---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I were sufficiently romantic I suppose…"
description: "\"If I were sufficiently romantic I suppose I'd have killed myself long ago just to make people talk about me. I haven't even got the conviction to make ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/john-dos-passos-3598_conviction_if-i-were-sufficiently-romantic-i-suppos_2051061.jpg"
---

#  If I were sufficiently romantic I suppose I'd have killed…

![“If I were sufficiently romantic I suppose I'd have killed myself long ago just to make people talk about me. I haven't even got the conviction to make a successful drunkard.” quote by John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/john-dos-passos-3598_conviction_if-i-were-sufficiently-romantic-i-suppos_2051061.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/john-dos-passos-3598_conviction_if-i-were-sufficiently-romantic-i-suppos_2051061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/john-dos-passos-3598_conviction_if-i-were-sufficiently-romantic-i-suppos_2051061.jpg)

> “If I were sufficiently romantic I suppose I'd have killed myself long ago just to make people talk about me. I haven't even got the conviction to make a successful drunkard.”

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Romantic yearning can drive self-destructive fantasies, yet true conviction is lacking.

**In simple terms:** Romance can be self‑destructive.

Key Takeaway

Seek authentic purpose over dramatic gestures.

Themes

romance self‑destruction authenticity

Mood

melancholic introspective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- personal reflection
- mental health awareness

Key Concepts

existential longing identity crisis

Questions to Reflect On

- What drives your desire for recognition?
- Can you find meaning without self‑sacrifice?

A Different Perspective

Glorifying self‑harm as romantic can be harmful.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Drunkard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunkard/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-talk/) [Romantic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romantic/) [Romantic love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romantic-love/) [Romantic Suppose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romantic-suppose-3864717/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful Drunkard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-drunkard-3864716/) [Sufficiently Romantic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufficiently-romantic-3864718/)

## Related quotes

> [“The life of an artist is not so romantic as some might suppose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-muntz/the-life-of-an-artist-is-not-so-romantic-as-some-might-suppose/)

[Kyle Muntz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-muntz/)

> [The drunkard is convicted by his praises of wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-drunkard-is-convicted-by-his-praises-of-wine/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [“Headaches are for sloths as hangovers for drunks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-mostafa/headaches-are-for-sloths-as-hangovers-for-drunks/)

[Ahmed Mostafa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-mostafa/)

> [“I looked at him and did not answer; there flashed through my mind a quick, running picture of all the squalid hovels in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/i-looked-at-him-and-did-not-answer-there-flashed-through-my-mind-a/)

[Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/)

> [I am a drunkard from another kind of tavern. I dance to a silent tune. I am the symphony of stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-am-a-drunkard-from-another-kind-of-tavern-i-dance-to-a-silent-tune/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [“Noise does not waken a drunkard; silence wakens him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/noise-does-not-waken-a-drunkard-silence-wakens-him/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [A drunkard is one thing, and a temperate man is quite another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-keith/a-drunkard-is-one-thing-and-a-temperate-man-is-quite-another/)

[Arthur Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-keith/)

> [Then not only an old man, but also a drunkard, becomesa second time a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/then-not-only-an-old-man-but-also-a-drunkard-becomesa-second-time-a/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [There is nothing more stubborn than a drunkard trying to convince you he is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/there-is-nothing-more-stubborn-than-a-drunkard-trying-to-convince-you/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [“These are the words of a fool: I am happy to be a fool, for i won't spend my time gazing at lines difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/these-are-the-words-of-a-fool-i-am-happy-to-be-a-fool-for-i-won-t/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

> [Some people miss flesh as a drunkard misses his dram.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/some-people-miss-flesh-as-a-drunkard-misses-his-dram/)

[John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/)

> [“Your son is a drunkard,” she informed him. Then she caught a whiff of Roger’s breath. “Following in his father’s footsteps, I see,” she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/your-son-is-a-drunkard-she-informed-him-then-she-caught-a-whiff-of/)

[Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/)

> [Sometimes I wish I was just a simple drunkard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-morrissey/sometimes-i-wish-i-was-just-a-simple-drunkard/)

[Steven Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-morrissey/)

> [A drunkard is like a whiskey-bottle, all neck and belly and no head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/a-drunkard-is-like-a-whiskey-bottle-all-neck-and-belly-and-no-head/)

[Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/)

> [“It is as absurd to say that a man is a drunkard because he describes an orgy or a debauchee because he recounts a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/it-is-as-absurd-to-say-that-a-man-is-a-drunkard-because-he-describes/)

[Théophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/)

