--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: to burn itself on a funeral pyre and then…" description: "\"“to burn itself on a funeral pyre and then rise up from its own ashes. Under the drawing, Owen had written: “OFTEN A SYMBOL OF REBORN IDEALISM, OR HOPE..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/john-irving-337_death_to-burn-itself-on-a-funeral-pyre-and-the_374821.png" --- # to burn itself on a funeral pyre and then rise up from its… ![“to burn itself on a funeral pyre and then rise up from its own ashes. Under the drawing, Owen had written: “OFTEN A SYMBOL OF REBORN IDEALISM, OR HOPE—OR AN EMBLEM OF IMMORTALITY.” And” quote by John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/john-irving-337_death_to-burn-itself-on-a-funeral-pyre-and-the_374821.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/john-irving-337_death_to-burn-itself-on-a-funeral-pyre-and-the_374821.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/997/john-irving-337_death_to-burn-itself-on-a-funeral-pyre-and-the_374821.png) > ““to burn itself on a funeral pyre and then rise up from its own ashes. Under the drawing, Owen had written: “OFTEN A SYMBOL OF REBORN IDEALISM, OR HOPE—OR AN EMBLEM OF IMMORTALITY.” And”” [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A symbol of rebirth, hope, and immortality is expressed through a funeral pyre that rises from its ashes. **In simple terms:** Burning can become a hopeful new beginning. Key Takeaway Embrace transformation after loss. Themes rebirth hope symbolism Mood thoughtful inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief processing - creative renewal - personal reinvention Key Concepts literature mythology Questions to Reflect On - What personal “ashes” can you turn into hope? - How do symbols guide your healing? A Different Perspective Symbol may be too abstract for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ## Related quotes > [“I am too old a soldier to believe that. Hoster will be chiding me about the Redwyne girl even as we light his funeral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/i-am-too-old-a-soldier-to-believe-that-hoster-will-be-chiding-me/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Love is The funeral pyre Where I have laid my living body. All the false notions of myself That once caused fear, pain, Have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafiz/love-is-the-funeral-pyre-where-i-have-laid-my-living-body-all-the/) [Hafiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafiz/) > [“He should not be toying with her this way, drawing her into a dance round the funeral pyre, chancing that she would burn. --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-winterstine/he-should-not-be-toying-with-her-this-way-drawing-her-into-a-dance/) Leigh Winterstine > [One day you will disappear on a funeral pyre - just into nothingness, as smoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/one-day-you-will-disappear-on-a-funeral-pyre-just-into-nothingness-as-2/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“Quite pure, quite free of future planning, I mounted the tangled funeral pyre built for my suffering, so sure of nothing more to buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/quite-pure-quite-free-of-future-planning-i-mounted-the-tangled/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“We always emerge from the death of a loved one like a phoenix arising from its funeral pyre.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/we-always-emerge-from-the-death-of-a-loved-one-like-a-phoenix-arising/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [“One simply goes around doing egoism and then ultimately he ends up on the wood of the funeral pyre; such is the pitiful state.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/one-simply-goes-around-doing-egoism-and-then-ultimately-he-ends-up-on/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“Be it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-it-so-this-burning-of-widows-is-your-custom-prepare-the-funeral/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do not think too much / to become a funeral pyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mal-786/do-not-think-too-much-to-become-a-funeral-pyre/) Mal\_786 > [Every virtue has its privilege: for example, that of contributing its own little bundle of wood to the funeral pyre of one condemned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-virtue-has-its-privilege-for-example-that-of-contributing-its/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I would prefer not to throw myself on a funeral pyre. Please come back to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloisa-james/i-would-prefer-not-to-throw-myself-on-a-funeral-pyre-please-come-back/) [Eloisa James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloisa-james/) > [Till o'er the wreck, emerging from the storm, Immortal Nature lifts her changeful form: Mounts from her funeral pyre on wings of flame, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus-darwin/till-o-er-the-wreck-emerging-from-the-storm-immortal-nature-lifts-her/) [Erasmus Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus-darwin/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) ## More by John Irving > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean––make sure they know what they mean!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/watch-out-for-people-who-call-themselves-religious-make-sure-you-know/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [The desire to never leave your side, the desire to never see you again. The desire to see your face asleep on the pillow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/the-desire-to-never-leave-your-side-the-desire-to-never-see-you-again/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I had found out was about that zoo. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-had-been-a-student-in-vienna-and-one-of-the-neat-little-things-i/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“God, I think I just hit a high E-flat - and I really held it!" Esmeralda said, after one of her more prolonged orgasms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/god-i-think-i-just-hit-a-high-e-flat-and-i-really-held-it-esmeralda/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Nostalgia!" Miss Frost cried. "You´re nostalgic!" She repeated. "Just how old are you, William?" She asked. "Seventeen, " I told her. "Seventeen!" Miss Frost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/nostalgia-miss-frost-cried-you-re-nostalgic-she-repeated-just-how-old/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [ “JUST BECAUSE A BUNCH OF ATHEISTS ARE BETTER WRITERS THAN THE GUYS WHO WROTE THE BIBLE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THEM RIGHT!" \[Owen Meany\] said… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/just-because-a-bunch-of-atheists-are-better-writers-than-the-guys-who/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is much easier to be flexible about where a story begins than it ever was for me to change my mind about where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-is-much-easier-to-be-flexible-about-where-a-story-begins-than-it/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Only the chicken-lover will understand me. He will give me a kindly look, maybe mildly desirous. 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But they both must have known that you can know someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-re-nice-cushie-told-him-squeezing-his-hand-and-you-re-my-oldest/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Because of A Prayer for Owen Meany, many of my readers assume I am “religious.” I go to church only occasionally—like a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/because-of-a-prayer-for-owen-meany-many-of-my-readers-assume-i-am/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Did anyone who was in love and was unsatisfied with how he was loved in return ever feel saved?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/did-anyone-who-was-in-love-and-was-unsatisfied-with-how-he-was-loved/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“I TRUST THAT GOD WILL HELP ME, BECAUSE WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO LOOKS VERY HARD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-trust-that-god-will-help-me-because-what-i-m-supposed-to-do-looks/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) [Explore all 641 John Irving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. 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