--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On turning to the Work in Progress we…" description: "\"“On turning to the Work in Progress we find that the mirror is not so convex. Here is direct expression--pages and pages of it. And if you don’t unders..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/samuel-beckett-365_ladies-and-gentlemen_on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-fi_1990344.jpg" --- # On turning to the Work in Progress we find that the mirror… ![“On turning to the Work in Progress we find that the mirror is not so convex. Here is direct expression--pages and pages of it. And if you don’t understand it, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is because you are too decadent to receive it.” quote by Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/samuel-beckett-365_ladies-and-gentlemen_on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-fi_1990344.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/samuel-beckett-365_ladies-and-gentlemen_on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-fi_1990344.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/samuel-beckett-365_ladies-and-gentlemen_on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-fi_1990344.jpg) > ““On turning to the Work in Progress we find that the mirror is not so convex. Here is direct expression--pages and pages of it. And if you don’t understand it, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is because you are too decadent to receive it.”” [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The work reveals itself more clearly when we are open, not overly cynical. **In simple terms:** Understanding requires openness, not decadence. Key Takeaway Be open to new ideas. Themes art perception critique Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - theatre criticism - literary analysis - personal growth Key Concepts existentialism self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - Are you allowing yourself to be receptive? - How does cynicism block insight? A Different Perspective If you are too jaded, you miss meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Convex Direct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convex-direct-3446837/) [Direct Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct-expression-3446836/) [Ladies and gentlemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ladies-and-gentlemen/) [Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) [Mirror Convex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror-convex-3446834/) [Progress Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress-mirror-3446835/) [Work in progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-in-progress/) ## Related quotes > [“On turning to the Work in Progress we find that the mirror is not so convex. Here is direct expression--pages and pages of it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-find-that-the-mirror-is-not-so/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [For me, the spiritual quest will be a life-long work in progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/for-me-the-spiritual-quest-will-be-a-life-long-work-in-progress/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Hey, you know I might not be perfect! But I'm a wonderful work in progress!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-c-akers/hey-you-know-i-might-not-be-perfect-but-i-m-a-wonderful-work-in/) [D.C. Akers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-c-akers/) > [“The stretching of your faith is immediate pain that results in ultimate gain. It is in the waiting that we become who we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-hale/the-stretching-of-your-faith-is-immediate-pain-that-results-in/) [Mandy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-hale/) > [“Relationships are a never-ending work in progress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ray/relationships-are-a-never-ending-work-in-progress/) [Francis Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ray/) > [I am a work in progress. I make mistakes. I learn from them. I grow. and so it will continue. You never stop learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-a-work-in-progress-i-make-mistakes-i-learn-from-them-i-grow-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There's no shame in getting help. There's no shame in being a work in progress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacquelyn-middleton/there-s-no-shame-in-getting-help-there-s-no-shame-in-being-a-work-in/) [Jacquelyn Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacquelyn-middleton/) > [A work-in-progress generates its own energy field. You, the artist or entrepreneur, are pouring love into the work; you are suffusing it with passion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/a-work-in-progress-generates-its-own-energy-field-you-the-artist-or/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [But I think we need to remember that democracy everywhere is by its nature incomplete, a work in progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/but-i-think-we-need-to-remember-that-democracy-everywhere-is-by-its/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) > [As I've learned in my time in the state legislature, important legislation is always a work in progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/as-i-ve-learned-in-my-time-in-the-state-legislature-important/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [You have to figure out as a band how a band becomes a business, and then you have to keep that business mentality separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/you-have-to-figure-out-as-a-band-how-a-band-becomes-a-business-and/) [David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/) > [I am a work in progress Dressed in the fabric of a world unfolding Offering me intricate patterns of questions Rhythms that never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/i-am-a-work-in-progress-dressed-in-the-fabric-of-a-world-unfolding/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [...start thinking of yourself as an artist and your life as a work-in-progress. Works-in-progress are never perfect. But changes can be made...Art evolves. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/start-thinking-of-yourself-as-an-artist-and-your-life-as-a-work-in/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [My reads, operation with the offense, timing with the receivers, routes, sitting in the pocket, trusting my line - everything is always a work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deshaun-watson/my-reads-operation-with-the-offense-timing-with-the-receivers-routes/) [Deshaun Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deshaun-watson/) > [I can feel the heat rising Everything is on fire Today is a painful reminder of why We can only get brighter The further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/i-can-feel-the-heat-rising-everything-is-on-fire-today-is-a-painful/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) ## More by Samuel Beckett > [“It was December, I had never felt so cold, the eel soup lay heavy on my stomach, I was afraid I'd die, I turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-was-december-i-had-never-felt-so-cold-the-eel-soup-lay-heavy-on-my/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“To be always what I am - and so changed from what I was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-be-always-what-i-am-and-so-changed-from-what-i-was/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [To what will love not stoop!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/to-what-will-love-not-stoop/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [With all this darkness round me I feel less alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/with-all-this-darkness-round-me-i-feel-less-alone/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“You may say it is all in my head, and indeed sometimes it seems to me I am in a head and that these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/you-may-say-it-is-all-in-my-head-and-indeed-sometimes-it-seems-to-me/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“Here he stood. Here he sat. Here he knelt. Here he lay. Here he moved, to and fro, from the door to the window,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/here-he-stood-here-he-sat-here-he-knelt-here-he-lay-here-he-moved-to/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [I shall state silences more competently than ever a better man spangled the butterflies of vertigo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-shall-state-silences-more-competently-than-ever-a-better-man/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [It is useless not to seek, not to want, for when you cease to seek you start to find, and when you cease to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-is-useless-not-to-seek-not-to-want-for-when-you-cease-to-seek-you/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [We are not saints, but we have kept our appointment. How many people can boast as much?