--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The craving to risk death is our last…" description: "\"The craving to risk death is our last great perversion. We come from night, we go into night. Why live in night?\" — John Fowles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/john-fowles-816_craving_the-craving-to-risk-death-is-our-last-gr_69856.png" --- # The craving to risk death is our last great perversion. We… ![“The craving to risk death is our last great perversion. We come from night, we go into night. Why live in night?” quote by John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/john-fowles-816_craving_the-craving-to-risk-death-is-our-last-gr_69856.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/john-fowles-816_craving_the-craving-to-risk-death-is-our-last-gr_69856.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/john-fowles-816_craving_the-craving-to-risk-death-is-our-last-gr_69856.png) > “The craving to risk death is our last great perversion. We come from night, we go into night. Why live in night?” [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. The quote reflects on humanity’s fascination with danger and mortality, suggesting that our obsession with risk is a distortion of life’s natural cycle from birth to death. **In simple terms:** It questions why we seek danger when life is fleeting. Key Takeaway Risk is a misguided pursuit. Themes mortality existentialism human nature risk meaning of life Mood thoughtful somber reflective Type philosophical existential literary When to use this quote - contemplating personal danger - philosophical debate about mortality - creative writing about darkness Key Concepts death night metaphor perversion Practical Applications - exploring existential themes in literature - stimulating discussion in philosophy classes Questions to Reflect On - What drives people to seek dangerous experiences? - How does acknowledging mortality change our choices? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Night Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night-night/) [Perversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perversion/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) ## Related quotes > [“They had come for us in the night. Hey had come expecting a lot of blood. They had come with all their gear. 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But that's a capital if.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-tyldesley/if-they-come-back-it-s-a-night-we-ll-remember-for-a-long-time-but/) [Clive Tyldesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-tyldesley/) > [“Soon would come the night in which there was no more work – not the work of the hands, nor the work of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-russell/soon-would-come-the-night-in-which-there-was-no-more-work-not-the/) [Paul Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-russell/) > [“Come then, come with us, out into the night. Come now, America the lovesick, America the timid, the blessed, the educated, come stalk the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/come-then-come-with-us-out-into-the-night-come-now-america-the/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [The barbarians come out at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee-2/the-barbarians-come-out-at-night/) [J. M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee-2/) > [“...and my books are like friends that I come back to at night." ~Cynthia Batten”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-batten/and-my-books-are-like-friends-that-i-come-back-to-at-night-cynthia/) Cynthia Batten > [We're going' Anne said firmly. So soon?' Percy pleaded. 'But stars come out at night.' Then they fade at dawn', Anne replied. 'This star…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/we-re-going-anne-said-firmly-so-soon-percy-pleaded-but-stars-come-out/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [When you have no light to guide you and no one to walk beside you, I will come to you. When the night is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vino/when-you-have-no-light-to-guide-you-and-no-one-to-walk-beside-you-i/) Vino > [Beware thoughts that come in the night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-least-heat-moon/beware-thoughts-that-come-in-the-night/) [William Least Heat-Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-least-heat-moon/) > [Let them make their war. Whence come night and day? Whence will the eagle become gray? Whence is it that night is dark? Whence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taliesin/let-them-make-their-war-whence-come-night-and-day-whence-will-the/) [Taliesin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taliesin/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [There cannot be any true leisure until all the world possesses it equally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/there-cannot-be-any-true-leisure-until-all-the-world-possesses-it/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) [Explore all 341 John Fowles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## More Craving quotes > [“The more the soul loves the word, the more craving it has after it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurnall/the-more-the-soul-loves-the-word-the-more-craving-it-has-after-it/) [William Gurnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurnall/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [I dream of a love that is more than two people craving to possess one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-dream-of-a-love-that-is-more-than-two-people-craving-to-possess-one/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [When I look at you all I see is heartbreak waiting to happen. And I can't tell if it's because of love. Or loneliness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ream/when-i-look-at-you-all-i-see-is-heartbreak-waiting-to-happen-and-i/) [Ream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ream/) > [People who do not understand themselves have a craving for understanding — a thing which is rather surmised and never spoken than known and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-stekel/people-who-do-not-understand-themselves-have-a-craving-for/) [Wilhelm Stekel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-stekel/) > [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [I had left home (like all Jewish girls) in order to eat pork and take birth control pills. When I first shared an intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/i-had-left-home-like-all-jewish-girls-in-order-to-eat-pork-and-take/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [When we think carefully, we see that the brief elation we experience when appeasing sensual impulses may not be very different from what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/when-we-think-carefully-we-see-that-the-brief-elation-we-experience/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [How are we to account for the strange human craving for the pleasure of feeling afraid which is so much involved in our love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/how-are-we-to-account-for-the-strange-human-craving-for-the-pleasure/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [You don't want to love - your eternal and abnormal craving is to be loved. You aren't positive, you're negative. You absorb, absorb, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-want-to-love-your-eternal-and-abnormal-craving-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The worst passion we mortals cherish is the desire to possess. Even when we know that our final destination is a hole not more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-t-suzuki/the-worst-passion-we-mortals-cherish-is-the-desire-to-possess-even/) [D.T. Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-t-suzuki/) > [Memory, with its fugitive adjustments, is the merciful veil to the grim enactments of the first law. It hides the anguish in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-aumonier/memory-with-its-fugitive-adjustments-is-the-merciful-veil-to-the-grim/) [Stacy Aumonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-aumonier/) > [Fianlly a wave of reailty swept over my eyes and I was able to see, I wasn't in love with an angle but addicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian/fianlly-a-wave-of-reailty-swept-over-my-eyes-and-i-was-able-to-see-i/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian/) > [“Can you imagine NOT craving to be different than you are right now? Take a breath. For just a moment... can you stop craving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/can-you-imagine-not-craving-to-be-different-than-you-are-right-now/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) Browse all 626 Craving quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The craving to risk death is our last great perversion. We come from night, we go into night. 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