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Daily life Quote by Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë

“It is a poor conclusion, is it not?’ he observed, having brooded awhile on the scene he had just witnessed: ‘an absurd termination to my violent exertions? I get levers and mattocks to demolish the two houses, and train myself to be capable of working like Hercules, and when everything is ready…” quote by Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë
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““It is a poor conclusion, is it not?’ he observed, having brooded awhile on the scene he had just witnessed: ‘an absurd termination to my violent exertions? I get levers and mattocks to demolish the two houses, and train myself to be capable of working like Hercules, and when everything is ready and in my power, I find the will to lift a slate off either roof has vanished! My old enemies have not beaten me; now would be the precise time to revenge myself on their representatives: I could do it; and none could hinder me. But where is the use? I don’t care for striking: I can’t take the trouble to raise my hand! That sounds as if I had been labouring the whole time only to exhibit a fine trait of magnanimity. It is far from being the case: I have lost the faculty of enjoying their destruction, and I am too idle to destroy for nothing.'Nelly, there is a strange change approaching; I'm in its shadow at present. I take so little interest in my daily life that I hardly remember to eat and drink. Those two who have left the room are the only objects which retain a distinct material appearance to me; and that appearance causes me pain, amounting to agony. About HER I won't speak; and I don't desire to think; but I earnestly wish she were invisible: her presence invokes only maddening sensations. HE moves me differently: and yet if I could do it without seeming insane, I'd never see him again! You'll perhaps think me rather inclined to become so,' he added, making an effort to smile, 'if I try to describe the thousand forms of past associations and ideas he awakens or embodies. But you'll not talk of what I tell you; and my mind is so eternally secluded in itself, it is tempting at last to turn it out to another.””

Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë

About This Quote

Source Novel: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, 1847

The speaker reflects on lost purpose, fatigue, and emotional numbness after relentless effort, questioning the value of his actions.

In simple terms: He feels exhausted and detached from his previous drive.

Key Takeaway

Recognize when effort becomes empty.

Themes

despair existential fatigue

Mood

melancholic introspective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

  • personal crisis
  • creative burnout
  • relationship turmoil
  • moral conflict

Key Concepts

nihilism psychological exhaustion

Questions to Reflect On

  • What drives you to continue despite emptiness?
  • Can you find meaning beyond the task?
A Different Perspective

The narrative may dramatize inner turmoil beyond realistic experience.

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