--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were moments when life at school…" description: "\"“There were moments when life at school became a matter of utter indifference to him. Then the putty of his everyday concerns dropped out and, with not..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/robert-musil-2009_ennui_there-were-moments-when-life-at-school-b_1271012.jpg" --- # There were moments when life at school became a matter of… ![“There were moments when life at school became a matter of utter indifference to him. Then the putty of his everyday concerns dropped out and, with nothing more to bind them together, the hours of his life fell apart.” quote by Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/robert-musil-2009_ennui_there-were-moments-when-life-at-school-b_1271012.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/robert-musil-2009_ennui_there-were-moments-when-life-at-school-b_1271012.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f6/robert-musil-2009_ennui_there-were-moments-when-life-at-school-b_1271012.jpg) > ““There were moments when life at school became a matter of utter indifference to him. Then the putty of his everyday concerns dropped out and, with nothing more to bind them together, the hours of his life fell apart.”” [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A student becomes detached from daily life, feeling his routine dissolve into emptiness when nothing ties his experiences together. **In simple terms:** He feels empty when nothing connects his days. Key Takeaway Seek meaningful connections to stay grounded. Themes indifference detachment meaninglessness Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - school life - personal crisis - mental health - routine disruption Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What anchors keep you engaged daily? - How can routine regain significance? A Different Perspective Even without external pressures, internal disengagement can persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ennui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ennui/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Imagine there’s no Sadness, it’s easy if you try…” whoever sings, John something.  “Nothing white inside us, around us only DIE… Imagine all the Shells,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-scott-huerta/imagine-there-s-no-sadness-it-s-easy-if-you-try-whoever-sings-john/) [Adam Scott Huerta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-scott-huerta/) > [“... sometimes in life, passion haste take a backseat to more everyday concerns. -said Trinh Cung”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-sasges/sometimes-in-life-passion-haste-take-a-backseat-to-more-everyday/) Gerard Sasges > [It was a strange combination to absorb - the everyday concerns of the town doctor stuck in the middle of a discussion of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/it-was-a-strange-combination-to-absorb-the-everyday-concerns-of-the/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [One of the big changes in politics has been because families, individuals, have felt worried, insecure... worried about the economy, worried about their jobs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-clegg/one-of-the-big-changes-in-politics-has-been-because-families/) [Nick Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-clegg/) > [Popularity gets you nowhere after high school, matter of fact it's the last thing on your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/popularity-gets-you-nowhere-after-high-school-matter-of-fact-it-s-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm sick of school. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-lutz/then-came-nights-when-lying-awake-beside-my-final-wife-i-would-spend/) [Gary Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-lutz/) > [I would walk until I had walked all the life out of me, and when I fell, I would die that much closer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nando-parrado/i-would-walk-until-i-had-walked-all-the-life-out-of-me-and-when-i/) [Nando Parrado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nando-parrado/) > [This was the time in her life that she fell upon books as the only door out of her cell. They became half her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/this-was-the-time-in-her-life-that-she-fell-upon-books-as-the-only/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [“For every hundred bucks I make, I set aside five for Bernie's stone. What do you write on something like that? LIFE PASSED HER…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/for-every-hundred-bucks-i-make-i-set-aside-five-for-bernie-s-stone/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“He didn’t want her to cry alone, he wanted her to be in his arms, each and every time her life fell apart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jagears/he-didn-t-want-her-to-cry-alone-he-wanted-her-to-be-in-his-arms-each/) [Melissa Jagears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jagears/) ## More by Robert Musil > [“Everything we feel and do is somehow oriented "lifeward," and the least deviation away from this direction toward something beyond is difficult or alarming.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/everything-we-feel-and-do-is-somehow-oriented-lifeward-and-the-least/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“He was in that familiar state - not that the occasion mattered to seriously to him -- of incoherent ideas spreading outward without a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/he-was-in-that-familiar-state-not-that-the-occasion-mattered-to/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [It is life that does the thinking all around us, forming with playful ease the connections our reason can only laboriously patch together piecemeal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/it-is-life-that-does-the-thinking-all-around-us-forming-with-playful/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“What is it you do, then? I'll tell you: You leave out whatever doesn't suit you. As the author himself has done before you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/what-is-it-you-do-then-i-ll-tell-you-you-leave-out-whatever-doesn-t/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [and while faith based on theological reasoning is today universally engaged in a bitter struggle with doubt and resistance from the prevailing brand of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/and-while-faith-based-on-theological-reasoning-is-today-universally/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [What is the use of good painting? We want a spell cast upon the optical part of our existence! We seldom really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/what-is-the-use-of-good-painting-we-want-a-spell-cast-upon-the/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [That the will of the people can be established by voting for democrats is, of course, a delusion. Yet when considering a non-threatening