--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was Hell, if hell is where the life we…" description: "\"“It was Hell, if hell is where the life we love cannot exist.”\" — Jeanette Winterson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/jeanette-winterson-166_exist_it-was-hell-if-hell-is-where-the-life-we_2278151.png" --- # It was Hell, if hell is where the life we love cannot exist. ![“It was Hell, if hell is where the life we love cannot exist.” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/jeanette-winterson-166_exist_it-was-hell-if-hell-is-where-the-life-we_2278151.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/jeanette-winterson-166_exist_it-was-hell-if-hell-is-where-the-life-we_2278151.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/jeanette-winterson-166_exist_it-was-hell-if-hell-is-where-the-life-we_2278151.png) > ““It was Hell, if hell is where the life we love cannot exist.”” [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hell is a metaphor for a world where beloved life cannot exist, highlighting profound loss. **In simple terms:** Hell means loss of cherished life. Key Takeaway Recognize and protect what you love. Themes loss love existence metaphor Mood somber introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief - relationship crisis - identity search Key Concepts existential literary psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does “hell” represent in your life? - How can you create a space for love to thrive? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exist/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Hell Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell-hell/) [Hell Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell-life-392542/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living/) [Love Exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-exist/) ## Related quotes > [Just live that life. It doesn't matter whether it is life or hell, life of the hungry ghost, life of the animal, it's okay;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taizan-maezumi/just-live-that-life-it-doesn-t-matter-whether-it-is-life-or-hell-life/) [Taizan Maezumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taizan-maezumi/) > [Love cannot exist where there is no trust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joffrey-lagura/love-cannot-exist-where-there-is-no-trust/) [Joffrey Lagura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joffrey-lagura/) > [Does true love still exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cephas/does-true-love-still-exist/) [Cephas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cephas/) > [Love cannot exist without truth, but truth cannot exist without love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-franklin/love-cannot-exist-without-truth-but-truth-cannot-exist-without-love/) [Kirk Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-franklin/) > [“Belive or not once you fall in love,it always exist…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khode-manish-v/belive-or-not-once-you-fall-in-love-it-always-exist/) [khode manish v](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khode-manish-v/) > [Does love still exist if you can’t say it? If you can’t admit it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-murphy/does-love-still-exist-if-you-can-t-say-it-if-you-can-t-admit-it/) [Julie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-murphy/) > [The will is that which has all power; it makes heaven and it makes hell: for there is no hell but where the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-law/the-will-is-that-which-has-all-power-it-makes-heaven-and-it-makes/) [William Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-law/) > [“There is no Hell Hell is Earth itself And the busy, innocently fraud beings They are my demons themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jomia-ann-e-pangilinan-darkness-and-gratitude/there-is-no-hell-hell-is-earth-itself-and-the-busy-innocently-fraud/) [Jomia Ann E. Pangilinan Darkness and Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jomia-ann-e-pangilinan-darkness-and-gratitude/) > [“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heaven. MILTON”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/the-mind-is-its-own-place-and-in-itself-can-make-a-heav-n-of-hell-a/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [“No, there are no special places in hell. Hell is a democracy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/no-there-are-no-special-places-in-hell-hell-is-a-democracy/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [“All Hell is smaller than one pebble of your earthly world: but it is smaller than one atom of this world, the Real World.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/all-hell-is-smaller-than-one-pebble-of-your-earthly-world-but-it-is/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [I trust hell more than heaven, because I've seen more hell in this life than heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/i-trust-hell-more-than-heaven-because-i-ve-seen-more-hell-in-this/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [When people use the word hell, what do they mean? They mean a place, an event, a situation absent of how God desires things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bell/when-people-use-the-word-hell-what-do-they-mean-they-mean-a-place-an/) [Rob Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bell/) > [I choose to ignore hell in my life. When I was a little kid I asked my Dad "Am I going to go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sandler/i-choose-to-ignore-hell-in-my-life-when-i-was-a-little-kid-i-asked-my/) [Adam Sandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sandler/) > [Traveling is more fun - hell, life is more fun - if you can treat it as a series of impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/traveling-is-more-fun-hell-life-is-more-fun-if-you-can-treat-it-as-a/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## More by Jeanette Winterson > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I have found that I am not a space where people want to live, at least not without decorating first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-have-found-that-i-am-not-a-space-where-people-want-to-live-at-least/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Yes. Just pass me my leg will you? It's on top of the wardrobe where he threw it, and I think my right arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/yes-just-pass-me-my-leg-will-you-it-s-on-top-of-the-wardrobe-where-he/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Every second the Universe divides into possibilities and most of those possibilities never happen. It is not a uni-verse -- there is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/every-second-the-universe-divides-into-possibilities-and-most-of/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You are a pool of clear water where the light plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-are-a-pool-of-clear-water-where-the-light-plays/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It's the cliches that cause the