Awake at night Quote by Jeanette Winterson
““We're a lukewarm people for all our feast days and hard work. Not much touches us, but we long to be touched. We lie awake at night willing the darkness to part and show us a vision. Our children frighten us in their intimacy, but we make sure they grow up like us. Lukewarm like us. On a night like this, hands and faces hot, we can believe that tomorrow will show us angels in jars and that the well-known woods will suddenly reveal another path. Last time we had a bonfire, a neighbour tried to pull down the boards of his house. [...] I sometimes wonder why none of us tried to stop him. I think we wanted him to do it, to do it for us. To tear down our long-houred lives and let us start again. Clean and simple with open hands.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Passion by Jeanette Winterson, 1987
The narrator describes a society numb to wonder, yearning for transformative experiences that break routine and reveal new possibilities.
In simple terms: People crave change but stay passive;
Key Takeaway
Seek moments that disrupt complacency.
Themes
nostalgia
yearning
transformation
passivity
Mood
reflective
hopeful
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- family dynamics
- personal crisis
- rituals
- community gatherings
Key Concepts
existentialism
ritual
awakening
Questions to Reflect On
- What small act could you initiate to break routine?
- How do you recognize genuine transformation?
A Different Perspective
Change may be fleeting and not guarantee lasting fulfillment.
