--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even then I knew that happiness was…" description: "\"“Even then I knew that happiness was something in which to plunge headlong, and damn the torpedoes”\" — Meg Rosoff" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/meg-rosoff-2050_happiness_even-then-i-knew-that-happiness-was-some_584541.jpg" --- # Even then I knew that happiness was something in which to… ![“Even then I knew that happiness was something in which to plunge headlong, and damn the torpedoes” quote by Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/meg-rosoff-2050_happiness_even-then-i-knew-that-happiness-was-some_584541.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/meg-rosoff-2050_happiness_even-then-i-knew-that-happiness-was-some_584541.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/meg-rosoff-2050_happiness_even-then-i-knew-that-happiness-was-some_584541.jpg) > ““Even then I knew that happiness was something in which to plunge headlong, and damn the torpedoes”” [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness requires daring commitment despite risks. **In simple terms:** Dare to pursue happiness. Key Takeaway Embrace risk for joy. Themes courage happiness risk-taking Mood determined hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choices - relationships - creative projects - personal crises Key Concepts existentialism optimism Questions to Reflect On - What risks are you avoiding? - How does fear affect your pursuit of joy? A Different Perspective May ignore practical consequences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Torpedoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torpedoes/) ## Related quotes > [All I ever wanted was to make you happy; because I knew that my happiness depends on your happiness. I knew that When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/all-i-ever-wanted-was-to-make-you-happy-because-i-knew-that-my/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [“You’re everything to me, Nora. Every bloody thing. I never knew happiness like it until I met you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-young/you-re-everything-to-me-nora-every-bloody-thing-i-never-knew/) [Samantha Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-young/) > [When I was in my 20s, I don't think I knew what happiness was. Now, it's about getting to a place in your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-keegan/when-i-was-in-my-20s-i-don-t-think-i-knew-what-happiness-was-now-it-s/) [Michelle Keegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-keegan/) > [“I knew now how happiness awoke; I knew that happiness was quiet, that it hid in crevices but could not be destroyed by shouting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiri-weil/i-knew-now-how-happiness-awoke-i-knew-that-happiness-was-quiet-that/) [Jiří Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiri-weil/) > [I never knew about happiness, I didnt think dreams came true, I couldnt believe in love Until the day I met you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-knew-about-happiness-i-didnt-think-dreams-came-true-i-couldnt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He knew now that it was his own will to happiness which must make the next move. But if he was to do so,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/he-knew-now-that-it-was-his-own-will-to-happiness-which-must-make-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [She knew that this was happiness, this was living as she had always wished to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/she-knew-that-this-was-happiness-this-was-living-as-she-had-always/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [If you knew where your happiness came from, it gave you patience. You realized that a lot of the time, you were just waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/if-you-knew-where-your-happiness-came-from-it-gave-you-patience-you/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [“And though I was currently living a fairy tale, some part of my soul knew that happiness couldn't last forever. I didn't deserve a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alysha-speer/and-though-i-was-currently-living-a-fairy-tale-some-part-of-my-soul/) [Alysha Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alysha-speer/) > [“She had that aching feeling again, that feeling she knew was happiness. It seemed not only unfamiliar but terribly fragile—and frightening. She wondered how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-geissinger/she-had-that-aching-feeling-again-that-feeling-she-knew-was-happiness/) [J.T. Geissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-geissinger/) > [“But there was, she knew, something else. Happiness, she supposed. Whatever that might be. What, exactly, she wondered, was happiness. Very positively she wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/but-there-was-she-knew-something-else-happiness-she-supposed-whatever/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [“I knew more happiness and love than I’d ever experienced in my life, and now understood how precious it was to have that love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raine-miller/i-knew-more-happiness-and-love-than-i-d-ever-experienced-in-my-life/) [Raine Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raine-miller/) > [\*\*\*\* the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-farragut/the-torpedoes-full-speed-ahead/) David Farragut > [The true art of being young is knowing how to defy gravity and upset as many people as possible while doing it. How to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-rock/the-true-art-of-being-young-is-knowing-how-to-defy-gravity-and-upset/) [Mick Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-rock/) > [Other men puffed, snorted, and splashed. George passed through the ocean with the silent dignity of a torpedo. Other men swallowed