--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are moments of despair that come…" description: "\"There are moments of despair that come sometimes, when night sets in and a white fog presses against the windows. Then our house changes its shape, rea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/stevie-smith-8661_despair_there-are-moments-of-despair-that-come-s_376771.png" --- # There are moments of despair that come sometimes, when… ![“There are moments of despair that come sometimes, when night sets in and a white fog presses against the windows. Then our house changes its shape, rears up and becomes a place of despair. Then fear and rage run simply--and the thought of Death as a friend. This is the simplest of thoughts, that…” quote by Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/stevie-smith-8661_despair_there-are-moments-of-despair-that-come-s_376771.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/stevie-smith-8661_despair_there-are-moments-of-despair-that-come-s_376771.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/stevie-smith-8661_despair_there-are-moments-of-despair-that-come-s_376771.png) > “There are moments of despair that come sometimes, when night sets in and a white fog presses against the windows. Then our house changes its shape, rears up and becomes a place of despair. Then fear and rage run simply--and the thought of Death as a friend. This is the simplest of thoughts, that Death must come when we call, although he is a god.” [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Despair can transform familiar surroundings into a hostile, oppressive space, making death feel like a companion. **In simple terms:** Despair makes home feel hostile and death like a friend. Key Takeaway Recognize and seek help when darkness overwhelms. Themes despair isolation death fear rage Mood somber introspective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - nighttime anxiety - loneliness - mental health crisis - grief - family conflict Key Concepts existentialism psychology mortality Questions to Reflect On - How do you cope when familiar places feel threatening? - What supports can reframe fear as resilience? A Different Perspective The metaphor may exaggerate emotional intensity, not literal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) [Despair Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-come-2638992/) [Despair Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair-fear-1037774/) [Fog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fog/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Rage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rage/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Simplest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplest/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Thought Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-death/) [Thoughts Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-death-629603/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [Window](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/window/) ## Related quotes > [This is the simplest of all thoughts, that Death must come when we call, although he is a god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/this-is-the-simplest-of-all-thoughts-that-death-must-come-when-we/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [We must be willing to encounter darkness and despair when they come up and face them, over and over again if need be, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/we-must-be-willing-to-encounter-darkness-and-despair-when-they-come/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [Just as despair can come to one only from other human beings, hope, too, can be given to one only by other human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/just-as-despair-can-come-to-one-only-from-other-human-beings-hope-too/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Despair will come and go but people that can overcome will last throught it. We must work with children to understand and deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/despair-will-come-and-go-but-people-that-can-overcome-will-last/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [“Despair was so familiar to me; it could be banished by the sight of a beautiful mannikin in the window. It could be dispelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/despair-was-so-familiar-to-me-it-could-be-banished-by-the-sight-of-a/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [Those who are heavy-laden with despair should come unto the Lord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/those-who-are-heavy-laden-with-despair-should-come-unto-the-lord/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [“Despair can come from deep grief, but it can also be a defense against the risks of bitter disappointment and shattering heartbreak. Resignation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/despair-can-come-from-deep-grief-but-it-can-also-be-a-defense-against/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [She had put despair and fear aside, as if they were garments she did not choose to wear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-had-put-despair-and-fear-aside-as-if-they-were-garments-she-did/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I divested myself of despair and fear when I came here. Now there is no more catching one's own eye in the mirror, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-kenyon/i-divested-myself-of-despair-and-fear-when-i-came-here-now-there-is/) [Jane Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-kenyon/) > [Panic moves you to despair and fear your neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tate-reeves/panic-moves-you-to-despair-and-fear-your-neighbors/) [Tate Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tate-reeves/) > [A lot of interviewers are looking for the dark side. They want to know about the depths of your despair and fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-balding/a-lot-of-interviewers-are-looking-for-the-dark-side-they-want-to-know/) [Clare Balding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-balding/) > [The brave and bold persist even against fortune; the timid and cowardly rush to despair through fear alone. \[Lat., Fortes et strenuos etiam contra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/the-brave-and-bold-persist-even-against-fortune-the-timid-and/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [However desperate the situation and circumstances, don't despair. When there is everything to fear, be unafraid. When surrounded by dangers, fear none of them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/however-desperate-the-situation-and-circumstances-don-t-despair-when/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [The brave and bold persist even against fortune; the timid and cowardly rush to despair though fear alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/the-brave-and-bold-persist-even-against-fortune-the-timid-and-2/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [A lot of my work comes from a place of despair or fear. I often write in order to gain some sort of control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/a-lot-of-my-work-comes-from-a-place-of-despair-or-fear-i-often-write/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) ## More by Stevie Smith > [I only asked my friends to be friendly and polite, I found them indifferent and censorious; The one I left to silence, the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-only-asked-my-friends-to-be-friendly-and-polite-i-found-them/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still-the-dead-one-lay-moaning-i/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“Wild creatures' eyes, the colonel said, Are innocent and fathomless And when I look at them I see That they are not aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/wild-creatures-eyes-the-colonel-said-are-innocent-and-fathomless-and/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“Raise from your bed of languor Raise from your bed of dismay Your friends will not come tomorrow As they did not come today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/raise-from-your-bed-of-languor-raise-from-your-bed-of-dismay-your/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“There is a god in whom I do not believe Yet to this god my love stretches, This god whom I do not believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/there-is-a-god-in-whom-i-do-not-believe-yet-to-this-god-my-love/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [So I fancy my Muse says, when I wish to die, Oh no, Oh no, we are not yet friends enough, And Virtue also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/so-i-fancy-my-muse-says-when-i-wish-to-die-oh-no-oh-no-we-are-not-yet/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [If a lady comes up to you and tells you that your dear mama is lying in a faint on the pavement round the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/if-a-lady-comes-up-to-you-and-tells-you-that-your-dear-mama-is-lying/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [I like food, I like stripping vegetables of their skins, I like to have a slim young parsnip under my knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-like-food-i-like-stripping-vegetables-of-their-skins-i-like-to-have/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Death's not a separation or alteration or parting; it's just a one-handled door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/death-s-not-a-separation-or-alteration-or-parting-it-s-just-a-one/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [The flower and fruit of love are mine The ant, the fieldmouse and the mole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/the-flower-and-fruit-of-love-are-mine-the-ant-the-fieldmouse-and-the/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“Prate not to me of suicide, Faint heart in battle, not for pride I say Endure, but that such end denied Makes welcomer yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/prate-not-to-me-of-suicide-faint-heart-in-battle-not-for-pride-i-say/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [It is an amiable part of human nature, that we should love our animals; it is even better to love them to the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/it-is-an-amiable-part-of-human-nature-that-we-should-love-our-animals/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [My Muse sits forlorn She wishes she had not been born She sits in the cold No word she says is ever told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/my-muse-sits-forlorn-she-wishes-she-had-not-been-born-she-sits-in-the/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Fourteen-year-old, why must you giggle and dote, Fourteen-year-old, why are you such a goat? I'm fourteen years old, that is the reason, I giggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/fourteen-year-old-why-must-you-giggle-and-dote-fourteen-year-old-why/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [I'm sorry to say my dear wife is a dreamer, and as she dreams she gets paler and leaner. Then be off to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-m-sorry-to-say-my-dear-wife-is-a-dreamer-and-as-she-dreams-she-gets/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) [Explore all 79 Stevie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) ## More Despair quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Your spirit is the part of you that seeks meaning and purpose. It's the part drawn to hope, that will not give in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/your-spirit-is-the-part-of-you-that-seeks-meaning-and-purpose-it-s/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [The modernist writers found despair inspirational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-modernist-writers-found-despair-inspirational/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The skin and shell of things Though fair are not Thy wish nor prayer but got My meer despair of wings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-vaughan/the-skin-and-shell-of-things-though-fair-are-not-thy-wish-nor-prayer/) [Henry Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-vaughan/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Enough for this bow & arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/) [Louaiq8](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louaiq8/) > [True repentance never leads to despair. Its leads home. It leads to grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/true-repentance-never-leads-to-despair-its-leads-home-it-leads-to/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [Do not consider despair as a thick and high wall standing on your way; it is just a darkness and you can still walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/do-not-consider-despair-as-a-thick-and-high-wall-standing-on-your-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A speculative despair is unpardonable where it our duty to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-speculative-despair-is-unpardonable-where-it-our-duty-to-act/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I have noticed that there is no dissatisfaction like that of the rich. Feed a man, clothe him, put him in a good house,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-noticed-that-there-is-no-dissatisfaction-like-that-of-the-rich/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Browse all 3,181 Despair quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despair/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are moments of despair that come sometimes, when night sets in and a white fog presses against the windows. Then our house changes its shape, rears up and becomes a place of despair. Then fear and rage run simply--and the thought of Death as a friend. 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