---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why, he wondered, did people who had been…"
description: "\"Why, he wondered, did people who had been asleep always want to make out that they were extremely wide-awake?\" — Virginia Woolf"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/virginia-woolf-49_awake_why-he-wondered-did-people-who-had-been_2086024.jpg"
---

#  Why, he wondered, did people who had been asleep always…

![“Why, he wondered, did people who had been asleep always want to make out that they were extremely wide-awake?” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/virginia-woolf-49_awake_why-he-wondered-did-people-who-had-been_2086024.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/virginia-woolf-49_awake_why-he-wondered-did-people-who-had-been_2086024.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/virginia-woolf-49_awake_why-he-wondered-did-people-who-had-been_2086024.jpg)

> “Why, he wondered, did people who had been asleep always want to make out that they were extremely wide-awake?”

[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.

People often pretend to be fully alert after waking, masking lingering sleepiness.

**In simple terms:** Pretending to be awake hides true fatigue.

Key Takeaway

Acknowledge your actual state.

Themes

self-awareness authenticity sleep

Mood

reflective observational

Type

literary psychological

When to use this quote

- morning meetings
- creative work
- social gatherings

Key Concepts

psychology social behavior

Questions to Reflect On

- When do you feel most awake?
- How does pretending affect you?

A Different Perspective

Faking alertness can reduce productivity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Asleep Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asleep-want-1018493/) [Awake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awake/) [Make out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-out/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wide/) [Wide awake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wide-awake/) [Wondered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wondered/) [Wondered Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wondered-did-971725/)

## Related quotes

> [“I wondered. What did she think of our attempts to persuader ourselves that this was life and that we were really living it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/i-wondered-what-did-she-think-of-our-attempts-to-persuader-ourselves/)

[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

> [Missing you hurts so much, I dont know if I want to stay awake or fall asleep¦.if I want to escape my thoughts, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addy/missing-you-hurts-so-much-i-dont-know-if-i-want-to-stay-awake-or-fall/)

[Addy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addy/)

> [I don't know if you're asleep or up, but I want to be honest. I've been thinking of us. All the things we had.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-if-you-re-asleep-or-up-but-i-want-to-be-honest-i-ve-been/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [àà à à à à Sweet quote àà àI wanna sleep with you. Not sex or anything. Just sleep. I wanna rest my head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sweet-quote-i-wanna-sleep-with-you-not-sex-or-anything-just-sleep-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“All I do when we're apart is think about you, and all I do when we're together is panic. Because every second feels so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/all-i-do-when-we-re-apart-is-think-about-you-and-all-i-do-when-we-re-2/)

[Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/)

> [“I want you by my side not only for red carpet events, but for the nights when we're both exhausted from a long day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-andre/i-want-you-by-my-side-not-only-for-red-carpet-events-but-for-the/)

[Bella Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-andre/)

> [“He was quiet. He wanted everything she’d just said to be the last thing he heard. He wanted to fall asleep with ‘I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-was-quiet-he-wanted-everything-she-d-just-said-to-be-the-last/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'm tryna to hit the hotel with two girls that's wide awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waka-flocka-flame/i-m-tryna-to-hit-the-hotel-with-two-girls-that-s-wide-awake/)

[Waka Flocka Flame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waka-flocka-flame/)

> [I'm wide awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-walker/i-m-wide-awake/)

[Clay Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-walker/)

> [To wake in the night: be wide awake in an instant, with all your faculties on edge: to wake, and be under compulsion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-handel-richardson/to-wake-in-the-night-be-wide-awake-in-an-instant-with-all-your/)

[Henry Handel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-handel-richardson/)

> [“I am free. I am haunted. But if nothing else, I am wide awake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-sheehan/i-am-free-i-am-haunted-but-if-nothing-else-i-am-wide-awake/)

[Anna Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-sheehan/)

> [I don't sleep. All night long I'm wide awake, thinking, Secrets, secrets, secrets. There are secrets in my past no one needs to know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-anne-peters/i-don-t-sleep-all-night-long-i-m-wide-awake-thinking-secrets-secrets/)

[Julie Anne Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-anne-peters/)

> [“If a man found his dream wife, it was because he was wide awake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/if-a-man-found-his-dream-wife-it-was-because-he-was-wide-awake/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [Even if I’d been wide awake, I knew Dimitri would’ve taken my suitcase anyway. That’s how he was, a lost remnant of chivalry in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/even-if-i-d-been-wide-awake-i-knew-dimitri-would-ve-taken-my-suitcase/)

[Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/)

> [Wide awake to the presence of God, I realized I had been so focused on asking why a good God allowed bad things to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-feinberg/wide-awake-to-the-presence-of-god-i-realized-i-had-been-so-focused-on/)

[Margaret Feinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-feinberg/)

## 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. On one side all is correct, definite, orderly; the paths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/across-the-broad-continent-of-a-woman-s-life-falls-the-shadow-of-a/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“Other worshipful objects were content with worship; men, women, God, all let one kneel prostrate; but this form, were it only the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/other-worshipful-objects-were-content-with-worship-men-women-god-all/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? 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 Awake quotes

> [“I am awake. I know what you took. I am coming for you. Vengeance is mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-burks/i-am-awake-i-know-what-you-took-i-am-coming-for-you-vengeance-is-mine/)

[Robin Burks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-burks/)

> [Reagan was sitting up at Cath's desk when Cath woke up. "Are you awake?" "Have you been watching me sleep?" "Yes, Bella. Are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/reagan-was-sitting-up-at-cath-s-desk-when-cath-woke-up-are-you-awake/)

[Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/)

> [“Are you awake?” “Have you been watching me sleep?” “Yes, Bella. Are you awake?” “No.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/are-you-awake-have-you-been-watching-me-sleep-yes-bella-are-you-awake/)

[Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/)

> [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have finished your daily task, go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/have-courage-for-the-great-sorrows-of-life-and-patience-for-the-small/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [One of his students asked Buddha, "Are you the Messiah?" "No," answered Buddha. "Then are you a healer?" "No," Buddha replied. "Then are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/one-of-his-students-asked-buddha-are-you-the-messiah-no-answered/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [“I had a chat with May and I had a sweet talk with April but the lovely conversation that left me to ponder was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/i-had-a-chat-with-may-and-i-had-a-sweet-talk-with-april-but-the/)

[Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/)

> [Hopes are dreams of those who are awake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hopes-are-dreams-of-those-who-are-awake/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If your heart isn't yet illumined Be awake always, be a seeker of the heart, Be at war continually with your carnal soul. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/if-your-heart-isn-t-yet-illumined-be-awake-always-be-a-seeker-of-the/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [Wherever I went I felt like the last person awake in a room full of sleepers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/wherever-i-went-i-felt-like-the-last-person-awake-in-a-room-full-of/)

[Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/)

> [I'd just like to see athletes awake. And aware. There's so much going on and so much to know... We stay in our little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-teter/i-d-just-like-to-see-athletes-awake-and-aware-there-s-so-much-going/)

[Hannah Teter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-teter/)

> [As your awareness of the riches available to you in your everyday life grows, you are on the way to becoming the laughing Buddha.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/as-your-awareness-of-the-riches-available-to-you-in-your-everyday/)

[Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/)

> [“Think of it this way, Mara. We don’t have the power to make the sun rise, but we can choose to be awake when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-garlough-brown/think-of-it-this-way-mara-we-don-t-have-the-power-to-make-the-sun/)

[Sharon Garlough Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-garlough-brown/)

> [“The owl,” he was saying, “is one of the most curious creatures. A bird that stays awake when the rest of the world sleeps.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-rose/the-owl-he-was-saying-is-one-of-the-most-curious-creatures-a-bird/)

[M.J. Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-rose/)

> [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/)

[Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/)

> [Shall we keep men in a fool's paradise? Shall we lull them into soft slumbers from which they will awake in hell? Are we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/shall-we-keep-men-in-a-fool-s-paradise-shall-we-lull-them-into-soft/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

[Browse all 1,663 Awake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awake/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Why, he wondered, did people who had been asleep always want to make out that they were extremely wide-awake?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Virginia Woolf"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-he-wondered-did-people-who-had-been-asleep-always-want-to-make/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Awake"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-he-wondered-did-people-who-had-been-asleep-always-want-to-make/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/virginia-woolf-49_awake_why-he-wondered-did-people-who-had-been_2086024.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/virginia-woolf-49_awake_why-he-wondered-did-people-who-had-been_2086024.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/virginia-woolf-49_awake_why-he-wondered-did-people-who-had-been_2086024.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Why, he wondered, did people who had been asleep always want to make out that they were extremely wide-awake?” — 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": "Why, he wondered, did people who...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-he-wondered-did-people-who-had-been-asleep-always-want-to-make/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-he-wondered-did-people-who-had-been-asleep-always-want-to-make/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```