trouble. A precise emotion seeks a precise expression. If what I feel is not precise than how should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-the-cliches-that-cause-the-trouble-a-precise-emotion-seeks-a/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [What would it have meant to be happy? What would it have meant if things had been bright, clear, good between us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-would-it-have-meant-to-be-happy-what-would-it-have-meant-if/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Mrs Ratlow was a widow, and she was head of English, but she still did all the cooking and cleaning for her two sons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/mrs-ratlow-was-a-widow-and-she-was-head-of-english-but-she-still-did/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“I shall have nowt to talk to now the baby is boiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-shall-have-nowt-to-talk-to-now-the-baby-is-boiled/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“What art does is to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. The so-called uselessness of art is a clue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-art-does-is-to-coax-us-away-from-the-mechanical-and-towards-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Happy Valentines Day to those who have found love, in whatever shape or form, and to those who are still hunting, don’t give up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/happy-valentines-day-to-those-who-have-found-love-in-whatever-shape/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It took me a long time to realise that there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-realise-that-there-are-two-kinds-of-writing/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [A curse on this game. How can you stick at a game when the rules keep on changing? I shall call myself Alice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/a-curse-on-this-game-how-can-you-stick-at-a-game-when-the-rules-keep/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“He turned away and I turned to him in vivid heat to look on the sun-dried world. The groves and towers were gone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/he-turned-away-and-i-turned-to-him-in-vivid-heat-to-look-on-the-sun/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Explore all 1,016 Jeanette Winterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## More Exist quotes > [A vacuum can only exist, I imagine, by the things which enclose it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-fitzgerald/a-vacuum-can-only-exist-i-imagine-by-the-things-which-enclose-it/) [Zelda Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-fitzgerald/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [You would not exist if you did not have something to bring to the table of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/you-would-not-exist-if-you-did-not-have-something-to-bring-to-the/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [I don't believe in moral victories. I don't think in pro ball they exist, and they shouldn't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-witten/i-don-t-believe-in-moral-victories-i-don-t-think-in-pro-ball-they/) [Jason Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-witten/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [“Must a people disappear for us to know they exist? Mano Dayak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mano-dayak/must-a-people-disappear-for-us-to-know-they-exist-mano-dayak/) [Mano Dayak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mano-dayak/) > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) > [“And then again, maybe people and things are the same as emotions: Even when you can't see them or feel them or be with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-henriquez/and-then-again-maybe-people-and-things-are-the-same-as-emotions-even/) [Cristina Henriquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-henriquez/) > [When you rely on incentives, you undermine virtues. Then when you discover that you actually need people who want to do the right thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/when-you-rely-on-incentives-you-undermine-virtues-then-when-you/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [“Human race had never planned to show up in this universe. I wonder whether current human efforts are relevant to its sustainability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/human-race-had-never-planned-to-show-up-in-this-universe-i-wonder/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [If you ask why I do what I do - I want to make a difference. I don't just want to maintain the status…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-broad/if-you-ask-why-i-do-what-i-do-i-want-to-make-a-difference-i-don-t/) [Eli Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-broad/) > [Happiness, I do not know where to turn to discover you on earth, in the air or the sky; yet I know you exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalia-de-castro/happiness-i-do-not-know-where-to-turn-to-discover-you-on-earth-in-the/) [Rosalia de Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalia-de-castro/) > [Is when you can not exist without your loves smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff/is-when-you-can-not-exist-without-your-loves-smile/) [Jeff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff/) > [Liberty does not exist where rights are on one side and power on the other. To be liberty, rights must be armed with vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/liberty-does-not-exist-where-rights-are-on-one-side-and-power-on-the/) [Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/) [Browse all 2,297 Exist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was Hell, if hell is where the life we love cannot exist.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeanette Winterson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-was-hell-if-hell-is-where-the-life-we-love-cannot-exist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Exist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-was-hell-if-hell-is-where-the-life-we-love-cannot-exist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/jeanette-winterson-166_exist_it-was-hell-if-hell-is-where-the-life-we_2278151.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/jeanette-winterson-166_exist_it-was-hell-if-hell-is-where-the-life-we_2278151.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/jeanette-winterson-166_exist_it-was-hell-if-hell-is-where-the-life-we_2278151.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was Hell, if hell is where the life we love cannot exist.” — Jeanette Winterson", "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": "Jeanette Winterson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It was Hell, if hell is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-was-hell-if-hell-is-where-the-life-we-love-cannot-exist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-was-hell-if-hell-is-where-the-life-we-love-cannot-exist/#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 } } ] } ```