Nell: Nothing is funnier than unhappiness. Nagg: Oh? Nell: Yes, yes, it's the most comical thing in the world. And we laugh, we laugh, with a will, in the beginning. But it's always the same thing. Yes, it's like the funny story we have heard too often, we still find it funny, but we don't laugh any more.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Unhappiness is ironically the most humorous human condition, even though laughter fades with repetition.
- In plain terms
- Sadness is funny at first but becomes stale and painful over time.
- What can you take from it?
- Humor often masks pain that loses its edge with repetition.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When does humor stop helping?
- Why is pain often funny?
Another view
Not all suffering is suitable for comedic framing.
More from Samuel Beckett
Hamm: Ah, the old questions, the old answers, there's nothing like them!
Permalink to quote #2 Hamm: Look at the ocean! (Clov gets down, takes a few steps towards window left, goes back for ladder, carries it over and sets it down under window left, gets…
Permalink to quote #4 Hamm: Can there be misery (he yawns) loftier than mine?
Permalink to quote #1
Related quotes
I have Bright's disease and he has mine.
S. J. PerelmanS. J. Perelman quote #1 This is The Tonight Show. I can't tell you too much about it, other than the fact that this program is going to go on forever.
Steve AllenSteve Allen quote #1 And you realize you're an alcoholic when you repeat yourself. You realize you're an alcoholic when you repeat yourself. You realize you're an alcoholic...oh, d…
Robin WilliamsRobin Williams quote #1