---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And he remembered thinking then that if…"
description: "\"And he remembered thinking then that if she died, he was certain he wouldn't cry. For it would be the dying face of an unknown, a street face, a newspa..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/ray-bradbury-75_certain_and-he-remembered-thinking-then-that-if_2528689.jpg"
---

#  And he remembered thinking then that if she died, he was…

![“And he remembered thinking then that if she died, he was certain he wouldn't cry. For it would be the dying face of an unknown, a street face, a newspaper image, and it was suddenly so very wrong that he had begun to cry, not at death but at the thought of not crying at death, a silly empty man…” quote by Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/ray-bradbury-75_certain_and-he-remembered-thinking-then-that-if_2528689.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/ray-bradbury-75_certain_and-he-remembered-thinking-then-that-if_2528689.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7e/ray-bradbury-75_certain_and-he-remembered-thinking-then-that-if_2528689.jpg)

> “And he remembered thinking then that if she died, he was certain he wouldn't cry. For it would be the dying face of an unknown, a street face, a newspaper image, and it was suddenly so very wrong that he had begun to cry, not at death but at the thought of not crying at death, a silly empty man near a silly empty woman.”

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He realizes that the failure to feel appropriate grief reveals a deeper emptiness and loss of humanity.

**In simple terms:** Not crying at death shows inner emptiness.

Key Takeaway

Acknowledge true emotions.

Themes

empathy humanity existential reflection

Mood

melancholic reflective somber

Type

literary philosophical emotional

When to use this quote

- personal loss
- artistic creation
- everyday encounters
- social alienation

Key Concepts

existentialism emotional authenticity mortality

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you ever feel numb when faced with loss?
- How does societal expectation shape our grief?

A Different Perspective

Emotions can be suppressed by detachment, leading to a false sense of control.

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[Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Newspapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspapers/) [Numbness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbness/) [Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

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