--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She was surprised to be alive. Yet she…" description: "\"“She was surprised to be alive. Yet she felt indifferent. If death was the black emptiness from which she had just woken up, then death was nothing to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/stieg-larsson-4224_death_she-was-surprised-to-be-alive-yet-she-fe_979769.jpg" --- # She was surprised to be alive. Yet she felt indifferent… ![“She was surprised to be alive. Yet she felt indifferent. If death was the black emptiness from which she had just woken up, then death was nothing to worry about.” quote by Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/stieg-larsson-4224_death_she-was-surprised-to-be-alive-yet-she-fe_979769.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/stieg-larsson-4224_death_she-was-surprised-to-be-alive-yet-she-fe_979769.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/stieg-larsson-4224_death_she-was-surprised-to-be-alive-yet-she-fe_979769.jpg) > ““She was surprised to be alive. Yet she felt indifferent. If death was the black emptiness from which she had just woken up, then death was nothing to worry about.”” [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing death as an indifferent void can diminish fear, yet the surprise of being alive remains profound. **In simple terms:** Indifference to death reduces fear. Key Takeaway Accept mortality to appreciate life. Themes mortality existentialism indifference Mood contemplative somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - grief counseling - life coaching - creative writing - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does viewing death as void affect your living? - What does surprise at being alive reveal? A Different Perspective May overlook emotional complexity of loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) ## Related quotes > [There won't be emptiness. Emptiness is just another idea, another illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-won-t-be-emptiness-emptiness-is-just-another-idea-another/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I grew up in a family that felt indifferent towards the royal family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-o-connor/i-grew-up-in-a-family-that-felt-indifferent-towards-the-royal-family/) [Josh O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-o-connor/) > [“Work is a kind of vacuum, an emptiness, where I just switch off everything except the scant intelligence necessary to keep me going. God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/work-is-a-kind-of-vacuum-an-emptiness-where-i-just-switch-off/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [As her time in Florence drew to a close she was only at ease amongst those to whom she felt indifferent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-her-time-in-florence-drew-to-a-close-she-was-only-at-ease-amongst/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“From lips indifferent of her death I heard, Indifferently I listened to it, too,' were echoing in my heart. O youth, youth! little dost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/from-lips-indifferent-of-her-death-i-heard-indifferently-i-listened/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [Great is the rose Infected by the tomb, Yet burgeoning Indifferent to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/great-is-the-rose-infected-by-the-tomb-yet-burgeoning-indifferent-to/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [“We may be indifferent to the death penalty and not declare ourselves either way so long as we have not seen a guillotine with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/we-may-be-indifferent-to-the-death-penalty-and-not-declare-ourselves/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) aryadeva > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) ## More by Stieg Larsson > [“He's a moron," Blomkvist said. Vanger laughed, but he said: "That may be. But he's not the one who was sentenced by the court.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/he-s-a-moron-blomkvist-said-vanger-laughed-but-he-said-that-may-be/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“ What do you need me for? Salander's greatest fear, which was so huge and so black that it was of phobic proportions, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/what-do-you-need-me-for-salander-s-greatest-fear-which-was-so-huge/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“Mikael had rarely managed to surprise Berger. This time she was silent for nearly ten seconds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/mikael-had-rarely-managed-to-surprise-berger-this-time-she-was-silent/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“Salander in love. What a fucking joke.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/salander-in-love-what-a-fucking-joke/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“Men could be as big as a house and made of granite, but they all had balls in the same place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/men-could-be-as-big-as-a-house-and-made-of-granite-but-they-all-had/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“To rest. Not to wakeup. Forgive me, Mimmi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/to-rest-not-to-wakeup-forgive-me-mimmi/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“If you want to win, you're going to have to fight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/if-you-want-to-win-you-re-going-to-have-to-fight/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“That held for a few minutes, until the head of Budget pointed out that SA was not much better than SS.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/that-held-for-a-few-minutes-until-the-head-of-budget-pointed-out-that/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“La amistad se basa en dos cosas: el respeto y la confianza. Mikael Blomkvist”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/la-amistad-se-basa-en-dos-cosas-el-respeto-y-la-confianza-mikael/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“Don't get politics mixed up in this. It's all about money and it makes no difference if the Social Democrats or the moderates appoint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/don-t-get-politics-mixed-up-in-this-it-s-all-about-money-and-it-makes/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“Every other basic right, such as the Formation of Government and the Right to Freedom of Organization, are simply practical extensions of the Right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/every-other-basic-right-such-as-the-formation-of-government-and-the/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“This is how it goes. We are born. We live. We grow old. We die. He had played his part. All that remained was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/this-is-how-it-goes-we-are-born-we-live-we-grow-old-we-die-he-had/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“An introverted person obviously affected by her past. Lived alone, had no sex life, had difficulty getting close to people. Kept her distance, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/an-introverted-person-obviously-affected-by-her-past-lived-alone-had/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“Kalle Fucking Blomkvist”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/kalle-fucking-blomkvist/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [“I’m not arguing. I just think that it’s pathetic that creeps always have to have someone else to blame.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/i-m-not-arguing-i-just-think-that-it-s-pathetic-that-creeps-always/) [stieg larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) [Explore all 101 Stieg Larsson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She was surprised to be alive. Yet she felt indifferent. If death was the black emptiness from which she had just woken up, then death was nothing to worry about.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stieg Larsson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/she-was-surprised-to-be-alive-yet-she-felt-indifferent-if-death-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/she-was-surprised-to-be-alive-yet-she-felt-indifferent-if-death-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/stieg-larsson-4224_death_she-was-surprised-to-be-alive-yet-she-fe_979769.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/stieg-larsson-4224_death_she-was-surprised-to-be-alive-yet-she-fe_979769.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/stieg-larsson-4224_death_she-was-surprised-to-be-alive-yet-she-fe_979769.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She was surprised to be alive. Yet she felt indifferent. If death was the black emptiness from which she had…” — Stieg Larsson", "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": "Stieg Larsson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“She was surprised to be alive....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/she-was-surprised-to-be-alive-yet-she-felt-indifferent-if-death-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/she-was-surprised-to-be-alive-yet-she-felt-indifferent-if-death-was/#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 } } ] } ```