--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life, of course, never gets anyone's…" description: "\"“Life, of course, never gets anyone's entire attention. Death always remains interesting, pulls us, draws us. As sleep is necessary to our physiology, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/janet-malcolm-10933_death_life-of-course-never-gets-anyone-s-entir_3004231.jpg" --- # Life, of course, never gets anyone's entire attention… ![“Life, of course, never gets anyone's entire attention. Death always remains interesting, pulls us, draws us. As sleep is necessary to our physiology, so depression seems necessary to our psychic economy. In some secret way, Thanatos nourishes Eros as well as opposes it. The two principles work in…” quote by Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/janet-malcolm-10933_death_life-of-course-never-gets-anyone-s-entir_3004231.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/janet-malcolm-10933_death_life-of-course-never-gets-anyone-s-entir_3004231.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e04/janet-malcolm-10933_death_life-of-course-never-gets-anyone-s-entir_3004231.jpg) > ““Life, of course, never gets anyone's entire attention. Death always remains interesting, pulls us, draws us. As sleep is necessary to our physiology, so depression seems necessary to our psychic economy. In some secret way, Thanatos nourishes Eros as well as opposes it. The two principles work in covert concert; though in most of us Eros dominates, in none of us is Thanatos completely subdued. However-and this is the paradox of suicide-to take one's life is to behave in a more active, assertive, "erotic" way than to helplessly watch as one's life is taken away from one by inevitable mortality. Suicide thus engages with both the death-hating and the death-loving parts of us: on some level, perhaps, we may envy the suicide even as we pity him. It has frequently been asked whether the poetry of Plath would have so aroused the attention of the world if Plath had not killed herself. I would agree with those who say no. The death-ridden poems move us and electrify us because of our knowledge of what happened. Alvarez has observed that the late poems read as if they were written posthumously, but they do so only because a death actually took place. "When I am talking about the weather / I know what I am talking about," Kurt Schwitters writes in a Dada poem (which I have quoted in its entirety). When Plath is talking about the death wish, she knows what she is talking about. In 1966, Anne Sexton, who committed suicide eleven years after Plath, wrote a poem entitled "Wanting to Die," in which these startlingly informative lines appear: But suicides have a special language. Like carpenters they want to know which tools. They never ask why build. When, in the opening of "Lady Lazarus," Plath triumphantly exclaims, "I have done it again," and, later in the poem, writes, Dying Is an art, like everything else. I do it exceptionally well. I do it so it feels like hell. I do it so it feels real. I guess you could say I've a call, we can only share her elation. We know we are in the presence of a master builder.”” [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote explores how death, depression, and the drive to create are intertwined, suggesting that suicide paradoxically asserts agency while reflecting deep existential conflict. **In simple terms:** Death and depression fuel artistic intensity, yet also reveal inner struggles. Key Takeaway Recognize the complex link between suffering and creativity. Themes psychology creativity suicide death art Mood somber reflective introspective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - mental health discussions - creative workshops - counseling sessions Key Concepts Thanatos Eros paradox psychic economy Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging pain alter artistic expression? - Can we support creators without glorifying suffering? A Different Perspective Suicide is not a solution; it reflects untreated pain and societal neglect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anne-sexton/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-wish/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literary criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-criticism/) [Plath Aroused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plath-aroused-4784290/) [Plath Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plath-wrote-4784287/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Poetry Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry-plath-4784289/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) [Suicide Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide-pity-4784291/) [Wanting to die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting-to-die/) [Writes Dying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writes-dying-4784288/) ## Related quotes > [I love Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. 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I have nothing in common with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/augustine-anne-sexton-and-sylvia-plath-are-confessional-writers-and/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) ## More by Janet Malcolm > [The camera is simply not the supple and powerful instrument of description that the pen is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-camera-is-simply-not-the-supple-and-powerful-instrument-of/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [“The writer ultimately tires of the subject's self-serving story, and substitutes a story of his own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-writer-ultimately-tires-of-the-subject-s-self-serving-story-and/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [Society mediates between the extremes of, on the one hand, intolerably strict morality and, on the other, dangerously anarchic permissiveness through an unspoken agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/society-mediates-between-the-extremes-of-on-the-one-hand-intolerably/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [Something seems to happen to people when they meet a journalist, and what happens is exactly the opposite of what one would expect. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/something-seems-to-happen-to-people-when-they-meet-a-journalist-and/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [The ‘I’ character in journalism is almost pure invention. 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Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Life, of course, never gets anyone's entire attention. Death always remains interesting, pulls us, draws us. As sleep is necessary to our physiology, so depression seems necessary to our psychic economy. In some secret way, Thanatos nourishes Eros as well as opposes it. The two principles work in covert concert; though in most of us Eros dominates, in none of us is Thanatos completely subdued. However-and this is the paradox of suicide-to take one's life is to behave in a more active, assertive, \"erotic\" way than to helplessly watch as one's life is taken away from one by inevitable mortality. Suicide thus engages with both the death-hating and the death-loving parts of us: on some level, perhaps, we may envy the suicide even as we pity him. It has frequently been asked whether the poetry of Plath would have so aroused the attention of the world if Plath had not killed herself. I would agree with those who say no. The death-ridden poems move us and electrify us because of our knowledge of what happened. Alvarez has observed that the late poems read as if they were written posthumously, but they do so only because a death actually took place. \"When I am talking about the weather / I know what I am talking about,\" Kurt Schwitters writes in a Dada poem (which I have quoted in its entirety). When Plath is talking about the death wish, she knows what she is talking about. In 1966, Anne Sexton, who committed suicide eleven years after Plath, wrote a poem entitled \"Wanting to Die,\" in which these startlingly informative lines appear: But suicides have a special language. Like carpenters they want to know which tools. They never ask why build. When, in the opening of \"Lady Lazarus,\" Plath triumphantly exclaims, \"I have done it again,\" and, later in the poem, writes, Dying Is an art, like everything else. I do it exceptionally well. I do it so it feels like hell. I do it so it feels real. I guess you could say I've a call, we can only share her elation. 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