"The best thing about modern living is anaesthesia"
About this Quote
Anaesthesia is an intentionally loaded choice because it’s both clinical and metaphorical. Literally, it’s the miracle that lets bodies endure surgery; culturally, it’s the broader bargain we keep making with technology, entertainment, and convenience. We anesthetize pain, yes, but also awkwardness, uncertainty, boredom, grief - the messy sensations that force a person to change. The subtext is suspicious of “modern living” as a sales pitch. What we call progress often arrives as frictionless avoidance: the app that spares you a hard conversation, the algorithm that feeds you only what you already like, the wellness routine that manages symptoms while leaving the deeper ache intact.
Ryan’s delivery (and the kind of roles she’s associated with) matters here: she’s not playing a dour prophet. She’s voicing a self-aware, late-20th-century sensibility where irony stands in for vulnerability. The intent feels less like condemnation than confession - a recognition that the modern ideal is not a richer interior life, but the luxury of switching it off.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Ryan, Meg. (2026, January 14). The best thing about modern living is anaesthesia. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-best-thing-about-modern-living-is-anaesthesia-169215/
Chicago Style
Ryan, Meg. "The best thing about modern living is anaesthesia." FixQuotes. January 14, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-best-thing-about-modern-living-is-anaesthesia-169215/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The best thing about modern living is anaesthesia." FixQuotes, 14 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-best-thing-about-modern-living-is-anaesthesia-169215/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.








