--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Heaven knows what pains the author has…" description: "\"Heaven knows what pains the author has been at, what bitter experience he has endured and what heartache suffered, to give some chance reader a few hou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/w-somerset-maugham-237_bitter_heaven-knows-what-pains-the-author-has-b_3225120.jpg" --- # Heaven knows what pains the author has been at, what… ![“Heaven knows what pains the author has been at, what bitter experience he has endured and what heartache suffered, to give some chance reader a few hours' relaxation or to while away the tedium of a journey.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/w-somerset-maugham-237_bitter_heaven-knows-what-pains-the-author-has-b_3225120.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/w-somerset-maugham-237_bitter_heaven-knows-what-pains-the-author-has-b_3225120.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/w-somerset-maugham-237_bitter_heaven-knows-what-pains-the-author-has-b_3225120.jpg) > “Heaven knows what pains the author has been at, what bitter experience he has endured and what heartache suffered, to give some chance reader a few hours' relaxation or to while away the tedium of a journey.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author endures personal suffering to create brief relief for readers, offering escape from life's monotony. **In simple terms:** Authors suffer to give readers a short escape. Key Takeaway Create works that give others brief relief. Themes sacrifice art relief Mood reflective empathetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - reading - stress relief - travel - leisure Key Concepts empathy creative purpose Questions to Reflect On - How can a short escape become meaningful? - What responsibilities do creators have to their audience? A Different Perspective The relief may be fleeting and not address deeper issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) [Bitter experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter-experience/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Experience Endured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-endured-6078147/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Heartache](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartache/) [Heartache Suffered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartache-suffered-6078145/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Knows Pains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows-pains-6078148/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Pains Author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pains-author-6078146/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Relaxation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relaxation/) [Tedium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tedium/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Do we behave out of fear of punishment, or out of the demands of our heart? For me, it is the latter, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-we-behave-out-of-fear-of-punishment-or-out-of-the-demands-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have learnt through bitter experience the one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy, even so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-learnt-through-bitter-experience-the-one-supreme-lesson-to/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [ “\[T\]hrough bitter experience I have learned that it is best to promise little and then to reward hard work with generosity.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/t-hrough-bitter-experience-i-have-learned-that-it-is-best-to-promise/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [Bitter experience has taught us how fundamental our values are and how great the mission they represent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-peter-balkenende/bitter-experience-has-taught-us-how-fundamental-our-values-are-and/) [Jan Peter Balkenende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-peter-balkenende/) > [“But she did not say it, she kept rigidly silent. Ostrakova had already sworn to herself that she would restrain both her quick temper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/but-she-did-not-say-it-she-kept-rigidly-silent-ostrakova-had-already/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [Through bitter experience I have learned that it is best to promise little and then to reward hard work with generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/through-bitter-experience-i-have-learned-that-it-is-best-to-promise/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [A woman is not a whole woman without the experience of marriage. In the case of a bad marriage, you win if you lose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-hurst/a-woman-is-not-a-whole-woman-without-the-experience-of-marriage-in/) [Fannie Hurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-hurst/) > [Can advertising foist an inferior product on the consumer? Bitter experience has taught me that it cannot. 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Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. 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It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Bitter quotes > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Troy was a sweet, good man. We just were never destined to be married. We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/) [Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [One may have been a fool, but there's no foolishness like being bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/one-may-have-been-a-fool-but-there-s-no-foolishness-like-being-bitter/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“I doubt taking in a sullen, bitter, teenage girl with more issues than National Geographic is at the center of the vision board for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-doubt-taking-in-a-sullen-bitter-teenage-girl-with-more-issues-than/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-too-bitter-already-without-territories-and-wars-and-noble/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With every interview you feel like you lose a piece of yourself, and with every bad review you become just that little bit more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-march/with-every-interview-you-feel-like-you-lose-a-piece-of-yourself-and/) [Jane March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-march/) > [“Without the bitter, the sweet ain’t as sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-the-bitter-the-sweet-ain-t-as-sweet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I refuse to be one of those artists who, 10 years from now, they're bitter about the rise and the fall of their career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-refuse-to-be-one-of-those-artists-who-10-years-from-now-they-re/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [“In these days in which we live, when existence has become a thing of infinite complexity and fate, if it slips us a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/in-these-days-in-which-we-live-when-existence-has-become-a-thing-of/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/if-a-sudden-jar-can-cause-me-to-speak-an-impatient-unloving-word-then/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) [Browse all 1,923 Bitter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Heaven knows what pains the author has been at, what bitter experience he has endured and what heartache suffered, to give some chance reader a few hours' relaxation or to while away the tedium of a journey.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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