--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not so lonely that that old, queer…" description: "\"“Not so lonely that that old, queer, unhappy restlessness had begun again within him; that craving for some place strange and different, which at the b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/nella-larsen-16508_restlessness_not-so-lonely-that-that-old-queer-unhapp_756378.jpg" --- # Not so lonely that that old, queer, unhappy restlessness… ![“Not so lonely that that old, queer, unhappy restlessness had begun again within him; that craving for some place strange and different, which at the beginning of her marriage she had had to make such strenuous efforts to repress, and which yet faintly alarmed her, though it now sprang up at…” quote by Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/nella-larsen-16508_restlessness_not-so-lonely-that-that-old-queer-unhapp_756378.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/nella-larsen-16508_restlessness_not-so-lonely-that-that-old-queer-unhapp_756378.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/nella-larsen-16508_restlessness_not-so-lonely-that-that-old-queer-unhapp_756378.jpg) > ““Not so lonely that that old, queer, unhappy restlessness had begun again within him; that craving for some place strange and different, which at the beginning of her marriage she had had to make such strenuous efforts to repress, and which yet faintly alarmed her, though it now sprang up at gradually lessening intervals.”” [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A restless yearning for novelty resurfaces, conflicting with societal expectations and personal repression. **In simple terms:** She feels a hidden desire for something different. Key Takeaway Acknowledge suppressed desires. Themes identity restlessness social pressure Mood reflective melancholic introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - marriage - career choices - personal freedom - creative pursuits Key Concepts psychological conflict self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - What drives the need for change? - How can one balance duty and desire? A Different Perspective Societal norms may limit expression of these desires. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Queer Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/queer-unhappy-5873425/) [Restlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restlessness/) [Restlessness Begun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restlessness-begun-5873424/) [Sprang Gradually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sprang-gradually-5873427/) [Unhappy Restlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy-restlessness-5873426/) ## Related quotes > [“I am a person who is unhappy with things as they stand. We cannot accept the world as it is. Each day we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-claus/i-am-a-person-who-is-unhappy-with-things-as-they-stand-we-cannot/) [Hugo Claus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-claus/) > [Abundance and vigor of automatic movements are desirable, and even a considerable degree of restlessness is a good sign in young children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/abundance-and-vigor-of-automatic-movements-are-desirable-and-even-a/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [The moving van is a symbol of more than our restlessness, it is the most conclusive evidence possible of our progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kronenberger/the-moving-van-is-a-symbol-of-more-than-our-restlessness-it-is-the/) [Louis Kronenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kronenberger/) > [So even if the hot loneliness is there, and for 1.6 seconds we sit with that restlessness when yesterday we couldn't sit for even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/so-even-if-the-hot-loneliness-is-there-and-for-1-6-seconds-we-sit/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Never a ship sails out of bay but carries my heart as a stowaway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roselle-mercier-montgomery/never-a-ship-sails-out-of-bay-but-carries-my-heart-as-a-stowaway/) [Roselle Mercier Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roselle-mercier-montgomery/) > [“A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-calm-and-modest-life-brings-more-happiness-than-the-pursuit-of/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“I’ve come across people who say that there is a sort of inborn restlessness in the human spirit and an urge to change one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/i-ve-come-across-people-who-say-that-there-is-a-sort-of-inborn/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“I didn’t want the same things that they wanted, and they should know this. They should know my difference, they should sense my unfathomable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ling-ma/i-didn-t-want-the-same-things-that-they-wanted-and-they-should-know/) [Ling Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ling-ma/) > [There is so much restlessness and chaos in the society, and that's what music depicts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-mitchell/there-is-so-much-restlessness-and-chaos-in-the-society-and-that-s/) [Liz Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-mitchell/) > [Not everyone can wait: neither the sated nor the satisfied nor those without respect can wait. The only ones who can wait are people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/not-everyone-can-wait-neither-the-sated-nor-the-satisfied-nor-those/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Feelings of guilt dominate our work as peacemakers we cannot last long. But when we have opened each other's eyes to the great human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/feelings-of-guilt-dominate-our-work-as-peacemakers-we-cannot-last/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [It is your restlessness that causes chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/it-is-your-restlessness-that-causes-chaos/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [It's a transformative experience to simply pause instead of immediately fill up the space. By waiting, we begin to connect with fundamental restlessness as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/it-s-a-transformative-experience-to-simply-pause-instead-of/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [But now that I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/but-now-that-i-am-old-moving-every-year-closer-to-the-end-of-my-life/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“Staying, we all know, is not the norm in our mobile culture. A great deal of money is spent each day to create desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-wilson-hartgrove/staying-we-all-know-is-not-the-norm-in-our-mobile-culture-a-great/) [Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-wilson-hartgrove/) ## More by Nella Larsen > [“Brian darling, I’m really not such an idiot that I don’t realize that if a man calls me a nigger it’s his fault the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/brian-darling-i-m-really-not-such-an-idiot-that-i-don-t-realize-that/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [“You knew what his opinion of you was, while he -- Well, 'twas ever thus. We know, always have. They don't. Not quite. