--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tragedy occurs when a human soul awakes…" description: "\"Tragedy occurs when a human soul awakes and seeks, in suffering and pain, to free itself from crime, violence, infamy, even at the cost of life. The st..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5db/whittaker-chambers-13841_cost_tragedy-occurs-when-a-human-soul-awakes_3084477.png" --- # Tragedy occurs when a human soul awakes and seeks, in… ![“Tragedy occurs when a human soul awakes and seeks, in suffering and pain, to free itself from crime, violence, infamy, even at the cost of life. The struggle is the tragedy - not defeat or death.” quote by Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5db/whittaker-chambers-13841_cost_tragedy-occurs-when-a-human-soul-awakes_3084477.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5db/whittaker-chambers-13841_cost_tragedy-occurs-when-a-human-soul-awakes_3084477.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5db/whittaker-chambers-13841_cost_tragedy-occurs-when-a-human-soul-awakes_3084477.png) > “Tragedy occurs when a human soul awakes and seeks, in suffering and pain, to free itself from crime, violence, infamy, even at the cost of life. The struggle is the tragedy - not defeat or death.” [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that the true tragedy lies in the struggle for self‑freedom amid suffering, not in defeat itself. **In simple terms:** Struggle for freedom is tragic. Key Takeaway Recognize the cost of seeking freedom. Themes freedom struggle humanity Mood somber thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - political activism - personal sacrifice - social reform Key Concepts existentialism ethics self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - Is struggle always noble? - When does sacrifice become futile? A Different Perspective Freedom may lead to loss or harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-soul/) [Infamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infamy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Suffering and pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-and-pain/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [Crime, violence, infamy are not tragedy. Tragedy occurs when a human soul awakes and seeks, in suffering and pain, to free itself from crime,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/crime-violence-infamy-are-not-tragedy-tragedy-occurs-when-a-human/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [What is a defeat? It is just a good opportunity to make a new start, nothing else! Defeat is by no means a tragedy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/what-is-a-defeat-it-is-just-a-good-opportunity-to-make-a-new-start/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I think when tragedy occurs, it presents a choice. You can give in to the void, the emptiness that fills your heart, your lungs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-think-when-tragedy-occurs-it-presents-a-choice-you-can-give-in-to-2/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I just think what we ought to do is we ought to stop seizing one moments of tragedy. We ought to assure the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/i-just-think-what-we-ought-to-do-is-we-ought-to-stop-seizing-one/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [“A life lived in an academic environment protected from the real tragedy that occurs on the world stage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-taylor/a-life-lived-in-an-academic-environment-protected-from-the-real/) Brad Taylor > [I think when tragedy occurs, it presents a choice. You can give in to the void: the emptiness that fills your heart, your lungs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-think-when-tragedy-occurs-it-presents-a-choice-you-can-give-in-to/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [In this part of the world, due to our historical experiences with the Soviet Union and later with Russia, we are used to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-duda/in-this-part-of-the-world-due-to-our-historical-experiences-with-the/) [Andrzej Duda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-duda/) > [“Tragedy occurs whenever awareness exceeds power; and particularly where awareness of a major need exceeds the power to satisfy it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/tragedy-occurs-whenever-awareness-exceeds-power-and-particularly/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [Tragedy occurs when people don't want to give up their leisure, yet they want to be rich. Students don't want to study extra, yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/tragedy-occurs-when-people-don-t-want-to-give-up-their-leisure-yet/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [If there is any human tragedy, there is only one, and it occurs when we forget who we are and remain silent while a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/if-there-is-any-human-tragedy-there-is-only-one-and-it-occurs-when-we/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [Women, especially in rural India, have to undergo such suffering and pain. It is important for our cinema to address their pain, anger, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumi-pednekar/women-especially-in-rural-india-have-to-undergo-such-suffering-and/) [Bhumi Pednekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumi-pednekar/) > [“For all the suffering and pain I gave you, this was something I had to go through. I remember you telling me to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-v-songer/for-all-the-suffering-and-pain-i-gave-you-this-was-something-i-had-to/) [Austin V. Songer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-v-songer/) > [No man dares to condemn the Christian faith today, because the Christian faith has not been tried. Not until men get rid of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/no-man-dares-to-condemn-the-christian-faith-today-because-the/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [“But Christina never forgot that “when I was a child, I needed only one person to understand my suffering and pain.… One is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/but-christina-never-forgot-that-when-i-was-a-child-i-needed-only-one/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [That we may give our body and our blood over to suffering and pain, like Christ - not for Self, but to give harvests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-romero/that-we-may-give-our-body-and-our-blood-over-to-suffering-and-pain/) [Oscar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-romero/) ## More by Whittaker Chambers > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [In 1937, I began, like Lazarus, the impossible return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/in-1937-i-began-like-lazarus-the-impossible-return/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [On a scale personal enough to be felt by all, but big enough to be symbolic, the two irreconcilable faiths of our time -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/on-a-scale-personal-enough-to-be-felt-by-all-but-big-enough-to-be/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [When you understand what you see, you will no longer be children. You will know that life is pain, that each of us hangs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/when-you-understand-what-you-see-you-will-no-longer-be-children-you/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [ “It \[Communism\] is not