--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh if only I could take my mother away…" description: "\"“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go on and on and nothing would s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/iris-murdoch-993_computers_oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-a_141892.jpg" --- # Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of… ![“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go on and on and nothing would stop it. And no one from now on for ever would know how much he suffered and what it was really like to be him. How can I bear it, he thought, how…” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/iris-murdoch-993_computers_oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-a_141892.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/iris-murdoch-993_computers_oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-a_141892.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/iris-murdoch-993_computers_oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-a_141892.jpg) > ““Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go on and on and nothing would stop it. And no one from now on for ever would know how much he suffered and what it was really like to be him. How can I bear it, he thought, how can I go on bearing it without becoming something savage and awful?”” [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. A desire to escape suffering is futile; the relentless nature of existence forces endurance despite horror. **In simple terms:** You cannot escape inevitable suffering. Key Takeaway Endure and find meaning despite hardship. Themes suffering existence resilience Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literature - philosophy - psychology Key Concepts absurdism human condition Questions to Reflect On - How can one find purpose amid relentless suffering? - What does enduring hardship reveal about humanity? A Different Perspective Escapism may ignore coping mechanisms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Iris-murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iris-murdoch/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Warped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warped/) ## Related quotes > [“I cannot say anything about going away. I cannot say anything even in this diary. Perhaps it is better not to say anything ever.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/i-cannot-say-anything-about-going-away-i-cannot-say-anything-even-in/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [I suffered, I really suffered, with all three of my husbands. And I tried damn hard with all three, starting each marriage certain that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-gardner/i-suffered-i-really-suffered-with-all-three-of-my-husbands-and-i/) [Ava Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-gardner/) > [I don't think I had any idea how much I would love becoming a mother. Although I'm away a lot, my children, Emily and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-quentin/i-don-t-think-i-had-any-idea-how-much-i-would-love-becoming-a-mother/) [Caroline Quentin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-quentin/) > [I don't know anyone who's suffered lung cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-glen/i-don-t-know-anyone-who-s-suffered-lung-cancer/) [Iain Glen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-glen/) > [“Do you think that I would not have let you know that, if you suffered, I was suffering too: that if you wept there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/do-you-think-that-i-would-not-have-let-you-know-that-if-you-suffered/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Pastor Jón: The Úa who came is not the one who went away. Because in the first place Úa cannot go away, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halld-r-laxness/pastor-j-n-the-a-who-came-is-not-the-one-who-went-away-because-in-the/) [Halldór Laxness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halld-r-laxness/) > [“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/) > [“This man suffered too much. He hated all this, and somehow he couldn't get away. When I had a chance I begged him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/this-man-suffered-too-much-he-hated-all-this-and-somehow-he-couldn-t/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“I know people can be awful dooms for each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-know-people-can-be-awful-dooms-for-each-other/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“It had occurred, it had happened , and could never in his life be unhappened, never removed, a huge deadly black scar lasting forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/it-had-occurred-it-had-happened-and-could-never-in-his-life-be/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“What was to change many lives happened, and happened very fast in the next moments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/what-was-to-change-many-lives-happened-and-happened-very-fast-in-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“He had even tried the violin a few years earlier. Anything to switch talents, but there was no escape. The compulsion was identical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-gary/he-had-even-tried-the-violin-a-few-years-earlier-anything-to-switch/) [Romain Gary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-gary/) > [“If at that moment Clement had caught sight of the dog and had managed to capture him, the fates of a number of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/if-at-that-moment-clement-had-caught-sight-of-the-dog-and-had-managed/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“She had inhibited her sympathy, one genuine sympathetic impulse would have ruined her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/she-had-inhibited-her-sympathy-one-genuine-sympathetic-impulse-would/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“The car was waiting for him, and in twenty minutes, he passed under the Broken Heart sign that used to read Tender Oak. Edward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-decker/the-car-was-waiting-for-him-and-in-twenty-minutes-he-passed-under-the/) [Steven Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-decker/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [Love is the perception of individuals. Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/love-is-the-perception-of-individuals-love-is-the-extremely-difficult/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## More Computers quotes > [I don't understand why we're all connected wirelessly via a little machine that goes in our pocket, to everybody in the world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-don-t-understand-why-we-re-all-connected-wirelessly-via-a-little/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Note found in the patron suggestion box: "You have SIGNS up near the computers that say BE QUIET, but people don't be quiet. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-sheridan/note-found-in-the-patron-suggestion-box-you-have-signs-up-near-the/) [Gina Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-sheridan/) > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [The corporate state is an immensely powerful machine, ordered, legalistic, rational, yet utterly out of human control, wholly and perfectly indifferent to any human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/the-corporate-state-is-an-immensely-powerful-machine-ordered/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) Jen-Hsun Huang > [The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic carrying innumerable passengers in a way analogous to our modern steam ships.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-pickering/the-popular-mind-often-pictures-gigantic-flying-machines-speeding/) William Henry Pickering > [“Alan Turing proposed the Turing Test: a computer is intelligent if you can't tell it from a human when you talk with it. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cjs-hayward/alan-turing-proposed-the-turing-test-a-computer-is-intelligent-if-you/) [CJS Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cjs-hayward/) > [Computers can be taught that certain tune or certain chords changes will sound pleasant together, but I don't think it's going to reach a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonobo/computers-can-be-taught-that-certain-tune-or-certain-chords-changes/) [Bonobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonobo/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) Cruce Stark > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) [Browse all 9,389 Computers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go on and on and nothing would stop it. And no one from now on for ever would know how much he suffered and what it was really like to be him. How can I bear it, he thought, how can I go on bearing it without becoming something savage and awful?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris Murdoch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Computers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/iris-murdoch-993_computers_oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-a_141892.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/iris-murdoch-993_computers_oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-a_141892.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/iris-murdoch-993_computers_oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-a_141892.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the…” — 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": "“Oh if only I could take...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/#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 } } ] } ```