--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only hope I have left for you hangs…" description: "\"“The only hope I have left for you hangs on a great doubt - the doubt whether we are, or are not, the masters of our own destinies. It may be that mort..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0af/wilkie-collins-2078_death_the-only-hope-i-have-left-for-you-hangs_3181201.png" --- # The only hope I have left for you hangs on a great doubt… ![“The only hope I have left for you hangs on a great doubt - the doubt whether we are, or are not, the masters of our own destinies. It may be that mortal free-will can conquer mortal fate; and that going, as we all do, inevitably to death, we go inevitably to nothing that is before death.” quote by Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0af/wilkie-collins-2078_death_the-only-hope-i-have-left-for-you-hangs_3181201.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0af/wilkie-collins-2078_death_the-only-hope-i-have-left-for-you-hangs_3181201.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0af/wilkie-collins-2078_death_the-only-hope-i-have-left-for-you-hangs_3181201.png) > ““The only hope I have left for you hangs on a great doubt - the doubt whether we are, or are not, the masters of our own destinies. It may be that mortal free-will can conquer mortal fate; and that going, as we all do, inevitably to death, we go inevitably to nothing that is before death.”” [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We are uncertain if we control our fate or are bound by destiny; free will may challenge fate but death remains inevitable. **In simple terms:** Uncertainty about control over destiny and inevitability of death. Key Takeaway Question your agency and accept mortality. Themes free will destiny mortality control uncertainty Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - personal decision-making - career planning - ethical debates - life coaching Key Concepts philosophy existentialism determinism Questions to Reflect On - Do you believe you shape your destiny? - How does acknowledging mortality affect your choices? A Different Perspective The quote assumes free will can affect fate, which may be contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ## Related quotes > [You are my queen. I’ve spent nine centuries seeking the mortal who would free this court, who would save my best friend’s son, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/you-are-my-queen-i-ve-spent-nine-centuries-seeking-the-mortal-who/) [Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/) > [“Man is mortal. This is his fate. Man pretends not to be mortal. That is his sin. Man is a creature of time and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvan-barnet/man-is-mortal-this-is-his-fate-man-pretends-not-to-be-mortal-that-is/) [Sylvan Barnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvan-barnet/) > [“Mortal fate is hard. You'd best get used to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/mortal-fate-is-hard-you-d-best-get-used-to-it/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“Great writing requires great doubt and great self-confidence. One without the other inspires mediocrity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-thurlow/great-writing-requires-great-doubt-and-great-self-confidence-one/) [Chloe Thurlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-thurlow/) > [Underlying great doubt there is great satori, where there is thorough questioning there will be thoroughgoing experience of awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakuin-ekaku/underlying-great-doubt-there-is-great-satori-where-there-is-thorough/) [Hakuin Ekaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakuin-ekaku/) > [The fact that laws were given to man, both affirmative and negative, supports the principle, that God's knowledge of future events does not change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/the-fact-that-laws-were-given-to-man-both-affirmative-and-negative/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Great doubt will eventually lead to great awakening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabia-basri/great-doubt-will-eventually-lead-to-great-awakening/) [Rabia Basri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabia-basri/) > [“When there is great doubt,” says a Zen aphorism that Kusan Sunim kept repeating, “then there is great awakening.” This is the key. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/when-there-is-great-doubt-says-a-zen-aphorism-that-kusan-sunim-kept/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [One must have great faith, great doubt, and great determination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/one-must-have-great-faith-great-doubt-and-great-determination/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [I wanna be great. I'm going to be great. There's no doubt about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-rose/i-wanna-be-great-i-m-going-to-be-great-there-s-no-doubt-about-it/) [Derrick Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-rose/) > [“It's true. I doubt. I doubt because I seek the truth. Doubt has served me well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-steffens/it-s-true-i-doubt-i-doubt-because-i-seek-the-truth-doubt-has-served/) Bradley Steffens > [“Instead of striving for certainty, we should be in constant search of doubt: doubt about our own beliefs, doubt about our own feelings, doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/instead-of-striving-for-certainty-we-should-be-in-constant-search-of/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [If youre going to doubt something, doubt your limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-ward/if-youre-going-to-doubt-something-doubt-your-limits/) [Don Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-ward/) > [A Jealous person doesn't doubt others- they doubt themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-fedor/a-jealous-person-doesn-t-doubt-others-they-doubt-themselves/) Christy Fedor > [“small monster in my brain that controls my doubt. The doubt itself is a stupid thing, without sense or feeling, blind and straining