--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On closer examination, we are simply a…" description: "\"“On closer examination, we are simply a banal tragedy spread over two generations.”\" — Peter Høeg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/peter-h-eg-3553_family_on-closer-examination-we-are-simply-a-ba_1969883.jpg" --- # On closer examination, we are simply a banal tragedy… ![“On closer examination, we are simply a banal tragedy spread over two generations.” quote by Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/peter-h-eg-3553_family_on-closer-examination-we-are-simply-a-ba_1969883.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/peter-h-eg-3553_family_on-closer-examination-we-are-simply-a-ba_1969883.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/peter-h-eg-3553_family_on-closer-examination-we-are-simply-a-ba_1969883.jpg) > ““On closer examination, we are simply a banal tragedy spread over two generations.”” [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is a tragic pattern repeated across generations, often mundane. **In simple terms:** Generational tragedy repeats. Key Takeaway Break the cycle. Themes tragedy family history Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - family gatherings - inheritance discussions - therapy sessions Key Concepts intergenerational trauma existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does your family history shape you? - Can you find meaning beyond tragedy? A Different Perspective Some view life as hopeful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ## Related quotes > [Even very ordinary people, upon closer examination, can often look extraordinary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-hunter/even-very-ordinary-people-upon-closer-examination-can-often-look/) [Holly Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-hunter/) > [“If any woman opens her legs for you, don't feel so lucky to be fed with nonsense, she has been a bitch for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/if-any-woman-opens-her-legs-for-you-don-t-feel-so-lucky-to-be-fed/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [I think of myself as a very ordinary person. 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I don't have the energy to start over again. To learn new skills or fight my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/with-age-i-have-voluntarily-chosen-certain-limitations-i-don-t-have/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“That was the way of the rule. They had so many to keep an eye on. As long as you kept a low profile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/that-was-the-way-of-the-rule-they-had-so-many-to-keep-an-eye-on-as/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“That was what we meant by science. That both question and answer are tied up with uncertainty, and that they are painful. But that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/that-was-what-we-meant-by-science-that-both-question-and-answer-are/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [I like him. I have a weakness for losers. 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As if she were about to dissolve in sound, in tones not yet created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/she-was-transparent-like-a-watercolor-as-if-she-were-about-to/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [“As far as I'm concerned, you could send all the cars in the world through a compactor and shoot them out through the stratosphere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-you-could-send-all-the-cars-in-the-world/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [I don't fall in love anymore. Just like I don't get the mumps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/i-don-t-fall-in-love-anymore-just-like-i-don-t-get-the-mumps/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) [Explore all 110 Peter Høeg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) ## More Banal quotes > [“If any woman opens her legs for you, don't feel so lucky to be fed with nonsense, she has been a bitch for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/if-any-woman-opens-her-legs-for-you-don-t-feel-so-lucky-to-be-fed/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [The Twenty20 is itself a banal game, a crude game, but it works, so I hope Twenty20 commentary works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-agnew/the-twenty20-is-itself-a-banal-game-a-crude-game-but-it-works-so-i/) [Jonathan Agnew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-agnew/) > [It is almost banal to say so yet it needs to be stressed continually: all is creation, all is change, all is flux, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/it-is-almost-banal-to-say-so-yet-it-needs-to-be-stressed-continually/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [It's one thing to be banal, stupid, and idiotic on the inside. It's another to have it captured in writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgaard/it-s-one-thing-to-be-banal-stupid-and-idiotic-on-the-inside-it-s/) [Karl Ove Knausgaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgaard/) > [“There seemed no particular object in avoiding banality from the start, as the evening showed every sign of developing into a banal one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/there-seemed-no-particular-object-in-avoiding-banality-from-the-start/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [People worry about Twitter. Twitter is banal. It's 140-character messages. By definition, you can hardly say anything profound. On the other hand, we communicate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/people-worry-about-twitter-twitter-is-banal-it-s-140-character/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [There has never been an 'original' sin: each is quite banal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-has-never-been-an-original-sin-each-is-quite-banal/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [In an age of computer manipulation, surrealism has become banal, a shadow of its former self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-glaser/in-an-age-of-computer-manipulation-surrealism-has-become-banal-a/) [Milton Glaser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-glaser/) > [“In an art museum, you shall realise how banal and how ordinary the life outside!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/in-an-art-museum-you-shall-realise-how-banal-and-how-ordinary-the/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I really believe we read differently when we know even the most banal facts of an author's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/i-really-believe-we-read-differently-when-we-know-even-the-most-banal/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [There's a bizarre prejudice that exists in the New York publishing establishment that any work outside the tri-state area is being done by trained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braverman/there-s-a-bizarre-prejudice-that-exists-in-the-new-york-publishing/) [Kate Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braverman/) > [How totally banal of you to ask what I really mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster/how-totally-banal-of-you-to-ask-what-i-really-mean/) [David Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster/) > [I think of myself as a very ordinary person. 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