--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I want to be alone and work until the day…" description: "\"I want to be alone and work until the day my heads hits the drawing table and I'm dead. Kaput. I feel very much like I want to be with my brother and s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce8/maurice-sendak-1273_brother_i-want-to-be-alone-and-work-until-the-da_1219047.jpg" --- # I want to be alone and work until the day my heads hits… ![“I want to be alone and work until the day my heads hits the drawing table and I'm dead. Kaput. I feel very much like I want to be with my brother and sister again. They're nowhere. I know they're nowhere and they don't exist, but if nowhere means that's where they are, that's where I want to be.” quote by Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce8/maurice-sendak-1273_brother_i-want-to-be-alone-and-work-until-the-da_1219047.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce8/maurice-sendak-1273_brother_i-want-to-be-alone-and-work-until-the-da_1219047.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce8/maurice-sendak-1273_brother_i-want-to-be-alone-and-work-until-the-da_1219047.jpg) > “I want to be alone and work until the day my heads hits the drawing table and I'm dead. Kaput. I feel very much like I want to be with my brother and sister again. They're nowhere. I know they're nowhere and they don't exist, but if nowhere means that's where they are, that's where I want to be.” [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire for isolation and creative focus, coupled with longing for familial connection, reflecting inner conflict between solitude and belonging. **In simple terms:** Wanting alone time but missing family. Key Takeaway Balance personal work with nurturing relationships. Themes creativity loneliness family Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - artist studio - family gatherings - mental health counseling Key Concepts psychological conflict creative process attachment theory Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries help protect creative space? - How does family longing shape artistic output? A Different Perspective Isolation can intensify yearning for connection, affecting well‑being. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Brother and sister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother-and-sister/) [Brother sister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother-sister/) [Brothers and sisters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Feel Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-like/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [My brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-brother/) [Tables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tables/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-brother-759567/) [Wants to be alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wants-to-be-alone/) ## Related quotes > [Growing up, I had a very normal relationship with my brother and sister. But, over time, they became my best friends, and now I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-lerman/growing-up-i-had-a-very-normal-relationship-with-my-brother-and/) [Logan Lerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-lerman/) > [I'm afraid that what most people don't know about me is that I'm very close to my brother and sister, who are 16 and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomie-harris/i-m-afraid-that-what-most-people-don-t-know-about-me-is-that-i-m-very/) [Naomie Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomie-harris/) > [Brother and Sister So & So are not your standard; Jesus is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/brother-and-sister-so-so-are-not-your-standard-jesus-is/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [In Invisible there's a lot about childhood, the death of the brother and then the relationship between the brother and sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/in-invisible-there-s-a-lot-about-childhood-the-death-of-the-brother/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Getting close to books, and spending time by myself, I was obliged to think about things I would never have thought about if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/getting-close-to-books-and-spending-time-by-myself-i-was-obliged-to/) [Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/) > [That is why every brother and sister will react differently according to how they learn to defend themselves and adapt to different circumstances. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-is-why-every-brother-and-sister-will-react-differently-according/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do you know what friendship is... it is to be brother and sister; two souls which touch without mingling, two fingers on one hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/do-you-know-what-friendship-is-it-is-to-be-brother-and-sister-two/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I may have had a crush on Zac, but we are like brother and sister, so nothing would ever happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-hudgens/i-may-have-had-a-crush-on-zac-but-we-are-like-brother-and-sister-so/) [Vanessa Hudgens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-hudgens/) > [Ignore reality, there's nothing you can do about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-imbruglia/ignore-reality-there-s-nothing-you-can-do-about-it/) [Natalie Imbruglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-imbruglia/) > [I'm a quasi-only child. With my brother and sister, I've more of a tendency to be semi-maternal. So, yes, I spent a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/i-m-a-quasi-only-child-with-my-brother-and-sister-i-ve-more-of-a/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [I left my family, and I left my brother and sister, and I went and lived my dream. I saw everybody, but is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/i-left-my-family-and-i-left-my-brother-and-sister-and-i-went-and/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [The upheavals of adolescence silenced 'A Christmas Carol' for a few years. I became a firebrand atheist. Christmas - humbug! Too commercial! Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/the-upheavals-of-adolescence-silenced-a-christmas-carol-for-a-few/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [Grandmother pointed out my brother Perry, my sister Sarah, and my sister Eliza, who stood in the group. I had never seen my brother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/grandmother-pointed-out-my-brother-perry-my-sister-sarah-and-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [My poor family. I try to protect them from my work. My parents are very religious, and my brother and sister are very normal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alissa-nutting/my-poor-family-i-try-to-protect-them-from-my-work-my-parents-are-very/) [Alissa Nutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alissa-nutting/) > [Just being able to make exactly what I want with my brother and a lot of my best friend and to have a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-duplass/just-being-able-to-make-exactly-what-i-want-with-my-brother-and-a-lot/) [Mark Duplass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-duplass/) ## More by Maurice Sendak > [I never thought of Bumble-Ardy in that way. But I still have that same deep feeling for children who are in dire trouble. