--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You lean back against the door with bowed…" description: "\"“You lean back against the door with bowed head making ready to set out. By the time you open your eyes your feet have disappeared and the skirt of you..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/samuel-beckett-365_beckett_you-lean-back-against-the-door-with-bowe_2743270.jpg" --- # You lean back against the door with bowed head making… ![“You lean back against the door with bowed head making ready to set out. By the time you open your eyes your feet have disappeared and the skirt of your great coat come to rest on the surface of the snow. The dark scene seems lit from below. You see yourself at the last outset leaning against the…” quote by Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/samuel-beckett-365_beckett_you-lean-back-against-the-door-with-bowe_2743270.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/samuel-beckett-365_beckett_you-lean-back-against-the-door-with-bowe_2743270.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/samuel-beckett-365_beckett_you-lean-back-against-the-door-with-bowe_2743270.jpg) > ““You lean back against the door with bowed head making ready to set out. By the time you open your eyes your feet have disappeared and the skirt of your great coat come to rest on the surface of the snow. The dark scene seems lit from below. You see yourself at the last outset leaning against the door with closed eyes waiting for the word from you to go. To be gone.Then the snowlit scene. You lie in the dark with closed eyes and see yourself there as described making ready to strike out and away across the expanse of light. You hear again the click of the door pulled gently to and the silence before the steps can start. Next thing you are on your way across the white pasture afrolic with lambs in spring and strewn with red placantae.”” [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. A surreal vision of departure and transformation, blending darkness and light as a metaphor for inner change. **In simple terms:** A vivid, dreamlike scene of leaving and renewal. Key Takeaway Embrace change and move forward. Themes transformation journey light anddark nature solitude Mood reflective hopeful melancholic Type poetic philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - spiritual awakening - creative inspiration - mindful travel - seasonal renewal Key Concepts existentialism surrealism symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What inner barriers must you release to move forward? - How does confronting darkness enable new light? A Different Perspective The imagery may be too abstract for practical guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) ## Related quotes > [“I just completed a long car trip on a Sunday in August with two small children, which believe me is enough to convince you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-just-completed-a-long-car-trip-on-a-sunday-in-august-with-two-small/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“It took me a long time, my lifetime so to speak, to realise that the colour of an eye half seen, or the source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/it-took-me-a-long-time-my-lifetime-so-to-speak-to-realise-that-the/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“ESTRAGON: We always find something, eh Didi, to give us the impression we exist? VLADIMIR: (impatiently). Yes, yes, we’re magicians. But let us persevere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/estragon-we-always-find-something-eh-didi-to-give-us-the-impression-3/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“And even my sense of identity was wrapped in a namelessness often hard to penetrate, as we have just seen I think…Yes, even then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/and-even-my-sense-of-identity-was-wrapped-in-a-namelessness-often/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“story … if you could finish it … you could rest … you could sleep … not before … oh I know … the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/story-if-you-could-finish-it-you-could-rest-you-could-sleep-not/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“VLADIMIR: Dance, hog!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/vladimir-dance-hog/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [On Linden, when the sun was low, All bloodless lay the untrodden snow, And dark as winter was the flow Of Iser, rolling rapidly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-campbell/on-linden-when-the-sun-was-low-all-bloodless-lay-the-untrodden-snow/) [Thomas Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-campbell/) > [Snow and dark, and the winter comes. Nothing remains the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elyne-mitchell/snow-and-dark-and-the-winter-comes-nothing-remains-the-same/) [Elyne Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elyne-mitchell/) > [“Ubi nihil vales, ibi nihil velis: where you are worth nothing, there you should want nothing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-geulincx/ubi-nihil-vales-ibi-nihil-velis-where-you-are-worth-nothing-there-you/) Arnold Geulincx > [“Ubi nihil vales, ibi nihil velis”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-geulincx/ubi-nihil-vales-ibi-nihil-velis/) Arnold Geulincx > [“que ferais-je sans ce monde que ferais-je sans ce monde sans visage sans questions où être ne dure qu'un instant où chaque instant verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/que-ferais-je-sans-ce-monde-que-ferais-je-sans-ce-monde-sans-visage/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/the-sun-shone-having-no-alternative-on-the-nothing-new/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“I am interested in the shape of ideas, even if I do not believe in them”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-am-interested-in-the-shape-of-ideas-even-if-i-do-not-believe-in-them/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“Je suis comme ça. Ou j'oublie tout de suite ou je n'oublie jamais." Samuel BECKETT, En attendant Godot I'm like that. Either I forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/je-suis-comme-a-ou-j-oublie-tout-de-suite-ou-je-n-oublie-jamais/) [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/) ## 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 Beckett quotes > [ I would say recently I've gotten back