--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What could be duller than past history!'…" description: "\"“What could be duller than past history!' Therese said, smiling. 'Maybe futures that won't have any history.”\" — Patricia Highsmith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/patricia-highsmith-3982_history_what-could-be-duller-than-past-history-t_817505.jpg" --- # What could be duller than past history!' Therese said… ![“What could be duller than past history!' Therese said, smiling. 'Maybe futures that won't have any history.” quote by Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/patricia-highsmith-3982_history_what-could-be-duller-than-past-history-t_817505.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/patricia-highsmith-3982_history_what-could-be-duller-than-past-history-t_817505.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/patricia-highsmith-3982_history_what-could-be-duller-than-past-history-t_817505.jpg) > ““What could be duller than past history!' Therese said, smiling. 'Maybe futures that won't have any history.”” [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Past history may seem dull, but imagined futures without history feel even emptier. **In simple terms:** History can be boring; imagined futures without history feel emptier. Key Takeaway Value history to enrich future imagination. Themes history imagination future Mood thoughtful reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - philosophical debates Key Concepts Narrative nostalgia existential reflection Questions to Reflect On - What lessons does history teach you? - How can you create meaningful futures? A Different Perspective Some argue history repeats itself, limiting novelty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [For a change, lady luck seemed to be smiling on me. Then again, maybe the fickle wench was just lulling me into a false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-zahn/for-a-change-lady-luck-seemed-to-be-smiling-on-me-then-again-maybe/) [Timothy Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-zahn/) > [At no time in the past century has public distrust of the government been so broadly distributed across the political spectrum, as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-zimmermann/at-no-time-in-the-past-century-has-public-distrust-of-the-government/) [Phil Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-zimmermann/) > [I have a way to photograph. You work with space, you have a camera, you have a frame, and then a fraction of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/i-have-a-way-to-photograph-you-work-with-space-you-have-a-camera-you/) [Sebastiao Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [Liberalism is the philosophy for our time, because it does not try to conserve every tradition of the past, because it does not apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/liberalism-is-the-philosophy-for-our-time-because-it-does-not-try-to/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [I nibbled my lower lip. "If you could see into my past just by touching my back, you'd have a hard time resisting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-nibbled-my-lower-lip-if-you-could-see-into-my-past-just-by-touching/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [Right before the pandemic, 'Past Lives' came across to me as something to read and possibly put myself on tape for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/right-before-the-pandemic-past-lives-came-across-to-me-as-something/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [I used to fight with hate. There's been a lot of aggression in my past growing up and stuff. That's because I was hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-namajunas/i-used-to-fight-with-hate-there-s-been-a-lot-of-aggression-in-my-past/) [Rose Namajunas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-namajunas/) > [The Iranian people have a proud past. They merit a great future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/the-iranian-people-have-a-proud-past-they-merit-a-great-future/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [You can think about it, wonder what went wrong, over analyze the situation but the fact remains... it's the past, just let it go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/you-can-think-about-it-wonder-what-went-wrong-over-analyze-the/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More by Patricia Highsmith > [“Thinking no more about it, he stepped off into that cool space, that fast descent to her, with nothing in his mind but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/thinking-no-more-about-it-he-stepped-off-into-that-cool-space-that/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [I didn't hang around films. I don't know if I'd ever seen Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/i-didn-t-hang-around-films-i-don-t-know-if-i-d-ever-seen-hitchcock-s/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“I feel I stand in a desert with my hands outstretched, and you are raining down upon me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/i-feel-i-stand-in-a-desert-with-my-hands-outstretched-and-you-are/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [One situation – maybe one alone – could drive me to murder: family life, togetherness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/one-situation-maybe-one-alone-could-drive-me-to-murder-family-life/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“He felt he was about to experience again some ancient, delicious childhood moment that the steam calliope's sour hollowness, the stitching hurdy-gurdy accompaniment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/he-felt-he-was-about-to-experience-again-some-ancient-delicious/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“It was a kind of arrogance, perhaps, to believe so in one's destiny. But, on the other hand, who could be more genuinely humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/it-was-a-kind-of-arrogance-perhaps-to-believe-so-in-one-s-destiny-but/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [I should love to do a novel, about one abnormal character seeing present-day life, very ordinary life, yet arresting through it, abnormality, until at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/i-should-love-to-do-a-novel-about-one-abnormal-character-seeing/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [I don't set the alarm to get up. I get up when I feel like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/i-don-t-set-the-alarm-to-get-up-i-get-up-when-i-feel-like-it/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“Dusk was falling quickly. It was just after 7 P.M., and the month was October.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/dusk-was-falling-quickly-it-was-just-after-7-p-m-and-the-month-was/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“What chance combination of shadow and sound and his own thoughts had created it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/what-chance-combination-of-shadow-and-sound-and-his-own-thoughts-had/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“Happiness was like a green vine spreading through her, stretching fine tendrils, bearing flowers through her flesh. She had a vision of a pale-white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/happiness-was-like-a-green-vine-spreading-through-her-stretching-fine/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“That's exactly where you're wrong! Any kind of person can murder. Purely circumstances and not a thing to do with temperament! People get so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/that-s-exactly-where-you-re-wrong-any-kind-of-person-can-murder/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [What was it to love someone, what was love exactly, and why did it end or not end? Those were the real questions, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/what-was-it-to-love-someone-what-was-love-exactly-and-why-did-it-end/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [It always gets late with you. - Is that a compliment?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/it-always-gets-late-with-you-is-that-a-compliment/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) > [“Writing is a craft and needs constant practice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/writing-is-a-craft-and-needs-constant-practice/) [Patricia Highsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) [Explore all 115 Patricia Highsmith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What could be duller than past history!' Therese said, smiling. 'Maybe futures that won't have any history.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patricia Highsmith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/what-could-be-duller-than-past-history-therese-said-smiling-maybe/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/what-could-be-duller-than-past-history-therese-said-smiling-maybe/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/patricia-highsmith-3982_history_what-could-be-duller-than-past-history-t_817505.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/patricia-highsmith-3982_history_what-could-be-duller-than-past-history-t_817505.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8df/patricia-highsmith-3982_history_what-could-be-duller-than-past-history-t_817505.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What could be duller than past history!' Therese said, smiling. 'Maybe futures that won't have any history.” — Patricia Highsmith", "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": "Patricia Highsmith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-highsmith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What could be duller than past...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/what-could-be-duller-than-past-history-therese-said-smiling-maybe/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-highsmith/what-could-be-duller-than-past-history-therese-said-smiling-maybe/#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 } } ] } ```