-place-where-dark/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [I once had a garden filled with flowers that grew only on dark thoughts, but they needed constant attention and one day I decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/i-once-had-a-garden-filled-with-flowers-that-grew-only-on-dark/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Women often have a great need to portray themselves as sympathetic and pleasing, but we're also dark people with dark thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/women-often-have-a-great-need-to-portray-themselves-as-sympathetic/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Night as dark as my thoughts sets the scene for my return. Lightning nips at my heels as I race home. Wearily I stagger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alesana/night-as-dark-as-my-thoughts-sets-the-scene-for-my-return-lightning/) [Alesana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alesana/) > [“When by my solitary hearth I sit, And hateful thoughts enwrap my soul in gloom; When no fair dreams before my "mind's eye" flit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/when-by-my-solitary-hearth-i-sit-and-hateful-thoughts-enwrap-my-soul/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“Imagine this: Instead of waiting in her tower, Rapunzel slices off her long, golden hair with a carving knife, and then uses it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theappleppielifestyle/imagine-this-instead-of-waiting-in-her-tower-rapunzel-slices-off-her/) Theappleppielifestyle > [I have a pathological fear of being on my own. When I'm with my own thoughts, I start to unravel myself, and I start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/i-have-a-pathological-fear-of-being-on-my-own-when-i-m-with-my-own/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [“messages from friends weighed far less than dark thoughts,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/messages-from-friends-weighed-far-less-than-dark-thoughts/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [“Tis long since I beheld that eye Which gave me bliss or misery; And I have striven, but in vain, Never to think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/tis-long-since-i-beheld-that-eye-which-gave-me-bliss-or-misery-and-i/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [If your day is full of little mean, dark thoughts, is it any wonder you feel crabby? Maybe it's because you let your mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-de-angelis/if-your-day-is-full-of-little-mean-dark-thoughts-is-it-any-wonder-you/) [Barbara De Angelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-de-angelis/) > [I'm a dark thoughts writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-m-a-dark-thoughts-writer/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [“Out of three or four in a room One is always standing at the window Hair dark above his thoughts Behind him the words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-amichai/out-of-three-or-four-in-a-room-one-is-always-standing-at-the-window/) [Yehuda Amichai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-amichai/) > [“What people don't understand about depression is how much it hurts. It's like your brain is convinced that it's dying and produces an acid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hamilton/what-people-don-t-understand-about-depression-is-how-much-it-hurts-it/) [Tyler Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hamilton/) ## More by Imre Kertész > [I tried to depict the human face of this history, I wanted to write a book that people would actually want to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/i-tried-to-depict-the-human-face-of-this-history-i-wanted-to-write-a/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [“Man, when reduced to nothing, or in other words a survivor, is not tragic but comic, because he has no fate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/man-when-reduced-to-nothing-or-in-other-words-a-survivor-is-not/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [“On one occasion she had spoken heatedly about the French Revolution, saying it had been little better than the Nazis. Her great-aunt responded by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/on-one-occasion-she-had-spoken-heatedly-about-the-french-revolution/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [“As we pass one step, and as we recognize it as being behind us, the next one already rises up before us. By the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/as-we-pass-one-step-and-as-we-recognize-it-as-being-behind-us-the/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [...I would like to live a little bit longer in this beautiful concentration camp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/i-would-like-to-live-a-little-bit-longer-in-this-beautiful/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [“I can see the young man on dizzily autumn mornings, the fog of which he inhaled just like the rapidly evaporating freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/i-can-see-the-young-man-on-dizzily-autumn-mornings-the-fog-of-which/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [Nonexistence. The society of the nonexistent. In the street yesterday a nonexistent person trod on my foot with his nonexistent foot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/nonexistence-the-society-of-the-nonexistent-in-the-street-yesterday-a/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [“The West in general should stand up more for its own values. It is not always worthwhile to compromise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/the-west-in-general-should-stand-up-more-for-its-own-values-it-is-not/) [imre kertesz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [One cannot start a new life, you can only continue the old one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/one-cannot-start-a-new-life-you-can-only-continue-the-old-one/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [“Você sobrevive a sua falta de sensibilidade e compreende que o vazio do mundo é, de certa maneira, obra sua.