--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Suddenly he fell asleep in the…" description: "\"“Suddenly he fell asleep in the candlelight. After a while I got up to look at his face. He slept like everybody else. He looked quite ordinary. There ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_candlelight_suddenly-he-fell-asleep-in-the-candlelig_486551.jpg" --- # Suddenly he fell asleep in the candlelight. After a while… ![“Suddenly he fell asleep in the candlelight. After a while I got up to look at his face. He slept like everybody else. He looked quite ordinary. There ought to be some mark by which to distinguish good from the bad.” quote by Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_candlelight_suddenly-he-fell-asleep-in-the-candlelig_486551.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_candlelight_suddenly-he-fell-asleep-in-the-candlelig_486551.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ec/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_candlelight_suddenly-he-fell-asleep-in-the-candlelig_486551.jpg) > ““Suddenly he fell asleep in the candlelight. After a while I got up to look at his face. He slept like everybody else. He looked quite ordinary. There ought to be some mark by which to distinguish good from the bad.”” [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even ordinary people can appear indistinguishable, lacking clear markers to separate good from bad. **In simple terms:** Ordinary people lack clear moral signs. Key Takeaway Seek deeper understanding of character. Themes morality perception human nature Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - social interactions - judicial decisions - team hiring - personal relationships Key Concepts Ethics identity Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern character? - Can appearances ever be reliable? A Different Perspective Moral judgments are often subjective and context‑dependent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asleep Candlelight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asleep-candlelight-4172856/) [Candlelight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candlelight/) [Candlelight Got](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candlelight-got-4172857/) [Face Slept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-slept-4172855/) [Fell Asleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fell-asleep/) ## Related quotes > [“Just before six, Bee pulled three wineglasses out of the cabinet and uncorked the bottle of white that Greg had selected for us. "Light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jio/just-before-six-bee-pulled-three-wineglasses-out-of-the-cabinet-and/) [Sarah Jio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jio/) > [“He was mine, and I'd be damned if I was going to let some other woman have him. I would shove the candlelight up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/he-was-mine-and-i-d-be-damned-if-i-was-going-to-let-some-other-woman/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [“You should regard each meeting with a friend as a sitting he is unwillingly giving you for a portrait - a portrait that, probably,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-mirrlees/you-should-regard-each-meeting-with-a-friend-as-a-sitting-he-is/) [Hope Mirrlees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-mirrlees/) > [Funny you mention my dinner parties when I have just suggested that inviting close friends over to share a meal with candlelight and wine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-quinn/funny-you-mention-my-dinner-parties-when-i-have-just-suggested-that/) [Sally Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-quinn/) > [Too strong of a light can be deadly to the one used to read by candlelight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/too-strong-of-a-light-can-be-deadly-to-the-one-used-to-read-by/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [Be gentle with me, new love. Treat me tenderly. I need the gentle touch, the soft voice, the candlelight after nine. There's been so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-mckuen/be-gentle-with-me-new-love-treat-me-tenderly-i-need-the-gentle-touch/) [Rod McKuen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-mckuen/) > [Work a great deal at evening effects, lamplight, candlelight, etc. The intriguing thing is not to show the source of the light but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/work-a-great-deal-at-evening-effects-lamplight-candlelight-etc-the/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [If it weren't for electricity, we'd all be watching television by candlelight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-it-weren-t-for-electricity-we-d-all-be-watching-television-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ever since we crawled out of that primordial slime, that's been our unifying cry, 'More light.' Sunlight. Torchlight. Candlelight. Neon, incandescent lights that banish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-frolov/ever-since-we-crawled-out-of-that-primordial-slime-that-s-been-our/) [Diane Frolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-frolov/) > [Mircea must have heard us come in, but he continued what he was doing. He stood with his back to us, the candlelight on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-chance/mircea-must-have-heard-us-come-in-but-he-continued-what-he-was-doing/) [Karen Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-chance/) > [“If you immediately know the candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oma-desala/if-you-immediately-know-the-candlelight-is-fire-then-the-meal-was/) [Oma Desala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oma-desala/) > [“When his flock thronged into the midnight service, there was wonder on every face at the newly hung greens and the softly flickering candles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-karon/when-his-flock-thronged-into-the-midnight-service-there-was-wonder-on/) [Jan Karon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-karon/) > [I lived by the candlelight for two years because I couldn't afford power. It was nice and romantic at the time, but if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-renner/i-lived-by-the-candlelight-for-two-years-because-i-couldn-t-afford/) [Jeremy Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-renner/) > [If I lose the light of the sun, I will write by candlelight, moonlight, no light. If I lose paper and ink, I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/if-i-lose-the-light-of-the-sun-i-will-write-by-candlelight-moonlight/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [“The flickering candlelight conspired with the silence, and we only interrupted each other’s reading to share a casual delight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-donohue/the-flickering-candlelight-conspired-with-the-silence-and-we-only/) [Keith Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-donohue/) ## More by Louis-Ferdinand Céline > [The beginning of genius is being scared shitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-beginning-of-genius-is-being-scared-shitless/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“All our misery comes from wanting at all costs to go on being Tom, Dick, or Harry, year in, year out. This body of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/all-our-misery-comes-from-wanting-at-all-costs-to-go-on-being-tom/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“Now I know... we have at least two friends!... Cillie von Leiden and the hunchback... not bad in our situation... or, come right down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/now-i-know-we-have-at-least-two-friends-cillie-von-leiden-and-the/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [I hadn't found out yet that mankind consists of two very different races, the rich and the poor. It took me ... and plenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/i-hadn-t-found-out-yet-that-mankind-consists-of-two-very-different/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“Lie, copulate, and die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/lie-copulate-and-die/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Since life consists of madness spiked with lies, the farther you are from each other the more lies you can put into it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/since-life-consists-of-madness-spiked-with-lies-the-farther-you-are/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [In my room I'd barely closed my eyes when the blonde from the movie house came along and sang her whole song of sorrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/in-my-room-i-d-barely-closed-my-eyes-when-the-blonde-from-the-movie/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [There's a point of poverty at which the spirit isn't with the body all the time. It finds the body really too unbearable. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/there-s-a-point-of-poverty-at-which-the-spirit-isn-t-with-the-body/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“You can be a virgin in horror the same as in sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/you-can-be-a-virgin-in-horror-the-same-as-in-sex/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [You can lose your way groping among the shadows of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/you-can-lose-your-way-groping-among-the-shadows-of-the-past/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“People cling to their rotten memories, to all their misfortunes, and you can't pry them loose. These things keep them busy. They avenge themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/people-cling-to-their-rotten-memories-to-all-their-misfortunes-and/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“He couldn't have explained this misery of his, it exceeded his education.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/he-couldn-t-have-explained-this-misery-of-his-it-exceeded-his/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“Hurry hurry, cram yourself full of dreams to carry you through the life that's waiting for you outside, when you leave here, to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/hurry-hurry-cram-yourself-full-of-dreams-to-carry-you-through-the/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [The poetry of heroism appeals irresistibly to those who don't go to a war, and even more to those whom the war is making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-poetry-of-heroism-appeals-irresistibly-to-those-who-don-t-go-to-a/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“While he was cautiously preambling, I tried to form a picture of all he did each day to earn his calories, all his grimaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/while-he-was-cautiously-preambling-i-tried-to-form-a-picture-of-all/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) [Explore all 212 Louis-Ferdinand Céline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) ## More Candlelight quotes > [“Just before six, Bee pulled three wineglasses out of the cabinet and uncorked the bottle of white that Greg had selected for us. "Light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jio/just-before-six-bee-pulled-three-wineglasses-out-of-the-cabinet-and/) [Sarah Jio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jio/) > [If I lose the light of the sun, I will write by candlelight, moonlight, no light. If I lose paper and ink, I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/if-i-lose-the-light-of-the-sun-i-will-write-by-candlelight-moonlight/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [I lived by the candlelight for two years because I couldn't afford power. It was nice and romantic at the time, but if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-renner/i-lived-by-the-candlelight-for-two-years-because-i-couldn-t-afford/) [Jeremy Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-renner/) > [“When his flock thronged into the midnight service, there was wonder on every face at the newly hung greens and the softly flickering candles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-karon/when-his-flock-thronged-into-the-midnight-service-there-was-wonder-on/) [Jan Karon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-karon/) > [“If you immediately know the candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oma-desala/if-you-immediately-know-the-candlelight-is-fire-then-the-meal-was/) [Oma Desala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oma-desala/) > [Mircea must have heard us come in, but he continued what he was doing. He stood with his back to us, the candlelight on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-chance/mircea-must-have-heard-us-come-in-but-he-continued-what-he-was-doing/) [Karen Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-chance/) > [Ever since we crawled out of that primordial slime, that's been our unifying cry, 'More light.' Sunlight. Torchlight. Candlelight. Neon, incandescent lights that banish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-frolov/ever-since-we-crawled-out-of-that-primordial-slime-that-s-been-our/) [Diane Frolov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-frolov/) > [If it weren't for electricity, we'd all be watching television by candlelight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-it-weren-t-for-electricity-we-d-all-be-watching-television-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Work a great deal at evening effects, lamplight, candlelight, etc. The intriguing thing is not to show the source of the light but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-degas/work-a-great-deal-at-evening-effects-lamplight-candlelight-etc-the/) [Edgar Degas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-degas/) > [Be gentle with me, new love. Treat me tenderly. I need the gentle touch, the soft voice, the candlelight after nine. There's been so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-mckuen/be-gentle-with-me-new-love-treat-me-tenderly-i-need-the-gentle-touch/) [Rod McKuen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-mckuen/) > [Too strong of a light can be deadly to the one used to read by candlelight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/too-strong-of-a-light-can-be-deadly-to-the-one-used-to-read-by/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [Funny you mention my dinner parties when I have just suggested that inviting close friends over to share a meal with candlelight and wine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-quinn/funny-you-mention-my-dinner-parties-when-i-have-just-suggested-that/) [Sally Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-quinn/) > [“You should regard each meeting with a friend as a sitting he is unwillingly giving you for a portrait - a portrait that, probably,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-mirrlees/you-should-regard-each-meeting-with-a-friend-as-a-sitting-he-is/) [Hope Mirrlees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-mirrlees/) > [“He was mine, and I'd be damned if I was going to let some other woman have him. I would shove the candlelight up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/he-was-mine-and-i-d-be-damned-if-i-was-going-to-let-some-other-woman/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [“The flickering candlelight conspired with the silence, and we only interrupted each other’s reading to share a casual delight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-donohue/the-flickering-candlelight-conspired-with-the-silence-and-we-only/) [Keith Donohue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-donohue/) [Browse all 73 Candlelight quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candlelight/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Suddenly he fell asleep in the candlelight. After a while I got up to look at his face. He slept like everybody else. He looked quite ordinary. 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