--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But what was he to do? Stay where he was…" description: "\"“But what was he to do? Stay where he was or move on? This Oblomovian question was for him of even deeper significance than Hamlet’s ‘to be or not to b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/ivan-goncharov-16673_quote_but-what-was-he-to-do-stay-where-he-was_1659712.jpg" --- # But what was he to do? Stay where he was or move on? This… ![“But what was he to do? Stay where he was or move on? This Oblomovian question was for him of even deeper significance than Hamlet’s ‘to be or not to be’.” quote by Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/ivan-goncharov-16673_quote_but-what-was-he-to-do-stay-where-he-was_1659712.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/ivan-goncharov-16673_quote_but-what-was-he-to-do-stay-where-he-was_1659712.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab4/ivan-goncharov-16673_quote_but-what-was-he-to-do-stay-where-he-was_1659712.jpg) > ““But what was he to do? Stay where he was or move on? This Oblomovian question was for him of even deeper significance than Hamlet’s ‘to be or not to be’.”” [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He faces a dilemma of staying idle or moving forward, echoing existential indecision similar to Hamlet’s. **In simple terms:** He wonders whether to stay or act. Key Takeaway Take decisive action despite uncertainty. Themes existential indecision motivation Mood reflective motivational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career crossroads - personal development - creative projects - life planning Key Concepts philosophy literature psychology Questions to Reflect On - What holds you back from moving forward? - How can you create momentum in uncertainty? A Different Perspective Fear of change can be paralyzing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hamlet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hamlet/) ## Related quotes > [“The time is out of joint. O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right!” Thus Hamlet. 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Perhaps I didn't have to give my Hamlet before I died, that the world might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-mccormack/i-started-to-realise-that-it-wasn-t-for-me-perhaps-i-didn-t-have-to/) [Eric McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-mccormack/) > [I think Hamlet, as much as he loves his privacy and is kind of an introvert, he's a very functional introvert. When he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chukwudi-iwuji/i-think-hamlet-as-much-as-he-loves-his-privacy-and-is-kind-of-an/) [Chukwudi Iwuji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chukwudi-iwuji/) > [I never want to see 'Hamlet' ever again! Never ever!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-elliott/i-never-want-to-see-hamlet-ever-again-never-ever/) [Marianne Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-elliott/) > [“The theater, bringing impersonal masks to life, is only for those who are virile enough to create new life: either as a conflict of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-jarry/the-theater-bringing-impersonal-masks-to-life-is-only-for-those-who/) [Alfred Jarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-jarry/) > [The essential is to excite the spectators. If that means playing Hamlet on a flying trapeze or in an aquarium, you do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/the-essential-is-to-excite-the-spectators-if-that-means-playing/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [“In the gravedigger scene in act V, Hamlet looks upon an anonymous skull and jokes that even Alexander the Great decomposed into dust that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/in-the-gravedigger-scene-in-act-v-hamlet-looks-upon-an-anonymous/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [The two greatest plays ever written were Hamlet and Oedipus Rex, and they're both about father-son relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-two-greatest-plays-ever-written-were-hamlet-and-oedipus-rex-and/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [There are a thousand ways of playing a good classic. 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It was the very day that young Hamlet was born, he that is mad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/cannot-you-tell-that-every-fool-can-tell-that-it-was-the-very-day/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/shakespeare-s-hamlet-there-is-nothing-either-good-or-bad-but-thinking/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [“What do you read, my lord? HAMLET: Words, words, words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/what-do-you-read-my-lord-hamlet-words-words-words/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Ivan Goncharov > [“She never indulged in reveries or tried to be clever in her conversation; she seemed to have drawn a line in her mind beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/she-never-indulged-in-reveries-or-tried-to-be-clever-in-her/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“But in love, merit is won blindly and unaccountably, and in this blindness and unaccountability lies happiness. pp. 445-446”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/but-in-love-merit-is-won-blindly-and-unaccountably-and-in-this/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“What? Do you suppose the intellect can work separately from the heart?