--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Alive. Alive in the way that death is…" description: "\"Alive. Alive in the way that death is alive.\" — John Fowles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/john-fowles-816_alive_alive-alive-in-the-way-that-death-is-ali_3040821.png" --- # Alive. Alive in the way that death is alive. ![“Alive. Alive in the way that death is alive.” quote by John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/john-fowles-816_alive_alive-alive-in-the-way-that-death-is-ali_3040821.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/john-fowles-816_alive_alive-alive-in-the-way-that-death-is-ali_3040821.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/095/john-fowles-816_alive_alive-alive-in-the-way-that-death-is-ali_3040821.png) > “Alive. Alive in the way that death is alive.” [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contrasts life and death, implying that death itself can be vibrant or meaningful, blurring the line between the two. **In simple terms:** Death can feel alive. Key Takeaway Embrace life's paradoxes. Themes existentialism life death paradox Mood poetic enigmatic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - creative writing - spiritual practice - philosophical inquiry Key Concepts philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean for death to be alive? - How does this view affect living? A Different Perspective Interpretations vary widely. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ## Related quotes > [There are so many ways to be alive, but only one way to be dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/there-are-so-many-ways-to-be-alive-but-only-one-way-to-be-dead/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Being glad that you're alive is a way to pick yourself up and rebuild a lot better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/being-glad-that-you-re-alive-is-a-way-to-pick-yourself-up-and-rebuild/) Senoraroy > [There is always a risk in being alive, and if you are more alive, there is more risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/there-is-always-a-risk-in-being-alive-and-if-you-are-more-alive-there/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [Hell is being alive, and being alive is all there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-marshall-smith/hell-is-being-alive-and-being-alive-is-all-there-is/) [Michael Marshall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-marshall-smith/) > [“I wish she were alive, but I am grateful for her death. If she were alive, I would likely still be working at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-wish-she-were-alive-but-i-am-grateful-for-her-death-if-she-were/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [Life is trouble. Only death is not. To be alive is to unfasten your belt and look for a fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/life-is-trouble-only-death-is-not-to-be-alive-is-to-unfasten-your/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [You'll find your way and may death find you alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fall-out-boy/you-ll-find-your-way-and-may-death-find-you-alive/) [Fall Out Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fall-out-boy/) > [“He wasn't alive because he feared death. He was alive because he loved life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-betancourt/he-wasn-t-alive-because-he-feared-death-he-was-alive-because-he-loved/) [Ingrid Betancourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-betancourt/) > [The only time we can talk about death is while we're alive, not afterwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-only-time-we-can-talk-about-death-is-while-we-re-alive-not/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“There is not much mystery about death. It's being alive that's the mystery. Death is the normality, life is the exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-fallowell/there-is-not-much-mystery-about-death-it-s-being-alive-that-s-the/) Duncan Fallowell > [It even feels absurd to be writing or singing a song at all - in the context of actual death, being alive feels absurd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-elverum/it-even-feels-absurd-to-be-writing-or-singing-a-song-at-all-in-the/) [Phil Elverum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-elverum/) > [“The painful truth about life is not death but death while you are alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/the-painful-truth-about-life-is-not-death-but-death-while-you-are/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-closer-you-are-to-death-the-more-alive-you-feel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Death is alive, they whispered. Death lives inside life, as bones dance within the body. Yesterday is within today. Yesterday never dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/death-is-alive-they-whispered-death-lives-inside-life-as-bones-dance/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [How many more times do we have to come to terms with death before we find safety?" he asked. He waited a few minutes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/how-many-more-times-do-we-have-to-come-to-terms-with-death-before-we/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) ## More by John Fowles > [I am infinitely strange to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-am-infinitely-strange-to-myself/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [I do not plan my fiction any more than I normally plan woodland walks; I follow the path that seems most promising at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-do-not-plan-my-fiction-any-more-than-i-normally-plan-woodland-walks/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“The sky is absolutely empty. Beautifully pure and empty. As if the architects and builders would live in all the houses they built! Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-sky-is-absolutely-empty-beautifully-pure-and-empty-as-if-the/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“The evolution of human mentality has put us all in vitro now, behind the glass wall of our own ingenuity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-evolution-of-human-mentality-has-put-us-all-in-vitro-now-behind/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Most marriages recognize this paradox: Passion destroys passion; we want what puts an end to wanting what we want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/most-marriages-recognize-this-paradox-passion-destroys-passion-we/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [That is the great distinction between the sexes. Men see objects, women see the relationships between objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/that-is-the-great-distinction-between-the-sexes-men-see-objects-women/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [The craving to risk death is our last great perversion. We come from night, we go into night. Why live in night?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-craving-to-risk-death-is-our-last-great-perversion-we-come-from/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [There is only one good definition of God: the freedom that allows other freedoms to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/there-is-only-one-good-definition-of-god-the-freedom-that-allows/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [They looked down on her; and she looked up through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/they-looked-down-on-her-and-she-looked-up-through-them/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Long afterwards I realized why some men, racing drivers and their like, become addicted to speed. There are those of us who never see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/long-afterwards-i-realized-why-some-men-racing-drivers-and-their-like/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [The best wines take the longest to mature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-best-wines-take-the-longest-to-mature/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [But however good you get at translating personality into line or paint it's no go if your personality isn't worth translating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/but-however-good-you-get-at-translating-personality-into-line-or/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Liking other people is an illusion we have to cherish in ourselves if we are to live in society. It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/liking-other-people-is-an-illusion-we-have-to-cherish-in-ourselves-if/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Do you know that every great thing in the history of art and every beautiful thing in life is actually what you call nasty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/do-you-know-that-every-great-thing-in-the-history-of-art-and-every/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Yet this distance, all those abysses unbridged and then unbridgeable by radio, television, cheap travel and the rest, was not wholly bad. People knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/yet-this-distance-all-those-abysses-unbridged-and-then-unbridgeable/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) [Explore all 341 John Fowles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Alive. 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