new. It is, in fact, man's second oldest faith. Its promise was whispered in the first days of the Creation… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-communism-is-not-new-it-is-in-fact-man-s-second-oldest-faith-its/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [In the United States, the working class are Democrats. The middle class are Republicans. The upper class are Communists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/in-the-united-states-the-working-class-are-democrats-the-middle-class/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [A nation's life is about as long as its reverential memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/a-nation-s-life-is-about-as-long-as-its-reverential-memory/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [A man is not primarily a witness against something. That is only incidental to the fact that he is a witness for something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/a-man-is-not-primarily-a-witness-against-something-that-is-only/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [It is in fact no exaggeration to say that we live in terror that Senator McCarthy will one day make some irreparable blunder that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-in-fact-no-exaggeration-to-say-that-we-live-in-terror-that/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [The rub is that the pursuit of happiness, as an end in itself, tends automatically, and widely, to be replaced by the pursuit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/the-rub-is-that-the-pursuit-of-happiness-as-an-end-in-itself-tends/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [Every man is crucified upon the cross of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/every-man-is-crucified-upon-the-cross-of-himself/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [Freedom is a need of the soul, and nothing else. It is in striving toward God that the soul strives continually after a condition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/freedom-is-a-need-of-the-soul-and-nothing-else-it-is-in-striving/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [“be realized when, in 1937, I introduced him in New York City, to Colonel Boris Bykov. At St. Matthews Court, Collins lived alone. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/be-realized-when-in-1937-i-introduced-him-in-new-york-city-to-colonel/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [My children, as long as you live, the shadow of the Hiss Case will brush you. In every pair of eyes that rests on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/my-children-as-long-as-you-live-the-shadow-of-the-hiss-case-will/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [“The reality cuts across our minds like a wound whose edges crave to heal, but cannot. Thus, one of the great sins, perhaps the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/the-reality-cuts-across-our-minds-like-a-wound-whose-edges-crave-to/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) [Explore all 49 Whittaker Chambers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) ## More Cost quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [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/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [ \[Photography is \] likewise even French impressionists. So the Sculls bought pop. It was politics, and they moved with it. And I think that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-winogrand/photography-is-likewise-even-french-impressionists-so-the-sculls/) [Garry Winogrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-winogrand/) > [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) Robbin Crosby > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I believe that government is too large, costs too much, spends too much, and has too much regulatory power in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-walberg/i-believe-that-government-is-too-large-costs-too-much-spends-too-much/) [Tim Walberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-walberg/) > [One reason for the tremendous increase in health-care costs in the U.S. is managerial neglect of the "hotel services" by the people who dominate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-reason-for-the-tremendous-increase-in-health-care-costs-in-the-u/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [They brought on someone who cost more than our stadium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-rodgers/they-brought-on-someone-who-cost-more-than-our-stadium/) [Brendan Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-rodgers/) > [When the government pays, health care's lack of affordability becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. In health care, as in other things, government is the high-cost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-kling/when-the-government-pays-health-care-s-lack-of-affordability-becomes/) [Arnold Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-kling/) > [“In your goals to go the extra mile, prepare to pay an extra cost. Excellence is to be exceptional, surpassing, more competent and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/in-your-goals-to-go-the-extra-mile-prepare-to-pay-an-extra-cost/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The term 'cost shifting,' as I use it, refers to those items in a university's budget that used to be reimbursed by the federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-term-cost-shifting-as-i-use-it-refers-to-those-items-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Beauty's a doubtful good, a glass, a flower, Lost, faded, broken, dead within an hour; And beauty, blemish'd once, for ever's lost, In spite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/beauty-s-a-doubtful-good-a-glass-a-flower-lost-faded-broken-dead/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) Browse all 3,987 Cost quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Tragedy occurs when a human soul awakes and seeks, in suffering and pain, to free itself from crime, violence, infamy, even at the cost of life. The struggle is the tragedy - not defeat or death.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Whittaker Chambers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/tragedy-occurs-when-a-human-soul-awakes-and-seeks-in-suffering-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cost" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/tragedy-occurs-when-a-human-soul-awakes-and-seeks-in-suffering-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5db/whittaker-chambers-13841_cost_tragedy-occurs-when-a-human-soul-awakes_3084477.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5db/whittaker-chambers-13841_cost_tragedy-occurs-when-a-human-soul-awakes_3084477.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5db/whittaker-chambers-13841_cost_tragedy-occurs-when-a-human-soul-awakes_3084477.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tragedy occurs when a human soul awakes and seeks, in suffering and pain, to free itself from crime…” — Whittaker Chambers", "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": "Whittaker Chambers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Tragedy occurs when a human soul...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/tragedy-occurs-when-a-human-soul-awakes-and-seeks-in-suffering-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/tragedy-occurs-when-a-human-soul-awakes-and-seeks-in-suffering-and/#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 } } ] } ```