---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I still dwelled deep in my elected…"
description: "\"I still dwelled deep in my elected paradise--a paradise whose skies were the color of hell-flames--but still a paradise.\" — Vladimir Nabokov"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/vladimir-nabokov-198_color_i-still-dwelled-deep-in-my-elected-parad_960412.jpg"
---

#  I still dwelled deep in my elected paradise--a paradise…

![“I still dwelled deep in my elected paradise--a paradise whose skies were the color of hell-flames--but still a paradise.” quote by Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/vladimir-nabokov-198_color_i-still-dwelled-deep-in-my-elected-parad_960412.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/vladimir-nabokov-198_color_i-still-dwelled-deep-in-my-elected-parad_960412.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/vladimir-nabokov-198_color_i-still-dwelled-deep-in-my-elected-parad_960412.jpg)

> “I still dwelled deep in my elected paradise--a paradise whose skies were the color of hell-flames--but still a paradise.”

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Describes a paradoxical paradise that is both beautiful and hellish, reflecting complex emotional states.

**In simple terms:** A beautiful yet terrifying paradise.

Key Takeaway

Accept contradictions in cherished places.

Themes

contradiction beauty hell paradise

Mood

melancholic thoughtful

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- literary analysis
- emotional complexity

Key Concepts

existential reflection psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- What personal 'paradise' feels conflicted?
- How do you reconcile beauty with pain?

A Different Perspective

The metaphor may be too abstract for some readers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Color](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Paradise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradise/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/)

## Related quotes

> [“Despite our tiffs, despite her nastiness, despite all the fuss and faces she made, and the vulgarity, and the danger, and the horrible hopelessness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/despite-our-tiffs-despite-her-nastiness-despite-all-the-fuss-and/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [Santa Barbara is a paradise; Disneyland is a paradise; the U.S. is a paradise. Paradise is just paradise. Mournful, monotonous, and superficial though it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/santa-barbara-is-a-paradise-disneyland-is-a-paradise-the-u-s-is-a/)

[Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/)

> [“Paradise or no paradise, I have the very definite impression that the people of this vicinity are striving to live up to the grandeur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/paradise-or-no-paradise-i-have-the-very-definite-impression-that-the/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“The only true paradise is paradise lost”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-only-true-paradise-is-paradise-lost/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [The longing for paradise is paradise itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-longing-for-paradise-is-paradise-itself/)

[Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/)

> [Paradise? Paradise can go fuck itself. -Mark Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-descendants/paradise-paradise-can-go-fuck-itself-mark-mitchell/)

[The Descendants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-descendants/)

> [The fruit of the tree of knowledge always drives man from some paradise or other; and even the paradise of fools is not an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/the-fruit-of-the-tree-of-knowledge-always-drives-man-from-some/)

[William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/)

> [The only paradise is paradise lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-only-paradise-is-paradise-lost/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“The only true paradise is a paradise lost”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-only-true-paradise-is-a-paradise-lost/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [Life is paradise, and we are all in paradise, but we refuse to see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-paradise-and-we-are-all-in-paradise-but-we-refuse-to-see-it/)

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

> [The child in each of us Knows paradise. Paradise is home. Home as it was Or home as it should have been. Paradise is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-child-in-each-of-us-knows-paradise-paradise-is-home-home-as-it/)

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

> [Well, He had known what love was-a sharp pang, a fierce experience, in the midst of whose flames he was struggling! but, through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/well-he-had-known-what-love-was-a-sharp-pang-a-fierce-experience-in/)

[Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/)

> [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/)

[Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/)

> [Love will fan the flame, and that flame will warm the heart that's waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/love-will-fan-the-flame-and-that-flame-will-warm-the-heart-that-s/)

[Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/)

> [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/)

[John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/)