water, here a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/other-men-puffed-snorted-and-splashed-george-passed-through-the-ocean/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Meg Rosoff > [“Maybe he's lonely, she said, and I just looked at her wondering if she expected me to open a Home for the Socially Challenged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/maybe-he-s-lonely-she-said-and-i-just-looked-at-her-wondering-if-she/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [I loved horses and horse books as a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/i-loved-horses-and-horse-books-as-a-child/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [“Time erodes us all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/time-erodes-us-all/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [I noticed that once you realize someone's watching you it's pretty hard not to find yourself watching them back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/i-noticed-that-once-you-realize-someone-s-watching-you-it-s-pretty/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [Teenagers are very dark, I think. That's all the goth and emo stuff. They're experiencing a lot of stuff that adults experience, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/teenagers-are-very-dark-i-think-that-s-all-the-goth-and-emo-stuff/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [“Minden háború történetének van fordulópontja, és minden emberének is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/minden-h-bor-t-rt-net-nek-van-fordul-pontja-s-minden-ember-nek-is/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [She frowned at him. 'You are in love with solitude.' 'Is there a better cure for the world than solitude?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/she-frowned-at-him-you-are-in-love-with-solitude-is-there-a-better/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [“He was a peculiar sight. Tears rolling down his face, shouting to drown the sound of the singing rabbit; he said he needed help,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/he-was-a-peculiar-sight-tears-rolling-down-his-face-shouting-to-drown/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [I love you. I'm madly in love with you. Well, madly obviously, given I'm mad as a mudlark. But you saved my life. I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/i-love-you-i-m-madly-in-love-with-you-well-madly-obviously-given-i-m/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [Although I've lived in England for more than twenty years, I still have a foreigner's passion for all the details of English history and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/although-i-ve-lived-in-england-for-more-than-twenty-years-i-still/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [My daughter is a fantastic travelling companion - she's totally organised, whereas I'm hopeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/my-daughter-is-a-fantastic-travelling-companion-she-s-totally/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [I'm constantly snatching my books out of the hands of precocious ten-year-olds who are simply too young to read them, despite parents insisting that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/i-m-constantly-snatching-my-books-out-of-the-hands-of-precocious-ten/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [“What else? A handful of hard white sugar lumps from the supply for the master's table. Sugar and cake and blood and pork. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/what-else-a-handful-of-hard-white-sugar-lumps-from-the-supply-for-the/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [“Maybe we shouldn't be living this way, without grass and trees, and ducks, always under pressure, always trying to catch up, never enough time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/maybe-we-shouldn-t-be-living-this-way-without-grass-and-trees-and/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [“Things Happen and once they start happening you pretty much just have to hold on for dear life and see where they drop you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/things-happen-and-once-they-start-happening-you-pretty-much-just-have/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) [Explore all 184 Meg Rosoff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) ## More Happiness quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“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/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Even then I knew that happiness was something in which to plunge headlong, and damn the torpedoes”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Meg Rosoff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/even-then-i-knew-that-happiness-was-something-in-which-to-plunge/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/even-then-i-knew-that-happiness-was-something-in-which-to-plunge/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/meg-rosoff-2050_happiness_even-then-i-knew-that-happiness-was-some_584541.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/meg-rosoff-2050_happiness_even-then-i-knew-that-happiness-was-some_584541.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ce/meg-rosoff-2050_happiness_even-then-i-knew-that-happiness-was-some_584541.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even then I knew that happiness was something in which to plunge headlong, and damn the torpedoes” — Meg Rosoff", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Meg Rosoff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Even then I knew that happiness...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/even-then-i-knew-that-happiness-was-something-in-which-to-plunge/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/even-then-i-knew-that-happiness-was-something-in-which-to-plunge/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```