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/you-knew-what-his-opinion-of-you-was-while-he-well-twas-ever-thus-we/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [“No, certainly he didn’t. Not actually. He couldn’t, not very well, since he didn’t know. But he would have. It amounts to the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/no-certainly-he-didn-t-not-actually-he-couldn-t-not-very-well-since/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [These people yapped loudly of race, of race consciousness, of race pride, and yet suppressed its most delightful manifestations, love of color, joy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/these-people-yapped-loudly-of-race-of-race-consciousness-of-race/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [“And mingled with her disbelief and resentment was another feeling, a question. Why hadn’t she spoken that day? Why, in the face of Bellew’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/and-mingled-with-her-disbelief-and-resentment-was-another-feeling-a/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [“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/) > [If sex isn't a joke, what is it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/if-sex-isn-t-a-joke-what-is-it/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [“she regarded with an astonishment that had in it a mild degree of amusement the violence of the feelings which it stirred in her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/she-regarded-with-an-astonishment-that-had-in-it-a-mild-degree-of/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [“This, Irene told her, was the year 1927 in the city of New York, and hundreds of white people of Hugh Wentworth’s type came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/this-irene-told-her-was-the-year-1927-in-the-city-of-new-york-and/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [that's what everybody wants, just a little more money, even the people who have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/that-s-what-everybody-wants-just-a-little-more-money-even-the-people/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [“After all these years to still blame her like this. Hadn’t his success proved that she’d been right in insisting that he stick to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/after-all-these-years-to-still-blame-her-like-this-hadn-t-his-success/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [Have you ever stopped to think how much unhappiness and downright cruelty are laid to the loving kindness of the Lord? And always by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/have-you-ever-stopped-to-think-how-much-unhappiness-and-downright/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [I feel like the oldest person in the world with the longest stretch of life before me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/i-feel-like-the-oldest-person-in-the-world-with-the-longest-stretch/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [I think being a mother is the cruelest thing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/i-think-being-a-mother-is-the-cruelest-thing-in-the-world/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) > [Lies, injustice, and hypocrisy are a part of every ordinary community. Most people achieve a sort of protective immunity, a kind of callousness, toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/lies-injustice-and-hypocrisy-are-a-part-of-every-ordinary-community/) [Nella Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) [Explore all 39 Nella Larsen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/) ## More Restlessness quotes > [“I am a person who is unhappy with things as they stand. We cannot accept the world as it is. Each day we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-claus/i-am-a-person-who-is-unhappy-with-things-as-they-stand-we-cannot/) [Hugo Claus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-claus/) > [But now that I am old, moving every year closer to the end of my life, I also feel closer to the beginning. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/but-now-that-i-am-old-moving-every-year-closer-to-the-end-of-my-life/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [It's a transformative experience to simply pause instead of immediately fill up the space. By waiting, we begin to connect with fundamental restlessness as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/it-s-a-transformative-experience-to-simply-pause-instead-of/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [It is your restlessness that causes chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/it-is-your-restlessness-that-causes-chaos/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [Feelings of guilt dominate our work as peacemakers we cannot last long. But when we have opened each other's eyes to the great human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/feelings-of-guilt-dominate-our-work-as-peacemakers-we-cannot-last/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [Not everyone can wait: neither the sated nor the satisfied nor those without respect can wait. The only ones who can wait are people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/not-everyone-can-wait-neither-the-sated-nor-the-satisfied-nor-those/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [There is so much restlessness and chaos in the society, and that's what music depicts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-mitchell/there-is-so-much-restlessness-and-chaos-in-the-society-and-that-s/) [Liz Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-mitchell/) > [“I didn’t want the same things that they wanted, and they should know this. They should know my difference, they should sense my unfathomable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ling-ma/i-didn-t-want-the-same-things-that-they-wanted-and-they-should-know/) [Ling Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ling-ma/) > [“I’ve come across people who say that there is a sort of inborn restlessness in the human spirit and an urge to change one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/i-ve-come-across-people-who-say-that-there-is-a-sort-of-inborn/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [“A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-calm-and-modest-life-brings-more-happiness-than-the-pursuit-of/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Never a ship sails out of bay but carries my heart as a stowaway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roselle-mercier-montgomery/never-a-ship-sails-out-of-bay-but-carries-my-heart-as-a-stowaway/) [Roselle Mercier Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roselle-mercier-montgomery/) > [So even if the hot loneliness is there, and for 1.6 seconds we sit with that restlessness when yesterday we couldn't sit for even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/so-even-if-the-hot-loneliness-is-there-and-for-1-6-seconds-we-sit/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [The moving van is a symbol of more than our restlessness, it is the most conclusive evidence possible of our progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kronenberger/the-moving-van-is-a-symbol-of-more-than-our-restlessness-it-is-the/) [Louis Kronenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kronenberger/) > [Abundance and vigor of automatic movements are desirable, and even a considerable degree of restlessness is a good sign in young children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/abundance-and-vigor-of-automatic-movements-are-desirable-and-even-a/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [“Staying, we all know, is not the norm in our mobile culture. A great deal of money is spent each day to create desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-wilson-hartgrove/staying-we-all-know-is-not-the-norm-in-our-mobile-culture-a-great/) [Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-wilson-hartgrove/) [Browse all 249 Restlessness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restlessness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Not so lonely that that old, queer, unhappy restlessness had begun again within him; that craving for some place strange and different, which at the beginning of her marriage she had had to make such strenuous efforts to repress, and which yet faintly alarmed her, though it now sprang up at gradually lessening intervals.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nella Larsen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/not-so-lonely-that-that-old-queer-unhappy-restlessness-had-begun/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Restlessness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/not-so-lonely-that-that-old-queer-unhappy-restlessness-had-begun/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/nella-larsen-16508_restlessness_not-so-lonely-that-that-old-queer-unhapp_756378.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/nella-larsen-16508_restlessness_not-so-lonely-that-that-old-queer-unhapp_756378.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/nella-larsen-16508_restlessness_not-so-lonely-that-that-old-queer-unhapp_756378.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Not so lonely that that old, queer, unhappy restlessness had begun again within him; that craving for some…” — Nella Larsen", "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": "Nella Larsen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nella-larsen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Not so lonely that that old,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/not-so-lonely-that-that-old-queer-unhappy-restlessness-had-begun/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nella-larsen/not-so-lonely-that-that-old-queer-unhappy-restlessness-had-begun/#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 } } ] } ```