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Business Quote by Vladimir Nabokov

“Of the not very many ways known of shedding one's body, falling, falling, falling is the supreme method, but you have to select your sill or ledge very carefully so as not to hurt yourself or others. Jumping from a high bridge is not recommended even if you cannot swim, for wind and water abound…” quote by Vladimir Nabokov
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““Of the not very many ways known of shedding one's body, falling, falling, falling is the supreme method, but you have to select your sill or ledge very carefully so as not to hurt yourself or others. Jumping from a high bridge is not recommended even if you cannot swim, for wind and water abound in weird contingencies, and tragedy ought not to culminate in a record dive or a policeman's promotion. If you rent a cell in the luminous waffle, room 1915 or 1959, in a tall business centre hotel browing the star dust, and pull up the window, and gently - not fall, not jump - but roll out as you should for air comfort, there is always the chance of knocking clean through into your own hell a pacific noctambulator walking his dog; in this respect a back room might be safer, especially if giving on the roof of an old tenacious normal house far below where a cat may be trusted to flash out of the way. Another popular take-off is a mountaintop with a sheer drop of say 500 meters but you must find it, because you will be surprised how easy it is to miscalculate your deflection offset, and have some hidden projection, some fool of a crag, rush forth to catch you, causing you to bounce off it into the brush, thwarted, mangled and unnecessarily alive. The ideal drop is from an aircraft, your muscles relaxed, your pilot puzzled, your packed parachute shuffled off, cast off, shrugged off - farewell, shootka (little chute)! Down you go, but all the while you feel suspended and buoyed as you somersault in slow motion like a somnolent tumbler pigeon, and sprawl supine on the eiderdown of the air, or lazily turn to embrace your pillow, enjoying every last instant of soft, deep, death-padded life, with the earth's green seesaw now above, now below, and the voluptuous crucifixion, as you stretch yourself in the growing rush, in the nearing swish, and then your loved body's obliteration in the Lap of the Lord.””

Vladimir Nabokov

About This Quote

Source Novel: Invitation to a Beheading, Vladimir Nabokov, 1936

The passage satates absurd, darkly comic methods of suicide, emphasizing the meticulous planning required to avoid harming others and the paradoxical allure of death.

In simple terms: Dark humor about suicide planning.

Key Takeaway

Consider the consequences before drastic actions.

Themes

death dark humor absurdity risk planning

Mood

grim satirical thought‑provoking

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

  • literary analysis
  • mental health discussions
  • risk assessment

Key Concepts

existential dread psychology morality

Questions to Reflect On

  • What drives people to romanticize self-destruction?
  • How can we address underlying despair responsibly?
A Different Perspective

Suicide is irreversible and affects many beyond the individual.

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