Suffering and Hope Theme in Man’s Search for Meaning

While meaning can be found through love and work, Frankl focuses most strongly on how to find meaning through suffering. He describes in detail the many injustices he and his fellow inmates were made to endure in the Nazi concentration camps: from walking miles through the snow with bare feet, to being made to ride in train carts surrounded by their own excrement. Most men gave up in the face of this suffering, but those who were able to make their suffering seem meaningful were often able to endure their pain more successfully. For example, Frankl’s friends who did their best to stay alive in the hopes of seeing their loved ones again or who thought of their suffering as a test of faith lived longer than those who lost their ability to see the meaning in life.

While Frankl acknowledges that most people reading his book will never experience anything like the suffering found in concentration camps, he says that suffering is still universal. In fact, it is man’s ability to rise above his suffering that makes him human. But to Frankl, pain is like a gas: even a small amount of gas will expand to fill any room, no matter how large, just as any amount of pain and suffering—no matter the magnitude—“completely fills the human soul.” As a result, the experiences of a concentration camp survivor are not so different from that of a person with a more normal life, at least in that both will have to come to terms with suffering at some point. This suffering can be incredibly meaningful, but Frankl is careful to point out that suffering should not be sought out on purpose, as meaning can also be found through love and work. When one must suffer, however, the best way to survive is by holding on to hope and trying to make oneself worthy of one’s very experience of suffering.

Suffering and Hope ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Suffering and Hope appears in each chapter of Man’s Search for Meaning. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.

How often theme appears:

chapter length:

Chapter

Suffering and Hope Quotes in Man’s Search for Meaning

Below you will find the important quotes in Man’s Search for Meaning related to the theme of Suffering and Hope.

At that moment I became intensely conscious of the fact that no dream, no matter how horrible, could be as bad as the reality of the camp which surrounded us, and to which I was about to recall him.

Page Number and Citation: 29

Explanation and Analysis:

As in this case, Frankl is often driven to wider reflection by a particular experience he has in the concentration camp. Something Frankl sees or feels becomes, in the “intensely conscious” state he must maintain in order to survive the camp, a deeper truth about humanity. His process of thinking, it’s important to remember, is always shaped by the brutal reality in which he must live. Because this thinking process is true for all of us, whether or not we feel our daily existence is brutally difficult, Frankl’s book is interesting not only for its ideas but also for its Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus co

Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understand how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved.

Page Number and Citation: 37

Explanation and Analysis:

Frankl’s model for human happiness, what he calls the self-transcendence of human existence, consists ultimately in our ability to lose ourselves in something, or someone, else. Love, as Frankl maintains, is part of life’s super-meaning; it is, in other words, one of the things that justifies our existence against a backdrop of pain, guilt, and death. It may give us relief “only for a brief moment,” but according to Frankl even this brief moment of self-consciousness-destroying love can be enough to make up for years of pain. Like Freud’s earlier psychoanalytic model for the human mind, Frankl’s draws heavily on Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Vo

I sensed my spirit piercing through the enveloping gloom. I felt it transcend that hopeless, meaningless world, and from somewhere I heard a victorious “Yes” in answer to my question of the existence of an ultimate purpose.

Page Number and Citation: 40

Explanation and Analysis:

In his insistence on total commitment to something outside of oneself as the only way to transcend the pain and difficulty that accompany human existence, Frankl offers a precursor to Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s well-known concept of “flow,” the “state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter,” according to Csikszentmihalyi’s 1990 book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. According to both Frankl and Csikszentmihalyi, when we are fully immersed in an experience, whether of love or hope or meaningfulness, we are transcending ourselves and experiencing joy. Frankl explains this in more spiritual Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque i

To draw an analogy, a man’s suffering is similar to the behavior of gas. If a certain quantity of gas is pumped into an empty chamber, it will fill the chamber completely and evenly, no matter how big the chamber. Thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little. Therefore the “size” of human suffering is absolutely relative.

Page Number and Citation: 44

Explanation and Analysis:

Frankl uses one of the more obvious— but still jarring— analogies from Auschwitz and performs an interesting reversal, comparing the human soul to a gas chamber rather than to the suffering human entering the chamber. This analogy is meant to shock us to attention, so that we’ll work to understand what Frankl is saying. A gas, unlike a solid, evenly fills whatever open space it is introduced into. Frankl suggests that suffering works the same way, completely filling the soul. A great suffering would mean lots of suffering throughout the soul; a little suffering, though less intense, would still disperse Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. N

But there is also a purpose in life which is almost barren of both creation and enjoyment and which admits of but one possibility of high moral behavior: namely, in man’s attitude to his existence, an existence restricted by external forces.

Page Number and Citation: 67

Explanation and Analysis:

In this passage, Frankl begins to shape what he sees as the meaning of human suffering. Banned from both the “active life” of creative work and the “passive life” of enjoying other people’s creations, those like the Auschwitz inmates who are forced into an existence consisting almost entirely of suffering can still find meaning without access to either creation or enjoyment. The rest of the passage is a bit more confusing: what does Frankl mean when he says an existence of pure suffering “admits of but one possibility of high moral behavior: namely, in man’s attitude to his existence, an Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae volu

If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete.

