--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a madhouse, of course. A complete…" description: "\"“It's a madhouse, of course. A complete, utter madhouse. I only hope to God it remains one.”\" — Paul Bowles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/paul-bowles-3731_quote_it-s-a-madhouse-of-course-a-complete-utt_1875673.jpg" --- # It's a madhouse, of course. A complete, utter madhouse. I… ![“It's a madhouse, of course. A complete, utter madhouse. I only hope to God it remains one.” quote by Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/paul-bowles-3731_quote_it-s-a-madhouse-of-course-a-complete-utt_1875673.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/paul-bowles-3731_quote_it-s-a-madhouse-of-course-a-complete-utt_1875673.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/paul-bowles-3731_quote_it-s-a-madhouse-of-course-a-complete-utt_1875673.jpg) > ““It's a madhouse, of course. A complete, utter madhouse. I only hope to God it remains one.”” [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A bleak observation that chaos is inherent and perhaps desirable in society. **In simple terms:** Chaos can be a protective, creative force. Key Takeaway Embrace disorder’s potential. Themes chaos society philosophy Mood cynical reflective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - politics - artistic creation - social movements Key Concepts existentialism anarchism Questions to Reflect On - What benefits can arise from disorder? - How to balance order and chaos? A Different Perspective Too much chaos can be destructive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) ## Related quotes > [I am the complete and utter definition of a Luddite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-mctavish/i-am-the-complete-and-utter-definition-of-a-luddite/) [Graham McTavish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-mctavish/) > [“If there’s a sure-fire way to stop the awe of meeting a celeb, it was for them to be a complete and utter twat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/if-there-s-a-sure-fire-way-to-stop-the-awe-of-meeting-a-celeb-it-was/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) > [I'm a complete and utter fiction. Then again, we all are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-a-complete-and-utter-fiction-then-again-we-all-are/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I think Donald Trump is a complete and utter buffoon and a cancer to our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-negreanu/i-think-donald-trump-is-a-complete-and-utter-buffoon-and-a-cancer-to/) [Daniel Negreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-negreanu/) > [“Why had she imagined he was attractive? He was absolutely the biggest, most complete and utter jackass she'd ever had the bad fortune to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-dodd/why-had-she-imagined-he-was-attractive-he-was-absolutely-the-biggest/) [Christina Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-dodd/) > [I'm a complete and utter busker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-adams/i-m-a-complete-and-utter-busker/) [Bryan Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-adams/) > [“My brain turns to complete and utter mush because all of my blood is pumping straight to the organ my body thinks is most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-cates/my-brain-turns-to-complete-and-utter-mush-because-all-of-my-blood-is/) [Georgia Cates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-cates/) > [A first visit to a madhouse is always a shock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-freud/a-first-visit-to-a-madhouse-is-always-a-shock/) [Anna Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-freud/) > [You don't want madhouse and the whole thing there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-empson/you-don-t-want-madhouse-and-the-whole-thing-there/) [William Empson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-empson/) > [“Once you start seeing this place for the madhouse it is, you can’t stop seeing it that way. 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It’s a menagerie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/this-is-a-madhouse-said-horace-deirdre-laughed-no-doveling-it-s-a/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [“ Miss Evans was a scornful Max Reinhardt saint... She left the room, her hips provocative and fluid. page 270 Murder In The Madhouse/…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-latimer/miss-evans-was-a-scornful-max-reinhardt-saint-she-left-the-room-her/) Jonathan Latimer > [Dear Lord, what a madhouse the world is!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/dear-lord-what-a-madhouse-the-world-is/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More by Paul Bowles > [“When I was young” … “Before I was twenty, I mean, I used to think that life was a thing that kept gaining impetus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/when-i-was-young-before-i-was-twenty-i-mean-i-used-to-think-that-life/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [A black star appears, a point of darkness in the night sky's clarity. Point of darkness and gateway to repose. Reach out, pierce the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/a-black-star-appears-a-point-of-darkness-in-the-night-sky-s-clarity/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [We've never managed, either one of us, to get all the way into life. We're hanging on to the outside for all we're worth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/we-ve-never-managed-either-one-of-us-to-get-all-the-way-into-life-we/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [Everyone is isolated from everyone else. The concept of society is like a cushion to protect us from the knowledge of that isolation. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/everyone-is-isolated-from-everyone-else-the-concept-of-society-is/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [Illness reduces man to his basic state: a cloaca in which the chemical processes continue. The meaningless hegemony of the involuntary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/illness-reduces-man-to-his-basic-state-a-cloaca-in-which-the-chemical/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [“You know what?” he said with great earnestness. “I think we’re both afraid of the same thing. And for the same reason. We’ve never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/you-know-what-he-said-with-great-earnestness-i-think-we-re-both/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [“... how could any young man merely sit back and wait for divine justice to take its course? It was asking the impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/how-could-any-young-man-merely-sit-back-and-wait-for-divine-justice/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [“There could be nothing, he reflected, to equal a government which was simply the honest enforcement, by means of the sword, of the laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/there-could-be-nothing-he-reflected-to-equal-a-government-which-was/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [Not all the ravages caused by our merciless age are tangible ones. The subtler forms of destruction, those involving only the human spirit, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/not-all-the-ravages-caused-by-our-merciless-age-are-tangible-ones-the/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [“What a wonderful thing to be an American!" he said impetuously. "Yes," said Dyar automatically, never having given much thought to what it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/what-a-wonderful-thing-to-be-an-american-he-said-impetuously-yes-said/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [“How peaceful it was, with the light evening breeze stirring the small leaves of the grapevine that clustered around the electric bulb, making the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/how-peaceful-it-was-with-the-light-evening-breeze-stirring-the-small/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [“Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens a certain number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/because-we-don-t-know-when-we-will-die-we-get-to-think-of-life-as-an/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [She was saved from prettiness by the intensity of her gaze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/she-was-saved-from-prettiness-by-the-intensity-of-her-gaze/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [“If people are living the same as always, with their bellies full of food, they'll just go on the same way. If they get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/if-people-are-living-the-same-as-always-with-their-bellies-full-of/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [“Scene VI (1940) It is our fault we love only the skull of Beauty Without knowing who she was, of what she died. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/scene-vi-1940-it-is-our-fault-we-love-only-the-skull-of-beauty/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) [Explore all 122 Paul Bowles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) ## More Madness quotes > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) > [“Madness,” he exclaimed to himself, in astonishment, faltering. “Madness! What do they want? Once again, once again!” War once again, war that had so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/madness-he-exclaimed-to-himself-in-astonishment-faltering-madness/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [“the characteristics the modern mind prides itself on are precisely those of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-characteristics-the-modern-mind-prides-itself-on-are-precisely/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Not everyone is capable of madness; and of those lucky enough to be capable, not many have the courage for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/not-everyone-is-capable-of-madness-and-of-those-lucky-enough-to-be/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“No man is normal without a tinge of madness in him! Madness in a person is a sign of intelligence, whoever they are. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fahad-basheer/no-man-is-normal-without-a-tinge-of-madness-in-him-madness-in-a/) [Fahad Basheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fahad-basheer/) > [“I swam across the torrent of my madness, and pulled myself upon the shore of a new and better sanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/i-swam-across-the-torrent-of-my-madness-and-pulled-myself-upon-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“One person's strange is another person's normal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dani-harper/one-person-s-strange-is-another-person-s-normal/) [Dani Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dani-harper/) > [Why is it, my shadow-striding friend, that we don't fear dreams? We lose consciousness, lose control, things happen with no apparent logic and abiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/why-is-it-my-shadow-striding-friend-that-we-don-t-fear-dreams-we-lose/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [Let your love drive you mad, mad about life, mad about the smell of Jasmine. Mad about the painting that reminds you of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-minagar/let-your-love-drive-you-mad-mad-about-life-mad-about-the-smell-of/) [Melody Minagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-minagar/) > [I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. ... I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-wish-you-a-wrestling-match-with-your-creative-muse-that-will-last-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Passion often makes a madman of the cleverest man, and renders the greatest fools clever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/passion-often-makes-a-madman-of-the-cleverest-man-and-renders-the/) [François de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [But what struck me was the book-madness of the place--books lay scattered across the unmade bed and the top of a battered-looking desk, books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-millhauser/but-what-struck-me-was-the-book-madness-of-the-place-books-lay/) [Steven Millhauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-millhauser/) > [Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ruin-eldest-daughter-of-zeus-she-blinds-us-all-that-fatal-madness-she/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) [Browse all 3,501 Madness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's a madhouse, of course. 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