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/voc-sobrevive-a-sua-falta-de-sensibilidade-e-compreende-que-o-vazio/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [Of course, living is another way of killing oneself: its drawback is that it takes so horribly long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/of-course-living-is-another-way-of-killing-oneself-its-drawback-is/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [Man, when reduced to nothing, or in other words, a survivor, is not tragic but comic, because he has no fate. On the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/man-when-reduced-to-nothing-or-in-other-words-a-survivor-is-not-2/) [Imre Kertesz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [“I read somewhere; while God still existed one sustained a dialogue with God, and now that He no longer exists one has to sustain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/i-read-somewhere-while-god-still-existed-one-sustained-a-dialogue/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [You just sit there and tolerate it, the same way everything in this country is tolerated. Every deception, every lie, every bullet in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/you-just-sit-there-and-tolerate-it-the-same-way-everything-in-this/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) > [Talking is not enough; words don't clarify anything. I'll have to hit upon something, but what?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-kert-sz/talking-is-not-enough-words-don-t-clarify-anything-i-ll-have-to-hit/) [Imre Kertész](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) [Explore all 25 Imre Kertész quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-kert-sz/) ## More Dark thoughts quotes > [The population at large is neither 'ordinary' or 'normal'. They seem to be bound together by a collective ignorance of themselves and what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-nilsen/the-population-at-large-is-neither-ordinary-or-normal-they-seem-to-be/) [Dennis Nilsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-nilsen/) > [“Out of three or four in a room One is always standing at the window Hair dark above his thoughts Behind him the words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-amichai/out-of-three-or-four-in-a-room-one-is-always-standing-at-the-window/) [Yehuda Amichai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-amichai/) > [I'm a dark thoughts writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-m-a-dark-thoughts-writer/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [If your day is full of little mean, dark thoughts, is it any wonder you feel crabby? Maybe it's because you let your mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-de-angelis/if-your-day-is-full-of-little-mean-dark-thoughts-is-it-any-wonder-you/) [Barbara De Angelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-de-angelis/) > [“Tis long since I beheld that eye Which gave me bliss or misery; And I have striven, but in vain, Never to think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/tis-long-since-i-beheld-that-eye-which-gave-me-bliss-or-misery-and-i/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“messages from friends weighed far less than dark thoughts,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/messages-from-friends-weighed-far-less-than-dark-thoughts/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [I have a pathological fear of being on my own. When I'm with my own thoughts, I start to unravel myself, and I start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/i-have-a-pathological-fear-of-being-on-my-own-when-i-m-with-my-own/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [“Imagine this: Instead of waiting in her tower, Rapunzel slices off her long, golden hair with a carving knife, and then uses it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theappleppielifestyle/imagine-this-instead-of-waiting-in-her-tower-rapunzel-slices-off-her/) Theappleppielifestyle > [“When by my solitary hearth I sit, And hateful thoughts enwrap my soul in gloom; When no fair dreams before my "mind's eye" flit,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/when-by-my-solitary-hearth-i-sit-and-hateful-thoughts-enwrap-my-soul/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Night as dark as my thoughts sets the scene for my return. Lightning nips at my heels as I race home. Wearily I stagger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alesana/night-as-dark-as-my-thoughts-sets-the-scene-for-my-return-lightning/) [Alesana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alesana/) > [Women often have a great need to portray themselves as sympathetic and pleasing, but we're also dark people with dark thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/women-often-have-a-great-need-to-portray-themselves-as-sympathetic/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I once had a garden filled with flowers that grew only on dark thoughts, but they needed constant attention and one day I decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-andreas/i-once-had-a-garden-filled-with-flowers-that-grew-only-on-dark/) [Brian Andreas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-andreas/) > [Maybe we all have a dark place inside of us, a place where dark thoughts and darker dreams live, but it doesn't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/maybe-we-all-have-a-dark-place-inside-of-us-a-place-where-dark/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [Our greatest strength isn't our ability to imagine brighter days ahead, it is that we are empowered-in every present moment-to effortlessly dismiss any dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/our-greatest-strength-isn-t-our-ability-to-imagine-brighter-days/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [“What people don't understand about depression is how much it hurts. It's like your brain is convinced that it's dying and produces an acid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-hamilton/what-people-don-t-understand-about-depression-is-how-much-it-hurts-it/) [Tyler Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-hamilton/) [Browse all 48 Dark thoughts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-thoughts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Kingbitter, as he did frequently nowadays, was standing at his window and looking out onto the street below. This street offered the most mundane and ordinary sights of Budapest's mundane and ordinary streets. The muck-, oil-, and dog-dirt-spattered sidewalk was lined with parked cars, and in the one-yard gaps between the cars and the leprotically peeling house walls the most mundane and ordinary passersby were attempting to go about their business, their hostile features an outward clue to their dark thoughts. 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