--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I -- I alone know how to mourn for him as…" description: "\"I -- I alone know how to mourn for him as he deserves.' But while we were still shaking hands, such a look of awful desolation came upon her face that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f86/joseph-conrad-336_awful_i-i-alone-know-how-to-mourn-for-him-as-h_253109.jpg" --- # I -- I alone know how to mourn for him as he deserves.'… ![“I -- I alone know how to mourn for him as he deserves.' But while we were still shaking hands, such a look of awful desolation came upon her face that I perceived she was one of those creatures that are not the playthings of Time. For her he had died only yesterday. And, by Jove! the impression…” quote by Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f86/joseph-conrad-336_awful_i-i-alone-know-how-to-mourn-for-him-as-h_253109.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f86/joseph-conrad-336_awful_i-i-alone-know-how-to-mourn-for-him-as-h_253109.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f86/joseph-conrad-336_awful_i-i-alone-know-how-to-mourn-for-him-as-h_253109.jpg) > “I -- I alone know how to mourn for him as he deserves.' But while we were still shaking hands, such a look of awful desolation came upon her face that I perceived she was one of those creatures that are not the playthings of Time. For her he had died only yesterday. And, by Jove! the impression was so powerful that for me, too, he seemed to have died only yesterday -- nay, this very minute. I saw her and him in the same instant of time -- his death and her sorrow -- I saw her sorrow in the very moment of his death. Do you understand? I saw them together -- I heard them together.” [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes an intense, shared grief that feels immediate and timeless, blurring the line between past and present. **In simple terms:** Deep empathy makes loss feel present. Key Takeaway Acknowledge shared sorrow fully. Themes grief empathy time memory human connection Mood somber reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - funeral rites - war memorials - personal loss - collective mourning Key Concepts existentialism psychology temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - How does shared grief affect personal healing? - Can we ever truly separate present sorrow from past loss? A Different Perspective Such immediacy may overlook the healing process over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Desolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desolation/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Shaking hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaking-hands/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Yesterday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday/) ## Related quotes > [I saw sorrow turning into clarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/i-saw-sorrow-turning-into-clarity/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [I saw the sorrow in Daddy's eyes I listened to the sound of Mommy's sighs In my sister, I saw what lingered was Faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guardian/i-saw-the-sorrow-in-daddy-s-eyes-i-listened-to-the-sound-of-mommy-s/) Guardian > [“I saw all of the good I did, all of the love I gave, the service and kindness—but I also saw all of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pontius/i-saw-all-of-the-good-i-did-all-of-the-love-i-gave-the-service-and/) John Pontius > [Sorrow is knowledge, those that know the most must mourn the deepest, the tree of knowledge is not the tree of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/sorrow-is-knowledge-those-that-know-the-most-must-mourn-the-deepest/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Some people, they can't just move on, you know, mourn and cry and be done with it. Or at least seem to be. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/some-people-they-can-t-just-move-on-you-know-mourn-and-cry-and-be/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“Julian looked at her sharply, his grey eyes like steel knives cutting through to the bone. ‘Do you think I do not know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-nicole-bye/julian-looked-at-her-sharply-his-grey-eyes-like-steel-knives-cutting/) [Ashlee Nicole Bye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-nicole-bye/) > [“Remember play the games, and don't let on that you know... mourn me even if you still feel me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-tetterton/remember-play-the-games-and-don-t-let-on-that-you-know-mourn-me-even/) [Nicole Tetterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-tetterton/) > [“They can't hurt us, you big babies! We're intangible! 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I am heartless. I am scared that these things are actually true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-am-awful-i-am-heartless-i-am-scared-that-these-things-are-actually/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Democracy is an awful way to run a country, but it's the best system we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/democracy-is-an-awful-way-to-run-a-country-but-it-s-the-best-system/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) Browse all 1,826 Awful quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I -- I alone know how to mourn for him as he deserves.' But while we were still shaking hands, such a look of awful desolation came upon her face that I perceived she was one of those creatures that are not the playthings of Time. For her he had died only yesterday. And, by Jove! the impression was so powerful that for me, too, he seemed to have died only yesterday -- nay, this very minute. I saw her and him in the same instant of time -- his death and her sorrow -- I saw her sorrow in the very moment of his death. Do you understand? 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