"The tragedy of it is that nobody sees the look of desperation on my face. Thousands and thousands of us, and we're passing one another without a look of recognition"
About this Quote
The intent is double-edged. On one side, it’s confession: desperation as a private condition that never translates into public meaning. On the other, it’s indictment: a mass society so habituated to passing bodies that it loses the ability - or the will - to read them. Miller frames the city (and modern life more broadly) as a machine for mutual non-recognition, where “thousands and thousands” becomes less a census than a moral alibi. If everyone is overwhelmed, no one is responsible.
What makes the sentence work is its quiet perversity: “nobody sees” implies the evidence is there, plain as day; the failure is not perceptual but ethical. The repetition and the rhythm of “passing one another” mimics the very motion he condemns, a loop of near-encounters that never become contact. He’s describing a social contract in reverse: instead of acknowledging each other’s humanity, we cooperate in not noticing, because noticing would demand response.
In Miller’s orbit - early 20th-century urban modernity, artistic alienation, the pressure of economic precarity - recognition isn’t romance; it’s survival. The line reads like a plea that’s already given up on being heard.
Quote Details
| Topic | Loneliness |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Miller, Henry. (2026, January 18). The tragedy of it is that nobody sees the look of desperation on my face. Thousands and thousands of us, and we're passing one another without a look of recognition. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-tragedy-of-it-is-that-nobody-sees-the-look-of-14156/
Chicago Style
Miller, Henry. "The tragedy of it is that nobody sees the look of desperation on my face. Thousands and thousands of us, and we're passing one another without a look of recognition." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-tragedy-of-it-is-that-nobody-sees-the-look-of-14156/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The tragedy of it is that nobody sees the look of desperation on my face. Thousands and thousands of us, and we're passing one another without a look of recognition." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-tragedy-of-it-is-that-nobody-sees-the-look-of-14156/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
