--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the reasons I always come back to…" description: "\"One of the reasons I always come back to representations of loneliness in plays, films, and literature is that they give us specific examples of the po..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/thomas-l-dumm-34424_example_one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to_1364441.jpg" --- # One of the reasons I always come back to representations… ![“One of the reasons I always come back to representations of loneliness in plays, films, and literature is that they give us specific examples of the powerful hold that it has on us, and yet, paradoxically, by representing what can't really be represented, so to speak, they give us ways of going…” quote by Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/thomas-l-dumm-34424_example_one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to_1364441.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/thomas-l-dumm-34424_example_one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to_1364441.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/thomas-l-dumm-34424_example_one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to_1364441.jpg) > “One of the reasons I always come back to representations of loneliness in plays, films, and literature is that they give us specific examples of the powerful hold that it has on us, and yet, paradoxically, by representing what can't really be represented, so to speak, they give us ways of going forward even as we fall apart.” [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Loneliness in stories shows its strong grip, yet by depicting the indescribable, it offers pathways forward despite personal breakdowns. **In simple terms:** Loneliness is powerful but can guide us. Key Takeaway Embrace artistic depictions to understand and heal loneliness. Themes loneliness art psychology resilience Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - theater - film - literature - personal crisis - therapy sessions Key Concepts Existentialism narrative therapy Questions to Reflect On - How can art inspire real change? - What limits does representation have? A Different Perspective Art may romanticize loneliness, overlooking practical coping. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Come Representations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-representations-4680604/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Fall apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall-apart/) [Falling apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-apart/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Loneliness Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness-plays-4680605/) [Paradoxically Representing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradoxically-representing-4680603/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) [Representations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representations-348771/) [Representations Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representations-loneliness-4680602/) [Representing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representing/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [The universe is an enormous direct product of representations of symmetry groups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/the-universe-is-an-enormous-direct-product-of-representations-of/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [Religious representations are collective representations which express collective realities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/religious-representations-are-collective-representations-which/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [“Representations that are made again on a later date are referred to as being "brought down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-fox/representations-that-are-made-again-on-a-later-date-are-referred-to/) [Charles M. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-fox/) > [I'm no mathematician, so I'm stuck with the graphic representations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-hopper/i-m-no-mathematician-so-i-m-stuck-with-the-graphic-representations/) [Hugh Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-hopper/) > [From the physical point of view, a man is nothing more than a system of cells, or from the mental point of view, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-durkheim/from-the-physical-point-of-view-a-man-is-nothing-more-than-a-system/) [Emile Durkheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-durkheim/) > [Experiences aren't pornographic; only images and representations - structures of the imagination - are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/experiences-aren-t-pornographic-only-images-and-representations/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [People learn who they are by the images of themselves, the representations that they seek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-lennix/people-learn-who-they-are-by-the-images-of-themselves-the/) [Harry Lennix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-lennix/) > [If you understand something in only one way, then you don't really understand it at all. The secret of what anything means to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/if-you-understand-something-in-only-one-way-then-you-don-t-really/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [“From \*the form of time and of the single dimension\* of the series of representations, on account of which the intellect, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/from-the-form-of-time-and-of-the-single-dimension-of-the-series-of/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [In A.I., the holy grail was how do you generate internal representations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hinton/in-a-i-the-holy-grail-was-how-do-you-generate-internal-representations/) [Geoffrey Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hinton/) > [“We tend to treat labels as real, rather than as representations of reality”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dewight-r-middleton/we-tend-to-treat-labels-as-real-rather-than-as-representations-of/) [Dewight R. Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dewight-r-middleton/) > [Performance's only life is in the present. Performance cannot be saved, recorded, documented, or otherwise participate in the circulation of representations of representations: once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-phelan/performance-s-only-life-is-in-the-present-performance-cannot-be-saved/) [Peggy Phelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-phelan/) > [All representations of a thing are inherently abstract.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/all-representations-of-a-thing-are-inherently-abstract/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Intellectual representations are the activity itself, dependent on a kind of consciousness that is skeptical, engaged, unremittingly devote to rational investigation and moral judgement;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-w-said/intellectual-representations-are-the-activity-itself-dependent-on-a/) [Edward W. Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-w-said/) > [“One of the primary purposes of representations is to allocate risk between the parties.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-m-fox/one-of-the-primary-purposes-of-representations-is-to-allocate-risk/) [Charles M. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-m-fox/) ## More by Thomas L. Dumm > [None of us is perfect, but the point of our writing is to try to become better, to learn something that we may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/none-of-us-is-perfect-but-the-point-of-our-writing-is-to-try-to/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [There are degrees of loneliness, ways in which the experience of loneliness deepens, becomes something like what we might call a way of life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/there-are-degrees-of-loneliness-ways-in-which-the-experience-of/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [Of course, each of us has to write our own book, live our own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/of-course-each-of-us-has-to-write-our-own-book-live-our-own-life/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [In one of my favorite anecdotes about Foucault, someone asks him why he writes books. He responds by saying something like "When I begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/in-one-of-my-favorite-anecdotes-about-foucault-someone-asks-him-why/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [Usually, we think that "good" loneliness is what we call "solitude," the choice of some alone-time. But I want to press on with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/usually-we-think-that-good-loneliness-is-what-we-call-solitude-the/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [ I worry that we don't currently have a democracy in the United States. Instead we have what \[political philosopher\] Sheldon Wolin has recently labeled… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/i-worry-that-we-don-t-currently-have-a-democracy-in-the-united-states/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [It is an admonition to myself when I am reading other people's books. Writing a book is very difficult to do, even a bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/it-is-an-admonition-to-myself-when-i-am-reading-other-people-s-books/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [As lovers of truth, we want to be close to it. Sometimes - evil thought, evil temptation - we want to be close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/as-lovers-of-truth-we-want-to-be-close-to-it-sometimes-evil-thought/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [I look back on some of my early reviews of others, and realize to my chagrin that I've been as guilty as anybody else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/i-look-back-on-some-of-my-early-reviews-of-others-and-realize-to-my/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [At some point just about all of us experience loneliness. In a sense, it is what it means to be a sentient animal, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/at-some-point-just-about-all-of-us-experience-loneliness-in-a-sense/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [We can never leave loneliness behind completely - it is part of what forms us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/we-can-never-leave-loneliness-behind-completely-it-is-part-of-what/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [I'm pretty sure my dog, Pip, gets lonely when there is no one to be with him. But we humans can end up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/i-m-pretty-sure-my-dog-pip-gets-lonely-when-there-is-no-one-to-be/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) > [Worldwide, the twentieth century has seen the rise of extraordinary concentrations of economic and political power - evoking the people as the source of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/worldwide-the-twentieth-century-has-seen-the-rise-of-extraordinary/) [Thomas L. Dumm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) [Explore all 14 Thomas L. Dumm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/) ## More Example quotes > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I think leading by example is important, as I know the next generation is watching us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-skolnik/i-think-leading-by-example-is-important-as-i-know-the-next-generation/) [Michael Skolnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-skolnik/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Men trust rather to their eyes than to their ears; the effect of precepts is therefore slow and tedious, whilst that of examples is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-trust-rather-to-their-eyes-than-to-their-ears-the-effect-of/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [You can have examples of reasons to hate people, but if you analyze those reasons it's like, Oh, I'm hating that person based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlyne-yi/you-can-have-examples-of-reasons-to-hate-people-but-if-you-analyze/) [Charlyne Yi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlyne-yi/) > [The protestant world is in great need of examples (like these) that will beckon us to the fullness of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-bickle/the-protestant-world-is-in-great-need-of-examples-like-these-that/) [Mike Bickle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-bickle/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I'm not the most vocal guy, but I try to lead by example every single day with how I work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-ingram/i-m-not-the-most-vocal-guy-but-i-try-to-lead-by-example-every-single/) [Brandon Ingram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-ingram/) > [But actually theory is very practical. Gravity is a theory, for example. It allows you to predict that if you step off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/but-actually-theory-is-very-practical-gravity-is-a-theory-for-example/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [I had the best example set by my parents for what a couple can - and, in my opinion, should - be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-young/i-had-the-best-example-set-by-my-parents-for-what-a-couple-can-and-in/) [Brett Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-young/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [America's freedom is the example to which the world expires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/america-s-freedom-is-the-example-to-which-the-world-expires/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) [Browse all 5,618 Example quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the reasons I always come back to representations of loneliness in plays, films, and literature is that they give us specific examples of the powerful hold that it has on us, and yet, paradoxically, by representing what can't really be represented, so to speak, they give us ways of going forward even as we fall apart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas L. Dumm" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to-representations-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Example" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to-representations-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/thomas-l-dumm-34424_example_one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to_1364441.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/thomas-l-dumm-34424_example_one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to_1364441.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/thomas-l-dumm-34424_example_one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to_1364441.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the reasons I always come back to representations of loneliness in plays, films, and literature is…” — Thomas L. Dumm", "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": "Thomas L. Dumm", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-dumm/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One of the reasons I always...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to-representations-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-dumm/one-of-the-reasons-i-always-come-back-to-representations-of/#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 } } ] } ```