Deserted Quote by Virginia Woolf
““So he was deserted. The whole world was clamouring: Kill yourself, kill yourself, for our sakes. But why should he kill himself for their sakes? Food was pleasant, the sun was hot; and this killing oneself, how does one set about it, with a table knife, uglily, with floods of blood,--by sucking a gaspipe? He was too weak; he could scarcely raise his hand. Besides, now that he was quite alone, condemned, deserted, as those we are about to die are alone, there was a luxury in it, an isolation full of sublimity; a freedom which the attached can never know. Holmes had won of course, the brute with the red nostrils had won. But even Holmes himself could not touch this last relic straying on the edge of the world, this outcast, who gazed back at the inhabited regions, who lay, like a drowned sailor, on the shore of the world.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Waves by Virginia Woolf, 1931
A solitary individual confronts existential despair, finding a paradoxical dignity in isolation and the impossibility of suicide under societal pressure.
In simple terms: Isolation can feel noble when one is abandoned.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the value of life even in loneliness.
Themes
existentialism
isolation
despair
freedom
identity
Mood
melancholic
reflective
somber
Type
literary
philosophical
existential
When to use this quote
- mental health crisis
- war trauma
- prison confinement
- loneliness
- philosophical reflection
Key Concepts
nihilism
selfhood
human condition
Questions to Reflect On
- What does true freedom mean when you are alone?
- How can society better support those who feel abandoned?
A Different Perspective
Suicide may not solve suffering and can be hindered by physical weakness.