## More by Vladimir Nabokov

> [And the rest is rust and stardust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-the-rest-is-rust-and-stardust/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [There is no science without fancy and no art without fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/there-is-no-science-without-fancy-and-no-art-without-fact/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“My solemn exasperation was to her the silence of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/my-solemn-exasperation-was-to-her-the-silence-of-love/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [ “...under no circumstances would he \[Humbert Humbert\] have interfered with the innocence of a child, if there was the least risk of a row.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/under-no-circumstances-would-he-humbert-humbert-have-interfered-with/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“Ami azt illeti, Vannak kezdtek nagyon tetszeni a fák is, a csodák is meg az Adák is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/ami-azt-illeti-vannak-kezdtek-nagyon-tetszeni-a-f-k-is-a-csod-k-is/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [We live not only in a world of thoughts, but also in a world of things. Words without experience are meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/we-live-not-only-in-a-world-of-thoughts-but-also-in-a-world-of-things/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“As palavras sem a experiência não teriam qualquer significado.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/as-palavras-sem-a-experi-ncia-n-o-teriam-qualquer-significado/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“It isn’t possible. I cannot imagine it. Come on over here, you foolish little doe, and tell me on what day I shall die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/it-isn-t-possible-i-cannot-imagine-it-come-on-over-here-you-foolish/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“Precautions to be taken in the case Of freak reincarnation: what to do On suddenly discovering that you Are now a young and vulnerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/precautions-to-be-taken-in-the-case-of-freak-reincarnation-what-to-do/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [And this is the only immortality you and i may share, my Lolita.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-this-is-the-only-immortality-you-and-i-may-share-my-lolita/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“Be true to your Dick.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/be-true-to-your-dick/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“It is indeed a tricky name. It is often misspelt, because the eye tends to regard the "a" of the first syllable as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/it-is-indeed-a-tricky-name-it-is-often-misspelt-because-the-eye-tends/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“(T)here exist friendships which develop their own inner duration, their own eons of transparent time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/t-here-exist-friendships-which-develop-their-own-inner-duration-their/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [“She was all rose and honey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/she-was-all-rose-and-honey/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

[Explore all 883 Vladimir Nabokov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

## More Color quotes

> [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/)

[Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/)

> [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/)

[Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/)

> [The color of somebody's skin or the way he wears his hair or clothes has nothing to do with anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-color-of-somebody-s-skin-or-the-way-he-wears-his-hair-or-clothes/)

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

> ['Lovecraft Country' is reclaiming all these pulp genres for people of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-green/lovecraft-country-is-reclaiming-all-these-pulp-genres-for-people-of/)

[Misha Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-green/)

> [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/)

[Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/)

> [A well-fashioned day - with a beginning and an end, a purpose and a content, a color and a character, a feel and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/a-well-fashioned-day-with-a-beginning-and-an-end-a-purpose-and-a/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

> [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [If you're white and you're wrong, then you're wrong; if you're black and you're wrong, you're wrong. People are people. Black, blue, pink, green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/if-you-re-white-and-you-re-wrong-then-you-re-wrong-if-you-re-black/)

[Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/)

> [Today, at Harvard, any student with the currently fashionable color of skin is given rights denied to students of the currently unfashionable color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capp/today-at-harvard-any-student-with-the-currently-fashionable-color-of/)

[Al Capp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capp/)

> [Orange is my favorite color overall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-earnhardt-jr/orange-is-my-favorite-color-overall/)

[Dale Earnhardt Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-earnhardt-jr/)

> [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [We have to keep in practice like musicians. Besides, there are still potentialities to be realized in color film. To us, it's just like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-land/we-have-to-keep-in-practice-like-musicians-besides-there-are-still/)

[Edwin Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-land/)

> [Truth needs no color; beauty, no pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/truth-needs-no-color-beauty-no-pencil/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists; not that the child shall know colors, forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-exactly-in-the-repetition-of-the-exercises-that-the-education/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

[Browse all 5,594 Color quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/color/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I still dwelled deep in my elected paradise--a paradise whose skies were the color of hell-flames--but still a paradise.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Vladimir Nabokov"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/i-still-dwelled-deep-in-my-elected-paradise-a-paradise-whose-skies/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Color"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/i-still-dwelled-deep-in-my-elected-paradise-a-paradise-whose-skies/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/vladimir-nabokov-198_color_i-still-dwelled-deep-in-my-elected-parad_960412.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/vladimir-nabokov-198_color_i-still-dwelled-deep-in-my-elected-parad_960412.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/924/vladimir-nabokov-198_color_i-still-dwelled-deep-in-my-elected-parad_960412.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I still dwelled deep in my elected paradise--a paradise whose skies were the color of hell-flames--but still…” — Vladimir Nabokov",
                "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": "Vladimir Nabokov",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I still dwelled deep in my...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/i-still-dwelled-deep-in-my-elected-paradise-a-paradise-whose-skies/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/i-still-dwelled-deep-in-my-elected-paradise-a-paradise-whose-skies/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