at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-zappia/small-monster-in-my-brain-that-controls-my-doubt-the-doubt-itself-is/) [Francesca Zappia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-zappia/) ## More by Wilkie Collins > [“There is nothing serious in mortality! Solomon in all his glory was Solomon with the elements of the contemptible lurking in every fold of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/there-is-nothing-serious-in-mortality-solomon-in-all-his-glory-was/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [“Let Lady Glyde's maid come in, Louis. Stop! Do her shoes creak?" I was obliged to ask the question. Creaking shoes invariably upset me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/let-lady-glyde-s-maid-come-in-louis-stop-do-her-shoes-creak-i-was/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [Let the music speak to us of tonight, in a happier language than our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/let-the-music-speak-to-us-of-tonight-in-a-happier-language-than-our/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [The woman who first gives life, light, and form to our shadowy conceptions of beauty, fills a void in our spiritual nature that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/the-woman-who-first-gives-life-light-and-form-to-our-shadowy/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [“The human heart is unsearchable. Who is to fathom it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/the-human-heart-is-unsearchable-who-is-to-fathom-it/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [“I smell your cigar. Delicious! Give me one directly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/i-smell-your-cigar-delicious-give-me-one-directly/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [“I dread the beginning of her new life more than words can tell, but I see some hope for her if she travels -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/i-dread-the-beginning-of-her-new-life-more-than-words-can-tell-but-i/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [“It is quite possible that I may be altogether wrong in this idea. My own impression, however, is, that I am right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/it-is-quite-possible-that-i-may-be-altogether-wrong-in-this-idea-my/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [I sadly want a reform in the construction of children. Nature's only idea seems to be to make them machines for the production of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/i-sadly-want-a-reform-in-the-construction-of-children-nature-s-only/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [Habits of literary composition are perfectly familiar to me. One of the rarest of all the intellectual accomplishments that a man can possess is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/habits-of-literary-composition-are-perfectly-familiar-to-me-one-of/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [“He has that quiet deference, that look of pleased, attentive interest, in listening to a woman, which, say what we may, we can none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/he-has-that-quiet-deference-that-look-of-pleased-attentive-interest/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [“The dress of Virtue, in our parts, was cotton print. I had silk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/the-dress-of-virtue-in-our-parts-was-cotton-print-i-had-silk/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [“It is not for you to say - you Englishmen, who have conquered your freedom so long ago, that you have conveniently forgotten what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/it-is-not-for-you-to-say-you-englishmen-who-have-conquered-your/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [“Tell him next, that crimes cause their own detection. There's another bit of copy-book morality for you, Fosco. Crimes cause their own detection. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/tell-him-next-that-crimes-cause-their-own-detection-there-s-another/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [“Shall I confess it, Mr. Hartright? I sadly want a reform in the construction of children. Nature's only idea seems to be to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/shall-i-confess-it-mr-hartright-i-sadly-want-a-reform-in-the/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) [Explore all 183 Wilkie Collins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [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/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The only hope I have left for you hangs on a great doubt - the doubt whether we are, or are not, the masters of our own destinies. It may be that mortal free-will can conquer mortal fate; and that going, as we all do, inevitably to death, we go inevitably to nothing that is before death.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wilkie Collins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/the-only-hope-i-have-left-for-you-hangs-on-a-great-doubt-the-doubt/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/the-only-hope-i-have-left-for-you-hangs-on-a-great-doubt-the-doubt/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0af/wilkie-collins-2078_death_the-only-hope-i-have-left-for-you-hangs_3181201.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0af/wilkie-collins-2078_death_the-only-hope-i-have-left-for-you-hangs_3181201.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0af/wilkie-collins-2078_death_the-only-hope-i-have-left-for-you-hangs_3181201.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only hope I have left for you hangs on a great doubt - the doubt whether we are, or are not, the masters…” — Wilkie Collins", "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": "Wilkie Collins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The only hope I have left...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/the-only-hope-i-have-left-for-you-hangs-on-a-great-doubt-the-doubt/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/the-only-hope-i-have-left-for-you-hangs-on-a-great-doubt-the-doubt/#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 } } ] } ```