--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That was all he had ever aspired to, with…" description: "\"“That was all he had ever aspired to, with a wife thrown into the bargain, maybe, and a kid or two to go along with her. It had never felt like too muc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/paul-auster-351_marriage_that-was-all-he-had-ever-aspired-to-with_287925.jpg" --- # That was all he had ever aspired to, with a wife thrown… ![“That was all he had ever aspired to, with a wife thrown into the bargain, maybe, and a kid or two to go along with her. It had never felt like too much to ask for, but after three years of struggling to write his dissertation, Tom finally understood that he didn't have it in him to finish. Or, if…” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/paul-auster-351_marriage_that-was-all-he-had-ever-aspired-to-with_287925.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/paul-auster-351_marriage_that-was-all-he-had-ever-aspired-to-with_287925.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e28/paul-auster-351_marriage_that-was-all-he-had-ever-aspired-to-with_287925.jpg) > ““That was all he had ever aspired to, with a wife thrown into the bargain, maybe, and a kid or two to go along with her. It had never felt like too much to ask for, but after three years of struggling to write his dissertation, Tom finally understood that he didn't have it in him to finish. Or, if he did have it in him, he couldn't persuade himself to believe in the value of doing it anymore.”” [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A writer doubts his ability to complete his dissertation, questioning the value of his work after years of struggle. **In simple terms:** Self‑doubt blocks creative completion. Key Takeaway Recognize limits and reassess motivation. Themes self‑doubt creative struggle academic pressure Mood reflective melancholic Type literary personal When to use this quote - writing a dissertation - career change - personal goal setting - mental health support Key Concepts perfectionism motivation identity crisis Questions to Reflect On - What would make the work feel worthwhile again? - How can one balance ambition with realistic expectations? 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That's what I assumed until one night when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-knighton/a-monumental-decision-such-as-starting-a-family-requires-persuasive/) [Ryan Knighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-knighton/) > [I didn't pass my degree due to never handing in an acceptable dissertation, and while it didn't harm me in the long run, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-didn-t-pass-my-degree-due-to-never-handing-in-an-acceptable/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [If you don't have the willpower to stop eating carbs, you won't have the willpower to do a dissertation. #truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-miller/if-you-don-t-have-the-willpower-to-stop-eating-carbs-you-won-t-have/) [Geoffrey Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-miller/) > [ Your tweet is as important as if you would have written a Ph.D. \[dissertation\] on the subject. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/your-tweet-is-as-important-as-if-you-would-have-written-a-ph-d/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [“What's a dissertation?" "If Satan gave you instructions for writing the book report from Hell, it would closely resemble those of a Ph.D. dissertation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/what-s-a-dissertation-if-satan-gave-you-instructions-for-writing-the/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) ## More by Paul Auster > [“On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/on-his-best-walks-he-was-able-to-feel-that-he-was-nowhere-and-this/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“No es que escribir me produzca un gran placer, pero es mucho peor si no lo hago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/no-es-que-escribir-me-produzca-un-gran-placer-pero-es-mucho-peor-si/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [You see, the interesting thing about books, as opposed, say, to films, is that it's always just one person encountering the book, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/you-see-the-interesting-thing-about-books-as-opposed-say-to-films-is/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I'm not a man deeply interested in technology. 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It's a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-has-always-had-a-tactile-quality-for-me-it-s-a-physical/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/our-lifelong-certainties-about-the-world-can-be-demolished-in-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. 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"If Satan gave you instructions for writing the book report from Hell, it would closely resemble those of a Ph.D. dissertation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/what-s-a-dissertation-if-satan-gave-you-instructions-for-writing-the/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [ Your tweet is as important as if you would have written a Ph.D. \[dissertation\] on the subject. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/your-tweet-is-as-important-as-if-you-would-have-written-a-ph-d/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [If you don't have the willpower to stop eating carbs, you won't have the willpower to do a dissertation. #truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-miller/if-you-don-t-have-the-willpower-to-stop-eating-carbs-you-won-t-have/) [Geoffrey Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-miller/) > [I didn't pass my degree due to never handing in an acceptable dissertation, and while it didn't harm me in the long run, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-didn-t-pass-my-degree-due-to-never-handing-in-an-acceptable/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [A monumental decision such as starting a family requires persuasive dissertations, licences, spreadsheets and field research. That's what I assumed until one night when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-knighton/a-monumental-decision-such-as-starting-a-family-requires-persuasive/) [Ryan Knighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-knighton/) > [This is the last sentence of my dissertation: "What is soul in music if not powerfully embodied human presence?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-iyer/this-is-the-last-sentence-of-my-dissertation-what-is-soul-in-music-if/) [Vijay Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-iyer/) > [I ran through most of college and ran through most of grad school. When I was writing my dissertation for my Ph.D., it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcgonigal/i-ran-through-most-of-college-and-ran-through-most-of-grad-school/) [Jane McGonigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcgonigal/) > [I mean, '8 ½' to me is such a great dissertation on the whole, you know, act of filmmaking and creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baz-luhrmann/i-mean-8-to-me-is-such-a-great-dissertation-on-the-whole-you-know-act/) [Baz Luhrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baz-luhrmann/) > [The thing that happens remarkably often is that the people who are writing a dissertation believe they need to speak to me in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-thing-that-happens-remarkably-often-is-that-the-people-who-are/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [My early work and publications centered around expanding on the analysis of life insurance in my dissertation and its relationship to investment banking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglass-north/my-early-work-and-publications-centered-around-expanding-on-the/) [Douglass North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglass-north/) > [The true source of our sufferings has been our timidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/the-true-source-of-our-sufferings-has-been-our-timidity/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [For the individual, as I can testify, a brief grounding in semantics, besides making philosophy unreadable, makes unreadable most political speeches, classical economic theory,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-chase/for-the-individual-as-i-can-testify-a-brief-grounding-in-semantics/) [Stuart Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-chase/) > [There's no reason for me to go into a big dissertation about why I'm not getting the calls. 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Before I knew it, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-darnton/as-president-of-the-american-historical-association-i-started-a/) [Robert Darnton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-darnton/) [Browse all 57 Dissertation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissertation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That was all he had ever aspired to, with a wife thrown into the bargain, maybe, and a kid or two to go along with her. It had never felt like too much to ask for, but after three years of struggling to write his dissertation, Tom finally understood that he didn't have it in him to finish. 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