--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should have known that the only reason…" description: "\"“We should have known that the only reason that Shostakovich’s nightmare restored us to ourselves was so we’d be compelled to drink the cup of anguish...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/william-t-vollmann-2100_anguish_we-should-have-known-that-the-only-reaso_443433.png" --- # We should have known that the only reason that… ![“We should have known that the only reason that Shostakovich’s nightmare restored us to ourselves was so we’d be compelled to drink the cup of anguish. It” quote by William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/william-t-vollmann-2100_anguish_we-should-have-known-that-the-only-reaso_443433.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/william-t-vollmann-2100_anguish_we-should-have-known-that-the-only-reaso_443433.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/william-t-vollmann-2100_anguish_we-should-have-known-that-the-only-reaso_443433.png) > ““We should have known that the only reason that Shostakovich’s nightmare restored us to ourselves was so we’d be compelled to drink the cup of anguish. It”” [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that confronting deep suffering forces us to confront our true selves, compelling us to accept painful reality. **In simple terms:** Facing pain reveals our true self. Key Takeaway Embrace hardship to know yourself. Themes self‑discovery pain acceptance Mood introspective somber Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - therapy - art criticism - personal growth - spiritual practice Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What anguish have you avoided? - How does confronting suffering change your self‑view? A Different Perspective Painful experiences may also numb or mislead self‑understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) [Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shostakovich/) ## Related quotes > [“That was how I learned that no is stronger than yes. (Shostakovich already knew that.) It takes two yesses for I to become we,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/that-was-how-i-learned-that-no-is-stronger-than-yes-shostakovich/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“Best listened to in a windowless room, better than best in an airless room—correctly speaking, a bunker sealed forever and enwrapped in tree-roots—the Eighth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/best-listened-to-in-a-windowless-room-better-than-best-in-an-airless/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Shostakovich's final pieces, his quartets, are scratching the surface of another world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/shostakovich-s-final-pieces-his-quartets-are-scratching-the-surface/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [“Young Shostakovich-Mitya-was nine, relatively old, when he began piano lessons. His first instructor was his mother, who, when she saw his rapid progress, took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-volkov/young-shostakovich-mitya-was-nine-relatively-old-when-he-began-piano/) Solomon Volkov > [The friendship of Shostakovich cast a brilliant light over my whole life and whose spiritual qualities captured my soul once and for all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galina-vishnevskaya/the-friendship-of-shostakovich-cast-a-brilliant-light-over-my-whole/) Galina Vishnevskaya > [Brancusi has his medium: Picasso, Faulkner, Shostakovich, theirs. Mine happens to be cloth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-james/brancusi-has-his-medium-picasso-faulkner-shostakovich-theirs-mine/) [Charles James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-james/) > [Shostakovich was one of the great symphonists of all time, and maybe the last great symphonist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andris-nelsons/shostakovich-was-one-of-the-great-symphonists-of-all-time-and-maybe/) [Andris Nelsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andris-nelsons/) > [Now I want to use money in a good way. I make foundations back home in Russia, I have sponsored vaccinations for more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/now-i-want-to-use-money-in-a-good-way-i-make-foundations-back-home-in/) [Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/) > [In 1948 the first severe crash occurred in my life when Stalin put out his decree on 'formalism.' There was a bulletin board in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/in-1948-the-first-severe-crash-occurred-in-my-life-when-stalin-put/) [Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/) > [Many consider that Shostakovich is the greatest 20th-century composer. In his 15 symphonies, 15 quartets, and in other works he demonstrated mastery of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-shostakovich/many-consider-that-shostakovich-is-the-greatest-20th-century-composer/) [Dmitri Shostakovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-shostakovich/) > [I love Gustavo Dudamel and I love what he does for classical music, and I love what he comes out of, El Sistema and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/i-love-gustavo-dudamel-and-i-love-what-he-does-for-classical-music/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [I planted some jokes in my wedding. Like, the organizers asked me to select music. So when I approached wife at the ceremony, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-planted-some-jokes-in-my-wedding-like-the-organizers-asked-me-to/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [“But Dmitri Shostakovich and Boris Pasternak and Naguib Mahfouz were also right; never leave the homeland. Leave and your connections to the source will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-mitam/but-dmitri-shostakovich-and-boris-pasternak-and-naguib-mahfouz-were/) Hisham Mitam > [“Outside Soviet Russia, and following the last symphonies of Mahler, Nielsen and Sibelius, an element of obsolescence has unmistakably attached itself to the genre.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-fairclough/outside-soviet-russia-and-following-the-last-symphonies-of-mahler/) Pauline Fairclough > [When I was 20, Shostakovich was my favorite composer. I still find his Fifth Symphony wonderful, with its outstanding themes and rhythms. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/when-i-was-20-shostakovich-was-my-favorite-composer-i-still-find-his/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) ## More by William T. Vollmann > [Some friends and I, we went right up there behind the studio and we got on a train, we could tell it was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/some-friends-and-i-we-went-right-up-there-behind-the-studio-and-we/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [I read and write for most of the day, but I do let myself be interrupted by real life. I enjoy going out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-read-and-write-for-most-of-the-day-but-i-do-let-myself-be/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“A treble clef, for example, resembles a Muscovite or Leningrader in a bulky hooded parka. A bass clef bends as simply and painfully as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/a-treble-clef-for-example-resembles-a-muscovite-or-leningrader-in-a/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Oh, ants, my sisters, good old honeydew-seekers! From close up you are sticky and shiny and gristly; and your nymphs have parasitic red mites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/oh-ants-my-sisters-good-old-honeydew-seekers-from-close-up-you-are/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [It will be fun to give some to prostitutes,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/it-will-be-fun-to-give-some-to-prostitutes/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [If I didn't feel that I was doing something or trying to do something for others, then I would have very little excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/if-i-didn-t-feel-that-i-was-doing-something-or-trying-to-do-something/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Just for the hell of it, try to love someone as unlike you as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/just-for-the-hell-of-it-try-to-love-someone-as-unlike-you-as-possible/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“The shortest man, codenamed RIMSKY, said to me that freedom means understanding our place within the laws of history; we are more free when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/the-shortest-man-codenamed-rimsky-said-to-me-that-freedom-means/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“Do you want to know what happiness is? Happiness is the absence of unpleasant information.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/do-you-want-to-know-what-happiness-is-happiness-is-the-absence-of/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [My father hates organized religion, probably because he hates the God who killed his little girl back in 1968. I find religions variously bemusing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/my-father-hates-organized-religion-probably-because-he-hates-the-god/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [There's an Inuit myth about the origin of the human race. There were two brothers, and the younger brother eventually gets changed into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/there-s-an-inuit-myth-about-the-origin-of-the-human-race-there-were/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Don't write for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/don-t-write-for-money/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [I first got really interested in Noh in about 1977. There was an independent bookstore in Bloomington, Indiana where I was going to high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-first-got-really-interested-in-noh-in-about-1977-there-was-an/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“More aid, better directed! Couldn't we all use that? And what if the universe enacts less aid, more poorly directed?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/more-aid-better-directed-couldn-t-we-all-use-that-and-what-if-the/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“whatever fate sends us quickly becomes us, and we grow blind to what we might otherwise have been. And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/whatever-fate-sends-us-quickly-becomes-us-and-we-grow-blind-to-what/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) [Explore all 186 William T. Vollmann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) ## More Anguish quotes > [“He put his forehead against hers. “Alannah, my heart is yours.” He said softly. “And yet, I must hand it over to someone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-morin/he-put-his-forehead-against-hers-alannah-my-heart-is-yours-he-said/) [B.C. Morin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-morin/) > [Knowledge gives a wider choice and more anguish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-florman/knowledge-gives-a-wider-choice-and-more-anguish/) [Samuel Florman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-florman/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Memory, with its fugitive adjustments, is the merciful veil to the grim enactments of the first law. It hides the anguish in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-aumonier/memory-with-its-fugitive-adjustments-is-the-merciful-veil-to-the-grim/) [Stacy Aumonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-aumonier/) > [Our religion is itself profoundly sad - a religion of universal anguish, and one which, because of its very catholicity, grants full liberty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/our-religion-is-itself-profoundly-sad-a-religion-of-universal-anguish/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/being-human-we-would-expel-from-our-lives-physical-pain-and-mental/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [The intellectuals' chief cause of anguish are one another's works. Jacques Barzun, 1959 all ignorance toboggans into know and trudges up to ignorance again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/the-intellectuals-chief-cause-of-anguish-are-one-another-s-works/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [I saw my parents as gods whose every wish must be obeyed or I would suffer the penalty of anguish and guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-wood/i-saw-my-parents-as-gods-whose-every-wish-must-be-obeyed-or-i-would/) [Natalie Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-wood/) > [Every last cast is actually a first cast. The first cast and first chance to catch the next fish. The next time you anguish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/every-last-cast-is-actually-a-first-cast-the-first-cast-and-first/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Journalism is an extraordinary and terrible privilege. Not by chance, if you are aware of it, does it consume you with a hundred feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/journalism-is-an-extraordinary-and-terrible-privilege-not-by-chance/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/i-have-discovered-in-my-long-life-that-there-are-many-words-and/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [I have designed my style pantomimes as white ink drawings on black backgrounds, so that man's destiny appears as a thread lost in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-marceau/i-have-designed-my-style-pantomimes-as-white-ink-drawings-on-black/) [Marcel Marceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-marceau/) > [So silently, peacefully, without hurry, without any tension, without any anguish, move into yourself instantly. It is urgent. Unless meditation becomes urgent to you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/so-silently-peacefully-without-hurry-without-any-tension-without-any/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [It breaks my heart to think about a family weeping over the loss of a loved one. I understand the anguish that some feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-p-bush/it-breaks-my-heart-to-think-about-a-family-weeping-over-the-loss-of-a/) [George P. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-p-bush/) [Browse all 570 Anguish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We should have known that the only reason that Shostakovich’s nightmare restored us to ourselves was so we’d be compelled to drink the cup of anguish. It”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William T. 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