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/what-do-you-suppose-the-intellect-can-work-separately-from-the-heart/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“As a young man, he had instinctively husbanded the freshness of his powers. 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You're happy the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/when-you-don-t-know-what-you-re-living-for-you-don-t-care-how-you/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“Memories are either the greatest poetry, when they are memories of a vital happiness, or a burning pain, when they touch dried wounds. p. 479”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/memories-are-either-the-greatest-poetry-when-they-are-memories-of-a/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“All at once he found his mind drawing a parallel between that destiny and his own existence; all at once questions of life arose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/all-at-once-he-found-his-mind-drawing-a-parallel-between-that-destiny/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“Plunged up to the ears in work, good friend!" thought Oblomov as he watched him depart. "Yes, and blind and deaf and dumb to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-goncharov/plunged-up-to-the-ears-in-work-good-friend-thought-oblomov-as-he/) [Ivan Goncharov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-goncharov/) > [“When all the forces in your organism come into play, then life will begin to play around you as well. 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O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right!” Thus Hamlet. Yet he concludes: “Nay, come,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-time-is-out-of-joint-o-cursed-spite-that-ever-i-was-born-to-set/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/shakespeare-s-hamlet-there-is-nothing-either-good-or-bad-but-thinking/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [Cannot you tell that? Every fool can tell that. It was the very day that young Hamlet was born, he that is mad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/cannot-you-tell-that-every-fool-can-tell-that-it-was-the-very-day/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [There are a thousand ways of playing a good classic. If it were effective, I would play Hamlet on a trapeze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/there-are-a-thousand-ways-of-playing-a-good-classic-if-it-were/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [The two greatest plays ever written were Hamlet and Oedipus Rex, and they're both about father-son relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/the-two-greatest-plays-ever-written-were-hamlet-and-oedipus-rex-and/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“In the gravedigger scene in act V, Hamlet looks upon an anonymous skull and jokes that even Alexander the Great decomposed into dust that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/in-the-gravedigger-scene-in-act-v-hamlet-looks-upon-an-anonymous/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [The essential is to excite the spectators. If that means playing Hamlet on a flying trapeze or in an aquarium, you do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/the-essential-is-to-excite-the-spectators-if-that-means-playing/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [“The theater, bringing impersonal masks to life, is only for those who are virile enough to create new life: either as a conflict of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-jarry/the-theater-bringing-impersonal-masks-to-life-is-only-for-those-who/) [Alfred Jarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-jarry/) > [I never want to see 'Hamlet' ever again! Never ever!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-elliott/i-never-want-to-see-hamlet-ever-again-never-ever/) [Marianne Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-elliott/) > [I think Hamlet, as much as he loves his privacy and is kind of an introvert, he's a very functional introvert. When he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chukwudi-iwuji/i-think-hamlet-as-much-as-he-loves-his-privacy-and-is-kind-of-an/) [Chukwudi Iwuji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chukwudi-iwuji/) > [I started to realise that it wasn't for me. Perhaps I didn't have to give my Hamlet before I died, that the world might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-mccormack/i-started-to-realise-that-it-wasn-t-for-me-perhaps-i-didn-t-have-to/) [Eric McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-mccormack/) > [Hamlet has been played by 5,000 actors, no wonder he is crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/hamlet-has-been-played-by-5-000-actors-no-wonder-he-is-crazy/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Hamlet' is a real ensemble piece: you have to realise that he's just one part of the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-pryce/hamlet-is-a-real-ensemble-piece-you-have-to-realise-that-he-s-just/) [Jonathan Pryce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-pryce/) > [“What do you read, my lord? HAMLET: Words, words, words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/what-do-you-read-my-lord-hamlet-words-words-words/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) [Browse all 330 Hamlet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hamlet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But what was he to do? Stay where he was or move on? 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