## More by John Dos Passos

> [In certain savage tribes in New Guinea, they put the old people up in the trees and shake them once a year in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/in-certain-savage-tribes-in-new-guinea-they-put-the-old-people-up-in/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [In a moment when criticism shows a singular dearth of direction every man has to be a law unto himself in matters of theatre,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/in-a-moment-when-criticism-shows-a-singular-dearth-of-direction-every/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [It's rather grisly, isnt it, how soon a living man becomes nothing more than a collection of stocks and bonds and debts and real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/it-s-rather-grisly-isnt-it-how-soon-a-living-man-becomes-nothing-more/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [The people of this country are too tolerant. There's no other country in the world where they'd allow it... After all we built up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-people-of-this-country-are-too-tolerant-there-s-no-other-country/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [I never see the dawn that I don't say to myself perhaps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/i-never-see-the-dawn-that-i-don-t-say-to-myself-perhaps/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [When the typewriter stops in a New York office everybody's embarrassed; men start to quarrel or to make love to the stenographer or drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/when-the-typewriter-stops-in-a-new-york-office-everybody-s/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [What's the use, there never was a woman living who could understand political ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/what-s-the-use-there-never-was-a-woman-living-who-could-understand/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [There is a part of me in every character, naturally. That's why novelists rarely write good autobiographies. You start one and it becomes another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character-naturally-that-s-why/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [The fascinating thing to a dispassionate observer about the structure of life in the Soviet Union is that in their efforts to produce an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-fascinating-thing-to-a-dispassionate-observer-about-the-structure/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [To fight oppression, and to work as best we can for a sane organization of society, we do not have to abandon the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/to-fight-oppression-and-to-work-as-best-we-can-for-a-sane/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [A satirist is a man whose flesh creeps so at the ugly and the savage and the incongruous aspects of society that he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/a-satirist-is-a-man-whose-flesh-creeps-so-at-the-ugly-and-the-savage/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [Letters are largely written to get things out of your system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/letters-are-largely-written-to-get-things-out-of-your-system/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [The Enormous Room seems to me to be the book that has nearest approached the mood of reckless adventure in which men will reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-enormous-room-seems-to-me-to-be-the-book-that-has-nearest/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [“ Luther Burbank was born in a brick farmhouse in Lancaster Mass, he walked through the woods one winter crunching through the shinycrusted snow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/luther-burbank-was-born-in-a-brick-farmhouse-in-lancaster-mass-he/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [It is a most curious experience for a man of seventy-two to be confronted with the greenhorn enthusiasms of his youth. Young people think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/it-is-a-most-curious-experience-for-a-man-of-seventy-two-to-be/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

[Explore all 125 John Dos Passos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

## More Conviction quotes

> [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/)

[Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/)

> [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/)

[Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/)

> [I've been around in public life for a long time. I think people know what I stand for. They know that I have strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/i-ve-been-around-in-public-life-for-a-long-time-i-think-people-know/)

[Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/)

> [“Desert are you, deluge are you, in a crowd of fakes, only truth is you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/desert-are-you-deluge-are-you-in-a-crowd-of-fakes-only-truth-is-you/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/)

[B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/)

> ['Peace on earth, good will toward men' - democracy must cling to that message. For it is my deep conviction that democracy cannot live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/peace-on-earth-good-will-toward-men-democracy-must-cling-to-that/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [ Beneath everything else, North and West, there ran a profound, unvoiced, almost subconscious conviction that the \[American\] nation was going to go on growing-in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/beneath-everything-else-north-and-west-there-ran-a-profound-unvoiced/)

[Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/)

> [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [When you fight to give your family bread, that's not passion anymore: that's conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoel-romero/when-you-fight-to-give-your-family-bread-that-s-not-passion-anymore/)

[Yoel Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoel-romero/)

> [If you know the differences between an oak and a poplar, a spruce and a pine, down to the needles... you are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-allen-lawson/if-you-know-the-differences-between-an-oak-and-a-poplar-a-spruce-and/)

[T. Allen Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-allen-lawson/)

> [We need the conviction to be able to think for ourselves and to take action outof our own sense of responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/we-need-the-conviction-to-be-able-to-think-for-ourselves-and-to-take/)

[Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/)

> [The law of England has established trial by judge and jury in the conviction that it is the mode best calculated to ascertain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-law-of-england-has-established-trial-by-judge-and-jury-in-the/)

[Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/)

> [If you are going to flip something, you must have the courage of your convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/if-you-are-going-to-flip-something-you-must-have-the-courage-of-your/)

[Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/)

> [We embark unhesitatingly on the path, in a direction that is absolutely right and urgent, supported by everyone, in the knowledge that this path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehudi-menuhin/we-embark-unhesitatingly-on-the-path-in-a-direction-that-is/)

[Yehudi Menuhin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehudi-menuhin/)

[Browse all 2,157 Conviction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If I were sufficiently romantic I suppose I'd have killed myself long ago just to make people talk about me. I haven't even got the conviction to make a successful drunkard.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Dos Passos"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/if-i-were-sufficiently-romantic-i-suppose-i-d-have-killed-myself-long/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Conviction"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/if-i-were-sufficiently-romantic-i-suppose-i-d-have-killed-myself-long/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/john-dos-passos-3598_conviction_if-i-were-sufficiently-romantic-i-suppos_2051061.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/john-dos-passos-3598_conviction_if-i-were-sufficiently-romantic-i-suppos_2051061.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/john-dos-passos-3598_conviction_if-i-were-sufficiently-romantic-i-suppos_2051061.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If I were sufficiently romantic I suppose I'd have killed myself long ago just to make people talk about me…” — John Dos Passos",
                "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": "John Dos Passos",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If I were sufficiently romantic I...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/if-i-were-sufficiently-romantic-i-suppose-i-d-have-killed-myself-long/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/if-i-were-sufficiently-romantic-i-suppose-i-d-have-killed-myself-long/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