Page Number and Citation: 67

Explanation and Analysis:

Frankl’s logotherapy is always as much philosophy as psychology, and here he makes a classic philosophical move: if there is to be meaning in life, there must be meaning in suffering, because suffering is always part of life. Now, in fact, this is not that well-crafted as a logical statement, because unless suffering and life are one and the same the “meaning in life” could reside elsewhere besides in its suffering. However, despite the loose logic of his philosophical statement, we get Frankl’s point: suffering is a necessary part of life, and if we want to find meaning in life Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui

Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it.

Page Number and Citation: 74

Explanation and Analysis:

This is a quotation from Ethics, the 17th-century Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza’s major work on the topic. In this 1677 treatise, Spinoza tries to transpose Euclid’s method— drawing a large number of conclusions from a set of axioms— from Euclidean mathematics to the potentially more touchy realm of human life and behavior. Frankl pulls this proposition from the fifth part of Spinoza’s treatise, fairly well-known at least among those who would originally have been interested in Frankl’s book, in order to clearly introduce a point: suffering is not meaningful in itself, but only becomes meaningful when we “form a clear Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium es

At that moment there was very little I knew of myself or of the world—I had but one sentence in mind—always the same: “I called to the Lord from my narrow prison and He answered me in the freedom of space.”
How long I knelt there and repeated this sentence memory can no longer recall. But I know that on that day, in that hour, my new life started. Step for step I progressed, until I again became a human being.

Page Number and Citation: 89

Explanation and Analysis:

Channeling Dostoevsky, the famous Russian author who said he found god in his most desperate moments while being held in prison, Frankl creates a mantra in order to survive, in a high-religious or even scriptural tone. God opens up the freedom of spiritual space for Frankl, whose body has been forced into this “narrow prison.” Interestingly, this narrow prison is not Auschwitz but Frankl’s post-liberation existence. Falling to his knees in the most traditional gesture of religious submission, Frankl realizes what he wants to be responsible for, the meaning of his life: helping other people out of the “narrow prison” Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores

The crowning experience for all, for the homecoming man, is the wonderful feeling that, after all he has suffered, there is nothing he need fear anymore—except his God.

Page Number and Citation: 93

Explanation and Analysis:

In this section of the book, Frankl addresses the ongoing difficulties of fellow concentration inmates who have been liberated and find themselves once again in the outside world. This return brought joys and disappointments, as Frankl explains, but no disappointment was as jarring as the realization that life outside the concentration camp could also bring suffering. The unfounded belief that they had experienced all suffering, and so would no longer need to fear anything besides God himself, led the concentration camp survivors to deep despair when they realized that it was incorrect. However, as Frankl maintains, suffering can be just Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur

For what then matters is to bear witness to the uniquely human potential at its best, which is to transform a personal tragedy into triumph, to turn one’s predicament into a human achievement. When we are no longer able to change a situation—just think of an incurable disease such as inoperable cancer—we are challenged to change ourselves.

Page Number and Citation: 112

Explanation and Analysis:

Frankl uses the term noö-dynamics to suggest that the healthy human soul must live in productive tension between past and present. The vast “human potential” his entire framework of logotherapy is built on lies in our ability to “transform a personal tragedy” (the past) into triumph (the present). We cannot control our predicaments, at least most of the time, but we always have the unique potential to turn them into achievements. Frankl explains that unchangeable situations, like being an inmate in a concentration camp or getting “inoperable cancer,” are the most powerful inspirations of meaningful change. But this is only Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam volupt

It is one of the basic tenants of logotherapy that man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life. That is why man is even ready to suffer, on the condition, to be sure, that his suffering has a meaning.

Page Number and Citation: 113

Explanation and Analysis:

Here again Frankl opposes his framework of logotherapy to other dominant strains of philosophy (hedonism is all about gaining pleasure, for example) and therapy (in some traditions, about avoiding pain). Frankl rejects the pleasure principle— Freud’s means of asserting that humans hurtle toward whatever is pleasurable and away from what is painful— and suggests that meaning is both more important and ultimately more enjoyable than either pleasure or pain. Much of Frankl’s book, understandably given its origin story, is about trying to see suffering as something besides needless pain. In this passage, Frankl says that people are willing to suffer Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaqu

Our generation is realistic, for we have come to know man as he really is. After all, man is that being who invented the gas chambers at Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lord’s Prayer or the Shema Yisrael on his lips.

Page Number and Citation: 134

Explanation and Analysis:

The tragic realism Frankl mentions throughout his book comes into clear view here: because members of Frankl’s generation have experienced some of the most pointed suffering life can offer and gone on, upon their release from the camps, to realize that outside life brings still more suffering, they are uniquely poised to make claims about the most extreme aspects of the human soul. This realistic view reveals that humans are both innately good and evil. The latter is expressed in their invention of the gas chambers of Auschwitz, the former in their refusal to bow down before those gas chambers Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omni

Suffering and Hope Theme Analysis

Suffering and Hope ThemeTracker

Suffering and Hope Quotes in Man’s Search for Meaning

Experiences in a Concentration Camp Quotes

Logotherapy: The Meaning of Suffering Quotes

Logotherapy: Psychiatry Rehumanized Quotes