--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would like to be everyone, a cripple, a…" description: "\"“I would like to be everyone, a cripple, a dying man, a whore, and then come back to write about my thoughts, my emotions, as that person. But I am not..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/sylvia-plath-149_death_i-would-like-to-be-everyone-a-cripple-a_75661.jpg" --- # I would like to be everyone, a cripple, a dying man, a… ![“I would like to be everyone, a cripple, a dying man, a whore, and then come back to write about my thoughts, my emotions, as that person. But I am not omniscient. I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have. And you cannot regard your own life with objective curiosity all the time.” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/sylvia-plath-149_death_i-would-like-to-be-everyone-a-cripple-a_75661.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/sylvia-plath-149_death_i-would-like-to-be-everyone-a-cripple-a_75661.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b59/sylvia-plath-149_death_i-would-like-to-be-everyone-a-cripple-a_75661.jpg) > ““I would like to be everyone, a cripple, a dying man, a whore, and then come back to write about my thoughts, my emotions, as that person. But I am not omniscient. I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have. And you cannot regard your own life with objective curiosity all the time.”” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges the desire to fully inhabit others' experiences, yet recognizes personal limits and the impossibility of true omniscience, urging authentic living over detached observation. **In simple terms:** Limits of empathy and the necessity of personal experience. Key Takeaway We cannot fully become others; live our own life. Themes identity empathy mortality authenticity subjectivity Mood reflective melancholic introspective Type philosophical literary personal When to use this quote - writing about diverse characters - philosophical introspection - creative empathy Key Concepts self-awareness human limitation Practical Applications - literary character development - personal growth counseling Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging our limits shape our relationships? - What does it mean to live authentically? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Emotions Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotions-person-979749/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Objective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-objective-979748/) [Live My Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-my-life/) [Person Omniscient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-omniscient-979747/) [Regard Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard-life-979750/) [Write Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-thoughts-278658/) ## Related quotes > [“I would like to be everyone, a cripple, a dying man, a whore, and then come back to write about my thoughts, my emotions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-would-like-to-be-everyone-a-cripple-a-dying-man-a-whore-and-then-2/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [You cannot regard your own life with objective curiosity all the time...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/you-cannot-regard-your-own-life-with-objective-curiosity-all-the-time/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I love people. Everybody. I love them, I think, as a stamp collector loves his collection. Every story, every incident, every bit of conversation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-people-everybody-i-love-them-i-think-as-a-stamp-collector/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [There is no use in one person attempting to tell another what the meaning of life is. It involves too intimate an awareness. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-progoff/there-is-no-use-in-one-person-attempting-to-tell-another-what-the/) [Ira Progoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-progoff/) > [You go ahead, stand still, or go backwards in life. Your objective should be to go ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/you-go-ahead-stand-still-or-go-backwards-in-life-your-objective/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Success or failure can only be measured in terms of a particular objective. The success of a person whose life objective is money or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-josephson/success-or-failure-can-only-be-measured-in-terms-of-a-particular/) [Michael Josephson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-josephson/) > [Life's objective is life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/life-s-objective-is-life-itself/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Regard your life as about choices, experiences and desire and that you are already liberated. Don’t be afraid of desire. It is why you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-bradford/regard-your-life-as-about-choices-experiences-and-desire-and-that-you/) [Hope Bradford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-bradford/) > [“Though when I turn to regard life -- my own or others'-- I now never fail to be struck, amid the onslaught of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/though-when-i-turn-to-regard-life-my-own-or-others-i-now-never-fail/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [Tzu Li went to see Tzu Lai who was dying. Leaning against the door, he said, 'Great is the Creator! What will he make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/tzu-li-went-to-see-tzu-lai-who-was-dying-leaning-against-the-door-he/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/what-i-may-see-or-hear-in-the-course-of-the-treatment-or-even-outside/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [“A life without an objective is much like a ship at sea with no port in mind. It drifts with the waves or storms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-life-without-an-objective-is-much-like-a-ship-at-sea-with-no-port/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anyone who has accustomed himself to regard the life of any living creature as worthless is in danger of arriving also at the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/anyone-who-has-accustomed-himself-to-regard-the-life-of-any-living/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [Hatred, revenge, bitterness - these are negative emotions. The person harbouring those emotions suffers more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmed-kathrada/hatred-revenge-bitterness-these-are-negative-emotions-the-person/) [Ahmed Kathrada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmed-kathrada/) > [A person with power has control of their emotions. A person with power can stop fear, stop depression, or they can augment a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-person-with-power-has-control-of-their-emotions-a-person-with-power/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. 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Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## 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. 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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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": "“I would like to be everyone, a cripple, a dying man, a whore, and then come back to write about my thoughts, my emotions, as that person. But I am not omniscient. I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have. 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