--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes when I think of Jesper all I…" description: "\"“Sometimes when I think of Jesper all I can see is his dark back on the way across the white sea to Hirsholmene. It gets smaller and smaller and I stan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90d/per-petterson-8468_feeling-empty_sometimes-when-i-think-of-jesper-all-i-c_1073482.png" --- # Sometimes when I think of Jesper all I can see is his dark… ![“Sometimes when I think of Jesper all I can see is his dark back on the way across the white sea to Hirsholmene. It gets smaller and smaller and I stand at the edge of the ice feeling empty. Why didn't he ask me to go with him? I have a will of my own but if he had asked, I wouldn't have hesitated…” quote by Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90d/per-petterson-8468_feeling-empty_sometimes-when-i-think-of-jesper-all-i-c_1073482.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90d/per-petterson-8468_feeling-empty_sometimes-when-i-think-of-jesper-all-i-c_1073482.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90d/per-petterson-8468_feeling-empty_sometimes-when-i-think-of-jesper-all-i-c_1073482.png) > ““Sometimes when I think of Jesper all I can see is his dark back on the way across the white sea to Hirsholmene. It gets smaller and smaller and I stand at the edge of the ice feeling empty. Why didn't he ask me to go with him? I have a will of my own but if he had asked, I wouldn't have hesitated. I always went with him. After all, I had to look after him and he had to look after me, and my father would be furious with us both. Staying there alone was meaningless. Sometimes I imagine he tells me everything, but I know that's not true. He never told me if he went all the way to Hirsholmene. I don't tell him everything either, but I feel he knows what I am thinking, and I know what HE thinks. I have taught myself to do that. And yet all the same I am not sure.”” [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on missed opportunities and the weight of unspoken understanding with a close companion, feeling emptiness and regret. **In simple terms:** Regret over unspoken bonds and missed chances. Key Takeaway Acknowledge feelings, communicate openly. Themes regret relationships missed opportunities family loneliness Mood melancholic reflective Type literary personal When to use this quote - family discussions - personal reflection - travel planning - grief counseling Key Concepts existential longing interpersonal connection memory Questions to Reflect On - What would you say if you could speak now? - How does silence shape your relationships? A Different Perspective The narrator may idealize the past, overlooking present possibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feeling Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-didn-348956/) [Feeling empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-empty/) [Hesitated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hesitated/) [Hirsholmene Gets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hirsholmene-gets-2686202/) [Jesper Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesper-dark-2686203/) [Think Jesper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-jesper-2686201/) ## Related quotes > [It was my mother's idea. 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One day, you felt sad, you cannot explain it and you don't even know where is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiyhwa/have-you-ever-felt-somethng-like-this-one-day-you-felt-sad-you-cannot/) [Eiyhwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiyhwa/) > [I have the feeling that I didn't make it by myself, but that I was conducted by feelings that were completely different from those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/i-have-the-feeling-that-i-didn-t-make-it-by-myself-but-that-i-was/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [“It was strange what Chris was feeling within, but he didn’t mind for he was loving her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-was-strange-what-chris-was-feeling-within-but-he-didn-t-mind-for/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [I see pictures of myself and I always knew that what I was feeling didn't look like that guy in the pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-avedon/i-see-pictures-of-myself-and-i-always-knew-that-what-i-was-feeling/) [Richard Avedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-avedon/) > [As my 50th loomed, I had this feeling that if I didn't go on ;MasterChef' now, I probably never would. 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We could sit in the darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-coker/maybe-that-s-what-our-friendship-was-it-was-the-feeling-that-we-didn/) [Rachel Coker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-coker/) > [At my first Masters, I got the feeling, that if I didn't play well, I wouldn't go to heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-marr/at-my-first-masters-i-got-the-feeling-that-if-i-didn-t-play-well-i/) [Dave Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-marr/) > [I came from nothing. My mother was a single mother in the streets. She did everything she could do. Me and my brother experienced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trae-tha-truth/i-came-from-nothing-my-mother-was-a-single-mother-in-the-streets-she/) [Trae tha Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trae-tha-truth/) > [“I gave in to that feeling. I didn't care what it made me -weak selfish, stupid, terrible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-bracken/i-gave-in-to-that-feeling-i-didn-t-care-what-it-made-me-weak-selfish/) [Alexandra Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-bracken/) > [Usually I'm frustrated when I look at my films and I don't believe that I've made a real transformation beyond my usual sets of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helena-bonham-carter/usually-i-m-frustrated-when-i-look-at-my-films-and-i-don-t-believe/) [Helena Bonham Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helena-bonham-carter/) ## More by Per Petterson > [“Light in every lamp, light in every mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/light-in-every-lamp-light-in-every-mind/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [I come from a working-class family. They're the people I know and the people I love, I guess. I do not write about them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-come-from-a-working-class-family-they-re-the-people-i-know-and-the/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [When my mother talked about her brother, there was this light in her eyes. I thought, 'This is the basis of a novel.