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-never-thought-of-bumble-ardy-in-that-way-but-i-still-have-that-same/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I was a very sickly child. My parents were immigrants. They were not decorous. They were not discreet. They always thought I was gonna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-was-a-very-sickly-child-my-parents-were-immigrants-they-were-not/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [The distinctions of fine art bore me to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/the-distinctions-of-fine-art-bore-me-to-death/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [The fan mail I get from kids are asking me questions which they do not ask their mothers and fathers. Because if they had,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/the-fan-mail-i-get-from-kids-are-asking-me-questions-which-they-do/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [“May I ask what you have in your black leather bag with gold buckles?" "Everything." They were climbing a narrow staircase. Rhoda stopped to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/may-i-ask-what-you-have-in-your-black-leather-bag-with-gold-buckles/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I grew up in a house that was in a constant state of mourning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-grew-up-in-a-house-that-was-in-a-constant-state-of-mourning/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [Illustrations have as much to say as the text. The trick is to say the same thing, but in a different way. It's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/illustrations-have-as-much-to-say-as-the-text-the-trick-is-to-say-the/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I'm a lucky buck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-m-a-lucky-buck/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I've convinced myself - I hope I'm right - that children despair of you if you don't tell them the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-ve-convinced-myself-i-hope-i-m-right-that-children-despair-of-you/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [It's no fun being lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/it-s-no-fun-being-lonely/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [It dawned on me that art was the way I could survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/it-dawned-on-me-that-art-was-the-way-i-could-survive/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I cry a lot because I miss people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-cry-a-lot-because-i-miss-people/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [You cannot write for children They're much too complicated. You can only write books that are of interest to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/you-cannot-write-for-children-they-re-much-too-complicated-you-can/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [All I liked to do when I was a kid was draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/all-i-liked-to-do-when-i-was-a-kid-was-draw/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I'm still as enamored and turned on by work as I was when I was young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-m-still-as-enamored-and-turned-on-by-work-as-i-was-when-i-was-young/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) [Explore all 262 Maurice Sendak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) ## More Brother quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Luckily, the bullet that hit my chest never got to me. It was stopped by a silver case I got for my brother's wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-doohan/luckily-the-bullet-that-hit-my-chest-never-got-to-me-it-was-stopped/) [James Doohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-doohan/) > [“Yeah. You treat him like a son or a soldier, instead of like a brother. He wants you to like him and admire him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-hunter/yeah-you-treat-him-like-a-son-or-a-soldier-instead-of-like-a-brother/) [Faith Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-hunter/) > [“Your relationship with your brother will be, in many ways, the most complex and bewildering of all the interpersonal connections you will form. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/your-relationship-with-your-brother-will-be-in-many-ways-the-most/) [Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [There's no publicist, no advertisements, and no one's pushing us. If people are buying our records, it's because big brothers and sisters or friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-moody/there-s-no-publicist-no-advertisements-and-no-one-s-pushing-us-if/) [Spencer Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-moody/) > [The only way to make sure that the Hand didn't get to you would have been to kill your brother. I could've done it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/the-only-way-to-make-sure-that-the-hand-didn-t-get-to-you-would-have/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [“Your favorite son and brother, Shade. Like”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-aveyard/your-favorite-son-and-brother-shade-like/) [Victoria Aveyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-aveyard/) > [Sister + brother = a lovely family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sister-brother-a-lovely-family/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [Stephanie could see the greed seep into the watery eyes of her father’s other brother, a horrible little man called Fergus, as he nodded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-landy/stephanie-could-see-the-greed-seep-into-the-watery-eyes-of-her-father/) [Derek Landy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-landy/) > [I worked in a barbershop. I used to make the waves in the brother's hair, you know? Like, Nat King Cole, Sugar Ray Robinson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clinton/i-worked-in-a-barbershop-i-used-to-make-the-waves-in-the-brother-s/) [George Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clinton/) [Browse all 7,453 Brother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I want to be alone and work until the day my heads hits the drawing table and I'm dead. Kaput. 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