--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Disastrous would have been the result if…" description: "\"Disastrous would have been the result if a fire or a death had suddenly demanded something heroic of human nature, but tragedies come in the hungry hou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/virginia-woolf-49_death_disastrous-would-have-been-the-result-if_1886285.jpg" --- # Disastrous would have been the result if a fire or a death… ![“Disastrous would have been the result if a fire or a death had suddenly demanded something heroic of human nature, but tragedies come in the hungry hours.” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/virginia-woolf-49_death_disastrous-would-have-been-the-result-if_1886285.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/virginia-woolf-49_death_disastrous-would-have-been-the-result-if_1886285.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/virginia-woolf-49_death_disastrous-would-have-been-the-result-if_1886285.jpg) > “Disastrous would have been the result if a fire or a death had suddenly demanded something heroic of human nature, but tragedies come in the hungry hours.” [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If a disaster demanded heroism, it would be disastrous; tragedies often arise unexpectedly, demanding human resilience. **In simple terms:** Unexpected tragedies demand resilience and heroism. Key Takeaway Prepare for unexpected challenges with resilience. Themes tragedy heroism human nature resilience Mood somber thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - emergency planning - mental health support - community building - creative coping - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts psychology philosophy literature Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to sudden crises? - What resources help you stay resilient? A Different Perspective Heroic expectations can be unrealistic and stressful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Demanded Heroic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demanded-heroic-2697187/) [Disastrous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disastrous/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Heroic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heroic/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Hungry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hungry/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Nature Tragedies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-tragedies-2697188/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Tragedies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedies/) [Tragedies Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedies-come-2697186/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) ## Related quotes > [Tragedies come in the hungry hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/tragedies-come-in-the-hungry-hours/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Nature is a hanging judge," goes an old saying. Many tragedies come from our physical and cognitive makeup. Our bodies are extraordinarily improbable arrangements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/nature-is-a-hanging-judge-goes-an-old-saying-many-tragedies-come-from/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Whatever may be their use in civilized societies, mirrors are essential to all violent and heroic action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/whatever-may-be-their-use-in-civilized-societies-mirrors-are/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [If woman had no existence save in the fiction written by men, one would imagine her a person of utmost importance; very various; heroic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/if-woman-had-no-existence-save-in-the-fiction-written-by-men-one/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [My preoccupation has been from the very beginning that I believe that the "Brexit" referendum result is the most disastrous peacetime result that we've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-heseltine/my-preoccupation-has-been-from-the-very-beginning-that-i-believe-that/) [Michael Heseltine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-heseltine/) > [Adrian's face was the picture of perfect politeness and restraint, meaning something disastrous was about to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/adrian-s-face-was-the-picture-of-perfect-politeness-and-restraint/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Nevertheless, the realization that breaking a pencil point would have far less disastrous consequences played little or no role, I believe, in this decision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolph-a-marcus/nevertheless-the-realization-that-breaking-a-pencil-point-would-have/) [Rudolph A. Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolph-a-marcus/) > [A very difficult year is ahead of us. We must continue our efforts with decisiveness, to stay in the euro, to make sure we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-papademos/a-very-difficult-year-is-ahead-of-us-we-must-continue-our-efforts/) [Lucas Papademos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-papademos/) > [“There's something about Easton that makes me want when I shouldn't, need when I needn't, and desire when I know it'll be disastrous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/there-s-something-about-easton-that-makes-me-want-when-i-shouldn-t/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [Most poets' revisions are disastrous. They buckle and dent what was originally forged at a red-hot heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-longley/most-poets-revisions-are-disastrous-they-buckle-and-dent-what-was/) [Michael Longley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-longley/) > [The Citizens United decision has been disastrous for the American people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kim/the-citizens-united-decision-has-been-disastrous-for-the-american/) [Andy Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kim/) > [Until higher institutions have been evolved, any attempt to break the old ones will be disastrous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/until-higher-institutions-have-been-evolved-any-attempt-to-break-the/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“My stomach sank. I was in trouble. Big, disastrous, Maddox trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/my-stomach-sank-i-was-in-trouble-big-disastrous-maddox-trouble/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [“It will take centuries to disconnect people from an addiction like religion; no matter how bad and disastrous it could be, but addiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/it-will-take-centuries-to-disconnect-people-from-an-addiction-like/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [I never wanted System to take a hiatus. I think it was a disastrous move for us, because we never reached our peak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dolmayan/i-never-wanted-system-to-take-a-hiatus-i-think-it-was-a-disastrous/) [John Dolmayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dolmayan/) ## More by Virginia Woolf > [Fatigue is the safest sleeping draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fatigue-is-the-safest-sleeping-draught/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The train slows and lengthens, as we approach London, the centre, and my heart draws out too, in fear, in exaltation. I am about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-train-slows-and-lengthens-as-we-approach-london-the-centre-and-my/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. 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Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Sometimes he woke with a brain like lead; at others it was as if a thousand wax tapers were alight and people were throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/sometimes-he-woke-with-a-brain-like-lead-at-others-it-was-as-if-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [A veil of insanity everywhere: Oh why I was born in this age? It is a terrible age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-veil-of-insanity-everywhere-oh-why-i-was-born-in-this-age-it-is-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Love ought to stop on both sides, don’t you think, simultaneously?’ He spoke without any stress on the words, so as not to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/love-ought-to-stop-on-both-sides-don-t-you-think-simultaneously-he/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“It is so vast an alleviation to be able to point for another to look at. And then not to talk. To follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-is-so-vast-an-alleviation-to-be-able-to-point-for-another-to-look/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here & read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“what a luxury to be alone once more,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-luxury-to-be-alone-once-more/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“...a woman writing thinks back through her mothers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-woman-writing-thinks-back-through-her-mothers/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“For one's children so often gave one's own perceptions a little thrust forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-one-s-children-so-often-gave-one-s-own-perceptions-a-little/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) [Explore all 1,872 Virginia Woolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## 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](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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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": "Disastrous would have been the result if a fire or a death had suddenly demanded something heroic of human nature, but tragedies come in the hungry hours.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Virginia Woolf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/disastrous-would-have-been-the-result-if-a-fire-or-a-death-had/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/disastrous-would-have-been-the-result-if-a-fire-or-a-death-had/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/virginia-woolf-49_death_disastrous-would-have-been-the-result-if_1886285.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/virginia-woolf-49_death_disastrous-would-have-been-the-result-if_1886285.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/virginia-woolf-49_death_disastrous-would-have-been-the-result-if_1886285.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Disastrous would have been the result if a fire or a death had suddenly demanded something heroic of human…” — Virginia Woolf", "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": "Virginia Woolf", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Disastrous would have been the result...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/disastrous-would-have-been-the-result-if-a-fire-or-a-death-had/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/disastrous-would-have-been-the-result-if-a-fire-or-a-death-had/#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 } } ] } ```