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/when-my-mother-talked-about-her-brother-there-was-this-light-in-her/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“But life had shifted its weight from one point to another, from one leg to the other, like a silent giant in the vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/but-life-had-shifted-its-weight-from-one-point-to-another-from-one/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“All my life I have longed to be alone in a place like this. 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It is easily done, boring as it is to cook for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/it-is-important-not-to-be-careless-about-supper-when-you-are-alone-it/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“We ran back, he first and I following him, between the beds and downstairs, and we picked up an armful of wood from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/we-ran-back-he-first-and-i-following-him-between-the-beds-and/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [I rely heavily on rhythm when I write. You should tap your foot when you read it, all the way through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-rely-heavily-on-rhythm-when-i-write-you-should-tap-your-foot-when/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“What I liked was the train ride. It took an hour and that was enough for me to be able to lean backwards against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took-an-hour-and-that-was-enough/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“...everything felt fine at that moment; the suit was fine, and the twon was fine to walk in, along the cobblestone street, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/everything-felt-fine-at-that-moment-the-suit-was-fine-and-the-twon/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“It may be all very well in Dickens, but when you read Dickens you're reading a long ballad from a vanished world, where everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/it-may-be-all-very-well-in-dickens-but-when-you-read-dickens-you-re/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [I write about families. That is who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-write-about-families-that-is-who-we-are/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“...the young swans as big as their parents now, but still grey and it looks peculiar, like two different species swimming in a line,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/the-young-swans-as-big-as-their-parents-now-but-still-grey-and-it/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) [Explore all 79 Per Petterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) ## More Feeling empty quotes > [I'm tired of crying. I'm tired of yelling. I'm tired of being sad. I'm tired of pretending. I'm tired of being alone. 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Leave out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/help-me-leave-behind-some-reasons-to-be-missed-don-t-resent-me-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I used to say that winning the Oscar means being back at the Beverly Hills Hotel at 1 A.M. feeling empty. It's the industry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-used-to-say-that-winning-the-oscar-means-being-back-at-the-beverly/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I'm always feeling empty inside...until you come and make me smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-always-feeling-empty-inside-until-you-come-and-make-me-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They say you don't get over someone until you find someone or something better. As humans, we don't deal well with emptiness. Any empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/they-say-you-don-t-get-over-someone-until-you-find-someone-or/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [You keep running after the love of the people, but you’ll never get it. And what you do get, will never be enough. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/you-keep-running-after-the-love-of-the-people-but-you-ll-never-get-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [Every time I finish a book, I feel like Ive lost a part of me and just sit there feeling empty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-time-i-finish-a-book-i-feel-like-ive-lost-a-part-of-me-and-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Why should you buy the cow, if you can get the milk for free?” Answer: There is no reason, no incentive, no need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-marsh-warren/why-should-you-buy-the-cow-if-you-can-get-the-milk-for-free-answer/) [Lindsay Marsh Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-marsh-warren/) > [“And when you're feeling empty, keep me memory, and leave out all the rest, leave out all the rest”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linkin-park/and-when-you-re-feeling-empty-keep-me-memory-and-leave-out-all-the/) [Linkin Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linkin-park/) > [“The Artist His gift is the ability to deeply see a woman. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linkin-park/when-my-time-comes-forget-the-wrong-that-i-ve-done-help-me-leave/) [Linkin Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linkin-park/) > [I wasn't in control of my destiny, feeling empty thinking wheres the rest of me, gotta make it but I need the recipe, tellin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-wasn-t-in-control-of-my-destiny-feeling-empty-thinking-wheres-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 57 Feeling empty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-empty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sometimes when I think of Jesper all I can see is his dark back on the way across the white sea to Hirsholmene. It gets smaller and smaller and I stand at the edge of the ice feeling empty. Why didn't he ask me to go with him? I have a will of my own but if he had asked, I wouldn't have hesitated. I always went with him. After all, I had to look after him and he had to look after me, and my father would be furious with us both. Staying there alone was meaningless. Sometimes I imagine he tells me everything, but I know that's not true. He never told me if he went all the way to Hirsholmene. I don't tell him everything either, but I feel he knows what I am thinking, and I know what HE thinks. I have taught myself to do that. 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