--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can see this so clearly because I have…" description: "\"“I can see this so clearly because I have long ago given up my own hopes of being happy.”\" — Iris Murdoch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/iris-murdoch-993_hope_i-can-see-this-so-clearly-because-i-have_693890.png" --- # I can see this so clearly because I have long ago given up… ![“I can see this so clearly because I have long ago given up my own hopes of being happy.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/iris-murdoch-993_hope_i-can-see-this-so-clearly-because-i-have_693890.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/iris-murdoch-993_hope_i-can-see-this-so-clearly-because-i-have_693890.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/iris-murdoch-993_hope_i-can-see-this-so-clearly-because-i-have_693890.png) > ““I can see this so clearly because I have long ago given up my own hopes of being happy.”” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When one abandons personal happiness, they gain a detached clarity about life’s realities. **In simple terms:** Giving up hope brings clear insight. Key Takeaway Accept reality, seek meaning beyond happiness. Themes self-awareness disillusionment clarity Mood melancholic reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - midlife crisis - career burnout - relationship loss - creative block Key Concepts existentialism detachment Questions to Reflect On - What have you sacrificed for clarity? - Can detachment be healthy? A Different Perspective Clarity may be accompanied by emotional emptiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clearly Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clearly-long-4522925/) [Given Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given-hopes-5506662/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopes/) [Hopes Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopes-happy-3604258/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) ## Related quotes > [“Love hopes for happy endings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-nelle-patrick/love-hopes-for-happy-endings/) [J. Nelle Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-nelle-patrick/) > [The journal and Gansey were clearly long acquainted, and he wanted her to know. This is me. The real me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/the-journal-and-gansey-were-clearly-long-acquainted-and-he-wanted-her/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [I think the other misconceptions when the film came out, he was very upset that it was so widely released and so widely seen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-zwigoff/i-think-the-other-misconceptions-when-the-film-came-out-he-was-very/) [Terry Zwigoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-zwigoff/) > [People approach politicians with lot of hopes, particularly if they are elected representatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijayashanti/people-approach-politicians-with-lot-of-hopes-particularly-if-they/) [Vijayashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijayashanti/) > [“But what a feeling can come over a man just from seeing the things he believes in and hopes for symbolized in the concrete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/but-what-a-feeling-can-come-over-a-man-just-from-seeing-the-things-he/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [A tragic car accident put me in a wheelchair and dashed my hopes and dreams for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-cawthorn/a-tragic-car-accident-put-me-in-a-wheelchair-and-dashed-my-hopes-and/) [Madison Cawthorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-cawthorn/) > [One always hopes that you're going to have influence and staying power, but you never know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-frantz/one-always-hopes-that-you-re-going-to-have-influence-and-staying/) [Chris Frantz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-frantz/) > [Hopes are dreams of those who are awake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hopes-are-dreams-of-those-who-are-awake/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fashion comes out of the world in which you live, your needs, hopes and fantasies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurizio-gucci/fashion-comes-out-of-the-world-in-which-you-live-your-needs-hopes-and/) [Maurizio Gucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurizio-gucci/) > [“Everything is possible. You once told me not too long ago we should always have hope and I do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-krupa/everything-is-possible-you-once-told-me-not-too-long-ago-we-should/) [T.S. Krupa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-krupa/) > [“Man hopes, genius creates”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/man-hopes-genius-creates/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If you are an investor who's retired and hopes to live off the income that your portfolio is generating, then we would focus just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-o-shaughnessy/if-you-are-an-investor-who-s-retired-and-hopes-to-live-off-the-income/) [James O'Shaughnessy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-o-shaughnessy/) > [My fan base is really expanding into an inter-generational thing - it's what every artist probably hopes for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/my-fan-base-is-really-expanding-into-an-inter-generational-thing-it-s/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by Iris Murdoch > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [We defend ourselves by descriptions and tame the world by generalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/we-defend-ourselves-by-descriptions-and-tame-the-world-by-generalizing/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I'm sorry I was awful. I'm so full of terrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-m-sorry-i-was-awful-i-m-so-full-of-terrors/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I live, I live, with an absolutely continuous sense of failure. I am always defeated, always. Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## More Hope quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) [Simone Abou Samra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-abou-samra/) > [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I can see this so clearly because I have long ago given up my own hopes of being happy.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris Murdoch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-can-see-this-so-clearly-because-i-have-long-ago-given-up-my-own/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hope" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-can-see-this-so-clearly-because-i-have-long-ago-given-up-my-own/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/iris-murdoch-993_hope_i-can-see-this-so-clearly-because-i-have_693890.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/iris-murdoch-993_hope_i-can-see-this-so-clearly-because-i-have_693890.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e40/iris-murdoch-993_hope_i-can-see-this-so-clearly-because-i-have_693890.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can see this so clearly because I have long ago given up my own hopes of being happy.” — Iris Murdoch", "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": "Iris Murdoch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I can see this so clearly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-can-see-this-so-clearly-because-i-have-long-ago-given-up-my-own/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-can-see-this-so-clearly-because-i-have-long-ago-given-up-my-own/#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 } } ] } ```