--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History ... is a nightmare from which I…" description: "\"“History ... is a nightmare from which I am trying to wake.”\" — James Joyce" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/james-joyce-281_history_history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-t_1868605.jpg" --- # History ... is a nightmare from which I am trying to wake. ![“History ... is a nightmare from which I am trying to wake.” quote by James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/james-joyce-281_history_history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-t_1868605.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/james-joyce-281_history_history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-t_1868605.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/james-joyce-281_history_history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-t_1868605.jpg) > ““History ... is a nightmare from which I am trying to wake.”” [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History feels like a nightmarish trap from which one seeks escape. **In simple terms:** History can seem oppressive, prompting a desire to break free. Key Takeaway Seek liberation from oppressive narratives. Themes history psychology freedom Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - mental health - social critique Key Concepts existential dread personal autonomy Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of history constrain you? - How can you transform oppressive narratives? A Different Perspective Escaping history may ignore valuable lessons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) ## Related quotes > [History... is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-awake/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake. —JAMES JOYCE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-g-chang/history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-awake-james-joyce/) [Gordon G. Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-g-chang/) > [History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-stephen-said-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-awake/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [James Joyce is right about history being a nightmare-- but it may be that nightmare from which no one can awaken. People are trapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/james-joyce-is-right-about-history-being-a-nightmare-but-it-may-be/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [“Joyce is right about history being a nightmare—but it may be the nightmare from which no one can awaken. People are trapped in history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/joyce-is-right-about-history-being-a-nightmare-but-it-may-be-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [Harder than waking from a nightmare was trying to wake herself into one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/harder-than-waking-from-a-nightmare-was-trying-to-wake-herself-into/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [History is that nightmare from which there is no awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-is-that-nightmare-from-which-there-is-no-awakening/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“But I was done trying to wake her up, to make her see. To save her. The only person I could save was myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emme-rollins/but-i-was-done-trying-to-wake-her-up-to-make-her-see-to-save-her-the/) [Emme Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emme-rollins/) > [Art is, for me, the process of trying to wake up the soul. Because we live in an industrialized, fast-paced world that prefers that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/art-is-for-me-the-process-of-trying-to-wake-up-the-soul-because-we/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [When I used to go to Elvis's house was always a nightmare trying to get into the house because of so many fans outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-deshannon/when-i-used-to-go-to-elvis-s-house-was-always-a-nightmare-trying-to/) [Jackie DeShannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-deshannon/) > [History is not a nightmare from which. I am trying to awaken, but rather, a glorious tale which I wish to be cast in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-not-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-awaken-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have such a sweet tooth, which is a nightmare when you're trying to be good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-blagden/i-have-such-a-sweet-tooth-which-is-a-nightmare-when-you-re-trying-to/) [George Blagden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-blagden/) > [I wake the dead. I bring Jackie Robinson and the Roosevelts to life. Who do you think Im trying to wake up?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/i-wake-the-dead-i-bring-jackie-robinson-and-the-roosevelts-to-life/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [Everything seems louder when you're trying not to wake your parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everything-seems-louder-when-you-re-trying-not-to-wake-your-parents/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I’m just trying to wake up - I’m so afraid of sleeping all my life and then dying - I want to wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-m-just-trying-to-wake-up-i-m-so-afraid-of-sleeping-all-my-life-and/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## More by James Joyce > [He found in the world without as actual what was in his world within as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-found-in-the-world-without-as-actual-what-was-in-his-world-within/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“Ah, poor dogsbody! Here lies poor dogsbody's body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/ah-poor-dogsbody-here-lies-poor-dogsbody-s-body/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Shaw's works make me admire the magnificent tolerance and broadmindedness of the english.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/shaw-s-works-make-me-admire-the-magnificent-tolerance-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“Do you know what Ireland is?' asked Stephen with cold violence. 'Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephen-with-cold-violence-ireland/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [The studious silence of the library ... Thought is the thought of thought. Tranquil brightness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-studious-silence-of-the-library-thought-is-the-thought-of-thought/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“two cronies drank to the memory of their past. An abyss of fortune or of temperament sundered him from them. His mind seemed older…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/two-cronies-drank-to-the-memory-of-their-past-an-abyss-of-fortune-or/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [He passes, struck by the stare of truculent Wellington but in the convex mirror grin unstruck the bonham eyes and fatchuck cheekchops of Jollypoldy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-passes-struck-by-the-stare-of-truculent-wellington-but-in-the/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“-Qui vous a mis dans cette fichue position?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/qui-vous-a-mis-dans-cette-fichue-position/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [I hear the ruin of all space, shattered glass and toppled masonry, and time one livid final flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/i-hear-the-ruin-of-all-space-shattered-glass-and-toppled-masonry-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Full many a flower is born to blush unseen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/full-many-a-flower-is-born-to-blush-unseen/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [In woman's womb word is made flesh but in the spirit of the maker all flesh that passes becomes the word that shall not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/in-woman-s-womb-word-is-made-flesh-but-in-the-spirit-of-the-maker-all/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Though people may read more into Ulysses than I ever intended, who is to say that they are wrong: do any of us know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/though-people-may-read-more-into-ulysses-than-i-ever-intended-who-is/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-stephen-said-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-awake/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“It flows purling, widely flowing, floating foampool, flower unfurling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/it-flows-purling-widely-flowing-floating-foampool-flower-unfurling/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Explore all 707 James Joyce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“History ... is a nightmare from which I am trying to wake.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Joyce" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-wake/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-wake/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/james-joyce-281_history_history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-t_1868605.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/james-joyce-281_history_history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-t_1868605.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4b/james-joyce-281_history_history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-t_1868605.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History ... is a nightmare from which I am trying to wake.” — James Joyce", "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": "James Joyce", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“History ... is a nightmare from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-wake/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-wake/#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 } } ] } ```