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/we-are-not-saints-but-we-have-kept-our-appointment-how-many-people/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [The new light above my table is a great improvement. With all this darkness around me I feel less alone. (Pause.) In a way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/the-new-light-above-my-table-is-a-great-improvement-with-all-this/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [I lay down across her with my face in her breasts and my hand on her. We lay there without moving. But under us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-lay-down-across-her-with-my-face-in-her-breasts-and-my-hand-on-her/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Women are all the bloody sameyou can't love for five minutes without wanting it abolished in brats and house bloody wifery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/women-are-all-the-bloody-sameyou-can-t-love-for-five-minutes-without/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“ESTRAGON: Do you think God sees me? VLADIMIR: You must close your eyes. Estragon closes his eyes, staggers worse. ESTRAGON: (stopping, brandishing his fists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/estragon-do-you-think-god-sees-me-vladimir-you-must-close-your-eyes/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Deplorable mania, when something happens, to inquire what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/deplorable-mania-when-something-happens-to-inquire-what/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) [Explore all 609 Samuel Beckett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) ## More Ladies and gentlemen quotes > [“Well … things are beginning to stack up a little,” said Gordo. It was the same old sod-hut drawl. He sounded like the airline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/well-things-are-beginning-to-stack-up-a-little-said-gordo-it-was-the/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [A true gentleman never leaves his lady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandro-del-piero/a-true-gentleman-never-leaves-his-lady/) [Alessandro Del Piero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandro-del-piero/) > [I intend to make America strong again. I'm going to be the champion of the middle class, where I came from. If you make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/i-intend-to-make-america-strong-again-i-m-going-to-be-the-champion-of/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) > [ “To modernize their sleeping habits, \[Peter the Great\] declared, 'Ladies and gentlemen of the court caught sleeping with their boots on will be instantly… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-modernize-their-sleeping-habits-peter-the-great-declared-ladies/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Newt Gingrich wants to repeal child labor laws. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the man that we need to lead us into the 18th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/newt-gingrich-wants-to-repeal-child-labor-laws-ladies-and-gentlemen/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [“Ladies and gentlemen, let us hear the demand of life and adhere to it. It would do us good”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/ladies-and-gentlemen-let-us-hear-the-demand-of-life-and-adhere-to-it/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Smile, but not for long, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Patriarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelly-kaplan/smile-but-not-for-long-ladies-and-gentlemen-of-the-patriarchy/) [Nelly Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelly-kaplan/) > [“Ladies and gentlemen, I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work - a life's work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/ladies-and-gentlemen-i-feel-that-this-award-was-not-made-to-me-as-a/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! YOU'VE READ ABOUT IT IN THE NEWSPAPERS! NOW, SHUDDER AS YOU OBSERVE, BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES, THAT MOST RAREAND RAGIC OF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/ladies-and-gentlemen-you-ve-read-about-it-in-the-newspapers-now/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Femininity and masculinity are social constructs. Female and male are biological. We don't have to learn to be men or women but we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/femininity-and-masculinity-are-social-constructs-female-and-male-are/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN… ME!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/ladies-and-gentlemen-me/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [“On turning to the Work in Progress we find that the mirror is not so convex. Here is direct expression--pages and pages of it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-find-that-the-mirror-is-not-so/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“Ladies and gentlemen, may I suggest you let fun out of your lives? For it is, brothers and sisters, a mongrel word, an ersatz…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/ladies-and-gentlemen-may-i-suggest-you-let-fun-out-of-your-lives-for/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Ladies and Gentlemen, I stand before you now because I never stopped dawdling like an eight-year-old on a spring morning on his way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/ladies-and-gentlemen-i-stand-before-you-now-because-i-never-stopped/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“So: ‘Why did you laugh?’ demanded Philippa, and shook Jerott’s hand off her arm. ‘Oh, that?’ said Lymond. ‘But, my dear child, the picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-dunnett/so-why-did-you-laugh-demanded-philippa-and-shook-jerott-s-hand-off/) [Dorothy Dunnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-dunnett/) [Browse all 253 Ladies and gentlemen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ladies-and-gentlemen/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“On turning to the Work in Progress we find that the mirror is not so convex. Here is direct expression--pages and pages of it. And if you don’t understand it, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is because you are too decadent to receive it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Beckett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-find-that-the-mirror-is-not-so-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ladies and gentlemen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-find-that-the-mirror-is-not-so-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/samuel-beckett-365_ladies-and-gentlemen_on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-fi_1990344.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/samuel-beckett-365_ladies-and-gentlemen_on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-fi_1990344.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/samuel-beckett-365_ladies-and-gentlemen_on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-fi_1990344.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“On turning to the Work in Progress we find that the mirror is not so convex. Here is direct…” — Samuel Beckett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Samuel Beckett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“On turning to the Work in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-find-that-the-mirror-is-not-so-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-find-that-the-mirror-is-not-so-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```