Did it ever strike you on such a morning as this that drowning would be happiness and peace?
Interpretation
The quote reflects a complex idea where drowning, often associated with despair, is paradoxically presented as a form of happiness and peace.
In this quote, Charles Dickens invites the reader to contemplate the deep emotional states one might experience on a serene morning. He contrasts the chaotic feelings of life with the idea that surrendering to water could bring a sense of tranquility and relief from suffering, suggesting that sometimes, people seek an escape from their struggles in unexpected ways.
In practice
In a discussion about mental health, one could use this quote to illustrate the desire for peace amidst turmoil.
I recollected one story there was in the village, how that on a certain night in the year (it might be that very night for anything I knew), all the dead people came out of the ground and sat at the heads of their own graves till morning.
A silent look of affection and regard when all other eyes are turned coldly away-the consciousness that we possess the sympathy and affection of one being when all others have deserted us-is a hold, a stay, a comfort, in the deepest affliction, which no wealth could purchase, or power bestow.
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
There are not a few among the disciples of charity who require, in their vocation, scarcely less excitement than the votaries of pleasure in theirs.
You might, from your appearance, be the wife of Lucifer,” said Miss Pross, in her breathing. “Nevertheless, you shall not get the better of me. I am an Englishwoman.
Christmas is a poor excuse every 25th of December to pick a man's pockets.
Inside each of us is a monster; inside each of us is a saint. The real question is which one we nurture the most, which one will smite the other.
It's a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one's safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract.
Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.
Public opinion, in its raw state, gushes out in the immemorial form of the mob's fear. It is piped into central factories, and there it is flavoured and colored and put into cans.
When you become completely loving and kind without fear and without thought of harming others, you graudate from the Earth school. That is when reincarnation ends.
If I were asked to define the Hindu creed, I should simply say: search after Truth through non-violent means. Hinduism is a relentless pursuit after truth.
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