to perusing \[Samuel\] Beckett's novels. Listening to the way Donald Trump speaks without saying anything has made… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duchovny/i-would-say-recently-i-ve-gotten-back-to-perusing-samuel-beckett-s/) [David Duchovny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duchovny/) > [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/) > [“Je suis comme ça. Ou j'oublie tout de suite ou je n'oublie jamais." Samuel BECKETT, En attendant Godot I'm like that. Either I forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/je-suis-comme-a-ou-j-oublie-tout-de-suite-ou-je-n-oublie-jamais/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Ben Marcus has created an innovative and unflinching portrait of the turmoil of the human condition, providing the reader a most rare gift: something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myla-goldberg/ben-marcus-has-created-an-innovative-and-unflinching-portrait-of-the/) [Myla Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myla-goldberg/) > [In Kamby Bolongo Mean River damage and delusion walk hand in hand, and everything we think we know is gradually called into question. Reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/in-kamby-bolongo-mean-river-damage-and-delusion-walk-hand-in-hand-and/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [“I can’t do this anymore if it’s not with you. Fuck me straight to hell." ~Eve to Beckett”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/i-can-t-do-this-anymore-if-it-s-not-with-you-fuck-me-straight-to-hell/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“Beckett now got half the beating he used to get. Rick didn’t know that with every punch he was pounding his own coffin closed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/beckett-now-got-half-the-beating-he-used-to-get-rick-didn-t-know-that/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“Where’s the bride-to-be?” Beckett held his arms open for Kyle and gave her a gentle hug. “Good on you, Fairy Princess, making an honest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/where-s-the-bride-to-be-beckett-held-his-arms-open-for-kyle-and-gave/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“Beckett kissed each woman’s cheek and said, “Ladies, I was saying thank you for taking such beautiful care of my brother. You’re angels. Selfless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/beckett-kissed-each-woman-s-cheek-and-said-ladies-i-was-saying-thank/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“But he did see them dance. He laughed out loud remembering when he’d danced with Kyle. She hardly seemed the same person. And Cole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/but-he-did-see-them-dance-he-laughed-out-loud-remembering-when-he-d/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“Kyle’s shrill voice interrupted their moment. “Figured you two would turn this into a scout meeting. Will you get your asses up here? People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/kyle-s-shrill-voice-interrupted-their-moment-figured-you-two-would/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“I think it's in Malone Dies that Beckett's creature is in a kind of prison or hospital. As I recall, he is visited twice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stern/i-think-it-s-in-malone-dies-that-beckett-s-creature-is-in-a-kind-of/) [Gerald Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stern/) > [Read the great stuff, but read the stuff that isn't so great, too. Great stuff is very discouraging. If you read only Beckett and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/read-the-great-stuff-but-read-the-stuff-that-isn-t-so-great-too-great/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [My exposure to Beckett and to late O'Neill was probably important right at the time I gave up poetry and the novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/my-exposure-to-beckett-and-to-late-o-neill-was-probably-important/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Beckett's 'Stories and Texts for Nothing' is probably my favorite book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-wright/beckett-s-stories-and-texts-for-nothing-is-probably-my-favorite-book/) [Franz Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-wright/) Browse all 193 Beckett quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You lean back against the door with bowed head making ready to set out. By the time you open your eyes your feet have disappeared and the skirt of your great coat come to rest on the surface of the snow. The dark scene seems lit from below. You see yourself at the last outset leaning against the door with closed eyes waiting for the word from you to go. To be gone.Then the snowlit scene. You lie in the dark with closed eyes and see yourself there as described making ready to strike out and away across the expanse of light. You hear again the click of the door pulled gently to and the silence before the steps can start. Next thing you are on your way across the white pasture afrolic with lambs in spring and strewn with red placantae.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Beckett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/you-lean-back-against-the-door-with-bowed-head-making-ready-to-set/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beckett" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/you-lean-back-against-the-door-with-bowed-head-making-ready-to-set/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/samuel-beckett-365_beckett_you-lean-back-against-the-door-with-bowe_2743270.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/samuel-beckett-365_beckett_you-lean-back-against-the-door-with-bowe_2743270.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11f/samuel-beckett-365_beckett_you-lean-back-against-the-door-with-bowe_2743270.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You lean back against the door with bowed head making ready to set out. By the time you open your eyes your…” — 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": "“You lean back against the door...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/you-lean-back-against-the-door-with-bowed-head-making-ready-to-set/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/you-lean-back-against-the-door-with-bowed-head-making-ready-to-set/#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 } } ] } ```