system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/that-the-will-of-the-people-can-be-established-by-voting-for/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“Ein Mann, der die Wahrheit will, wird Gelehrter; ein Mann, der seine Subjektivität spielen lassen will, wird vielleicht Schriftsteller; was aber soll ein Mann…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/ein-mann-der-die-wahrheit-will-wird-gelehrter-ein-mann-der-seine/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“For a long time now a hint of aversion had lain on everything he did and experienced, a shadow of impotence and loneliness, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/for-a-long-time-now-a-hint-of-aversion-had-lain-on-everything-he-did/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“All the knowledge that has led our species from wearing animal skins to people flying, complete with proofs, would fill a handful of reference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/all-the-knowledge-that-has-led-our-species-from-wearing-animal-skins/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [I also believe that few people remain completely untouched by the thought that instead of the life they lead there might also be another,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/i-also-believe-that-few-people-remain-completely-untouched-by-the/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“His appearance gives no clue to what his profession might be, and yet he doesn't look like a man without a profession either. Consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/his-appearance-gives-no-clue-to-what-his-profession-might-be-and-yet/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [Philosophers are people who do violence, but have no army at their disposal, and so subjugate the world by locking it into a system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/philosophers-are-people-who-do-violence-but-have-no-army-at-their/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“The drive of his own nature to keep developing prevents him from believing that anything is final and complete, yet everything he encounters behaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/the-drive-of-his-own-nature-to-keep-developing-prevents-him-from/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [“And so the mind or spirit is the great opportunist, itself impossible to pin down, take hold of, anywhere; one is tempted to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/and-so-the-mind-or-spirit-is-the-great-opportunist-itself-impossible/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) [Explore all 139 Robert Musil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) ## More Ennui quotes > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [In the aftermath of 9/11, people had not a good time, but a deep, profound, rousing time, woke up from their ennui and isolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-the-aftermath-of-9-11-people-had-not-a-good-time-but-a-deep/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [To love to read is to exchange hours of ennui for hours of delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-love-to-read-is-to-exchange-hours-of-ennui-for-hours-of-delight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One receives as reward for much ennui, despondency, boredom -such as a solitude without friends, books, duties, passions must bring with it -those quarter-hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-receives-as-reward-for-much-ennui-despondency-boredom-such-as-a/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Sitting to think of what to write will only set your ass on fire, give you headache, twist your face to look stupid, instead,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/sitting-to-think-of-what-to-write-will-only-set-your-ass-on-fire-give/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [You cannot give me an instance of any man who is permitted to lay out his own time contriving not to have tedious hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-cannot-give-me-an-instance-of-any-man-who-is-permitted-to-lay-out/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“From the time I arrived in British East Africa at the indifferent age of four and went through the barefoot stage of early youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/from-the-time-i-arrived-in-british-east-africa-at-the-indifferent-age/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [Pain, indolence, sterility, endless ennui have also their lesson for you, if you are great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/pain-indolence-sterility-endless-ennui-have-also-their-lesson-for-you/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life creates itself in delirium and is undone in ennui.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/life-creates-itself-in-delirium-and-is-undone-in-ennui/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [“She could, she thinks, have entered a different life. She could have had a life as potent and dangerous as literature itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/she-could-she-thinks-have-entered-a-different-life-she-could-have-had/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [As the gout seems privileged to attack the bodies of the wealthy, so ennui seems to exert a similar prerogative over their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/as-the-gout-seems-privileged-to-attack-the-bodies-of-the-wealthy-so/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [“It seemed to Rosa Lublin that the whole peninsula of Florida was weighted down with regret. Everyone had left behind a real life. Here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/it-seemed-to-rosa-lublin-that-the-whole-peninsula-of-florida-was/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [If you want to live in 'white world,' if you want to experience the stultifying boredom and penetrating ennui that homogeneity can bring, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-proops/if-you-want-to-live-in-white-world-if-you-want-to-experience-the/) [Greg Proops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-proops/) > [Rousseau and his disciples were resolved to force men to be free; in most of the world, they triumphed; men are set free from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/rousseau-and-his-disciples-were-resolved-to-force-men-to-be-free-in/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Condition de l'homme: inconstance, ennui, inquie tude. Man's condition. Inconstancy, boredom, anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/condition-de-l-homme-inconstance-ennui-inquie-tude-man-s-condition/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) [Browse all 132 Ennui quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ennui/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There were moments when life at school became a matter of utter indifference to him. 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