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Quote by Raymond Carver

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Short Cuts: Selected Stories

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Raymond Carver
Raymond Carver

Raymond Carver was an influential American short story writer, born on May 25, 1938, and died on August 2, 1988. Known for his concise and straightforward style, his works have won the hearts of readers worldwide. more

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“Mach dir keine Sorgen. Du hast zuviel und zuwenig gesehen, wie alle Menschen vor dir. Du hast zuviel geweint, vielleicht auch zuwenig, wie alle Menschen vor dir. Vielleicht hast du zuviel geliebt, und gehaßt - aber nu wenige Jahre - zwanzig oder so. Was sind schon zwanzig Jahre? Dann war ein Teil von dir tot, genau wie bei allen Menschen, die nicht mehr lieben oder hassen können. Du hast viele Schmerzen ertragen, ungern wie alle Menschen vor dir. Dein Körper war dir sehr bald lästig. Du hast ihn nie geliebt. Das war schlecht für dich - oder auch gut, denn an einem ungeliebten Körper hängt die Seele nicht sehr. Und was ist die Seele? Wahrscheinlich hast du nie eine gehabt, nur Verstand, und der war nicht gedenkend der Gefühle. Oder war da manchmal noch etwas anderes? Für Augenblicke? Beim Anblick von Glockenblumen oder Katzenaugen und des Kummers um einen Menschen, oder gewisser Steine, Bäume und Statuen; der Schwalben über der großen Stadt Rom. Mach dir keine Sorgen. Auch wenn du mir einer Seele behaftet wärest, sie wünscht nichts als tiefen, traumlosen Schlaf. Der ungeliebte Körper wird nicht mehr schmerzen. Blut, Fleisch, Knochen und Haut, alles wird ein Häufchen Asche sein, und auch das Gehirn wird endlich aufhören zu denken. Dafür sei Gott bedankt, den es nicht gibt. Mach dir keineSorgen - alles wird vergebens gewesen sein - wie bei allen Menschen vor dir. Eine völlig normale Geschichte.”

HumanityDying
Author:Marlen Haushofer
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“A week passed, and Jean Valjean had not taken a step in his room. He still remained in bed. The portress said to her husband:–"The good man upstairs yonder does not get up, he no longer eats, he will not last long. That man has his sorrows, that he has. You won't get it out of my head that his daughter has made a bad marriage." The porter replied, with the tone of marital sovereignty: "If he's rich, let him have a doctor. If he is not rich, let him go without. If he has no doctor he will die." "And if he has one?" "He will die," said the porter.”

DeathDyingDoomMortal
Book:Les Misérables
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“How fun it would be to bounce on the back of Lidewij Vliegenthart’s bike down the brick streets, her curly red hair blowing into my face, the smell of the canals and cigarette smoke, all the people sitting outside the cafés drinking beer, saying their r’s and g’s in a way I’d never learn. I missed the future. Obviously I knew even before his recurrence that I’d never grow old with Augustus Waters. But thinking about Lidewij and her boyfriend, I felt robbed. I would probably never again see the ocean from thirty thousand feet above, so far up that you can’t make out the waves or any boats, so that the ocean is a great and endless monolith. I could imagine it. I could remember it. But I couldn’t see it again, and it occurred to me that the voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true, because there is always the thought that everything might be done better and again.”

Dying
Book:The Fault in Our Stars
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“There's actually a sort of comfort in the belief that things can only get worse. It gives one an appreciation for the here-and-now, knowing that each and every moment may be as good as its ever going to get. Anyways, I can't imagine living too happy a life - so much to lose. It only figures that the more miserable your life is, the easier it is to lose it. And, when you can lose it at any moment, any time un-enjoyed must be time well spent. (attrib: F.L. Vanderson)”

LifeDeathDyingDepressionMiseryPessimism
Book:Citations: A Brief Anthology
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“...nothing more excruciating when you are fighting for your life than to have healthy people round you, squabbling over futilities. Who do you love best, and who most do you want with you? Blithering idiots: it's life itself, can't you see? It's life I love best, and life I want with me. Go hang yourselves, all of you, you're only sapping my strength when most I need it. Leave me in peace and let me grapple.”

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Book:Sabine
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