--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had been violently confused by her…" description: "\"“He had been violently confused by her real presence in the opposite inaccessible corner. For months he had been possessed by the imagination of her. S..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/a-s-byatt-2-7553_confusion_he-had-been-violently-confused-by-her-re_62264.jpg" --- # He had been violently confused by her real presence in the… ![“He had been violently confused by her real presence in the opposite inaccessible corner. For months he had been possessed by the imagination of her. She had been distant and closed away, a princess in a tower, and his imagination’s work had been all to make her present, all of her, to his mind and…” quote by A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/a-s-byatt-2-7553_confusion_he-had-been-violently-confused-by-her-re_62264.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/a-s-byatt-2-7553_confusion_he-had-been-violently-confused-by-her-re_62264.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/536/a-s-byatt-2-7553_confusion_he-had-been-violently-confused-by-her-re_62264.jpg) > ““He had been violently confused by her real presence in the opposite inaccessible corner. For months he had been possessed by the imagination of her. She had been distant and closed away, a princess in a tower, and his imagination’s work had been all to make her present, all of her, to his mind and senses, the quickness of her and the mystery, the whiteness of her, which was part of her extreme magnetism, and the green look of those piercing or occluded eyes. Her presence had been unimaginable, or more strictly, only to be imagined. Yet here she was, and he was engaged in observing the ways in which she resembled, or differed from, the woman he dreamed, or reached for in sleep, or would fight for.”” [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator confronts the clash between an idealized, imagined lover and her tangible, imperfect reality, exposing how fantasy can dominate perception. **In simple terms:** Reality vs. imagined ideal Key Takeaway Fantasy can distort true connection Themes illusion desire perception reality magnetism Mood wistful introspective tension Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - meeting a long‑admired partner - realizing a lover is human - navigating expectations - confronting imagined vs. actual traits Key Concepts idealization cognitive dissonance subjective experience Practical Applications - creative writing analysis - psychology of attraction Questions to Reflect On - How does imagination shape our relationships? - What happens when the real person diverges from our fantasy? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Lust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lust/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) ## Related quotes > [“She could stand to think that life’s experiences, good and bad, died with the body, but she couldn’t bear to believe that the dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-ciment/she-could-stand-to-think-that-life-s-experiences-good-and-bad-died/) Jill Ciment > [“Hell was not a pit of fire and brimstone. Hell was waking up alone, the sheets wet with your tears and your seed, knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/hell-was-not-a-pit-of-fire-and-brimstone-hell-was-waking-up-alone-the/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [Hell was waking up alone, the sheets wet with your tears and your seed, knowing the woman you had dreamed of would never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/hell-was-waking-up-alone-the-sheets-wet-with-your-tears-and-your-seed/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [When you were a little girl, Madam…was this the woman you dreamed of becoming?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/when-you-were-a-little-girl-madam-was-this-the-woman-you-dreamed-of/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [There is, to be sure, sometimes only a small difference between being alert to possible danger and allowing oneself to become terrified to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/there-is-to-be-sure-sometimes-only-a-small-difference-between-being/) [Sherwin B. 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I always only thought of myself being in a play or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lawrence/i-never-imagined-myself-as-an-actor-who-would-be-in-films-i-always/) [Jennifer Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lawrence/) > [“We were feeling something they never had—a physical link into the world of the fictional—through the skeletal muscles of the arm to the joystick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-grossman/we-were-feeling-something-they-never-had-a-physical-link-into-the/) [Austin Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-grossman/) > [So basketball has always taken me places that I could have never imagined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaylen-brown/so-basketball-has-always-taken-me-places-that-i-could-have-never/) [Jaylen Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaylen-brown/) > [Live life the way you have imagined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-saquan-wren-iii/live-life-the-way-you-have-imagined/) [Mike Saquan Wren III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-saquan-wren-iii/) > [There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-are-powers-inside-of-you-which-if-you-could-discover-and-use/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [I remember the early 1980s, when I first got one of these fabulous film critic jobs. The downside was sitting through 'Splatteria III: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hunter/i-remember-the-early-1980s-when-i-first-got-one-of-these-fabulous/) [Stephen Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hunter/) > [“Books never cease to astonish me. When I was a child, I knew--in the incontestable way that children know things--that God was an author…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-cooley/books-never-cease-to-astonish-me-when-i-was-a-child-i-knew-in-the/) [Martha Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-cooley/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) Chaz Brenchley > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) ## More by A. S. Byatt > [There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in trying to imagine the unimaginable and failing, if you are a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/there-is-a-certain-aesthetic-pleasure-in-trying-to-imagine-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [Narration is as much a part of human nature as breath and the circulation of the blood… storytelling is intrinsic to biological time, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/narration-is-as-much-a-part-of-human-nature-as-breath-and-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [“Pedro of Portugal's rapt and bizarre declaration of love, in 1356, for the embalmed corpse of his murdered wife, Inez de Castro, who swayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/pedro-of-portugal-s-rapt-and-bizarre-declaration-of-love-in-1356-for/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I don't think it is an easy thing to write and expect to be commercial, even if you are from Venus and a hermaphrodite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-don-t-think-it-is-an-easy-thing-to-write-and-expect-to-be/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I am not sure how much good is done by moralising about fairy tales. This can be unsubtle - telling children that virtue will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-sure-how-much-good-is-done-by-moralising-about-fairy-tales/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I'd like to write the way Matisse paints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-d-like-to-write-the-way-matisse-paints/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [Louis de Bernires is in the direct line that runs through Dickens and Evelyn Waugh. . .he has only to look into his world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/louis-de-bernires-is-in-the-direct-line-that-runs-through-dickens-and/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I'm more interested in books than people, and I always expect everybody else to be, but they're not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-m-more-interested-in-books-than-people-and-i-always-expect/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I watch a lot of sport on television. I only watch certain sports, and I only watch them live - I don't think I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-watch-a-lot-of-sport-on-television-i-only-watch-certain-sports-and/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [“When the morning light came into the room it found them curled together in a nest of red and white sheets. It revealed also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/when-the-morning-light-came-into-the-room-it-found-them-curled/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I think there are a lot more important things than art in the world. But not to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-think-there-are-a-lot-more-important-things-than-art-in-the-world/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [For a long time, I felt instinctively irritated - sometimes repelled - by scientific friends' automatic use of the word 'mechanism' for automatic bodily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/for-a-long-time-i-felt-instinctively-irritated-sometimes-repelled-by/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I was no good at being a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-was-no-good-at-being-a-child/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I have never been able to read Agatha Christie - the pleasure is purely in the puzzle, and the reader is toyed with by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-have-never-been-able-to-read-agatha-christie-the-pleasure-is-purely/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) [Explore all 90 A. S. Byatt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) ## More Confusion quotes > [The fog of illusion, the fog of confusion is hanging all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/the-fog-of-illusion-the-fog-of-confusion-is-hanging-all-over-the-world/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I believe confusion is good. Worldwide market leaders gain when there is confusion in the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhash-chandra/i-believe-confusion-is-good-worldwide-market-leaders-gain-when-there/) [Subhash Chandra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhash-chandra/) > [Being actors we are dealing with the beauty and complexity of human confusion, no? And we are always trying to get answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-cruz/being-actors-we-are-dealing-with-the-beauty-and-complexity-of-human/) [Penelope Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-cruz/) > [“Wait, seriously, what's a piss pot?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-shand/wait-seriously-what-s-a-piss-pot/) [Pat Shand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-shand/) > [I think there's confusion around what the point of social networks is. A lot of different companies characterized as social networks have different goals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/i-think-there-s-confusion-around-what-the-point-of-social-networks-is/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [In history as it comes to be written, there is usually some Spirit of the Age which historians can define, but the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/in-history-as-it-comes-to-be-written-there-is-usually-some-spirit-of/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [Establish an atmosphere that energizes you. Some creative people flourish in confusion; others need to be free from interruption. Many prepare themselves for work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-leland/establish-an-atmosphere-that-energizes-you-some-creative-people/) [Nita Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-leland/) > [Love is doing what will enthrall the beloved with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall the beloved this way is the glory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/love-is-doing-what-will-enthrall-the-beloved-with-the-greatest-and/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Psychedelic drugs cause paranoia, confusion, and total loss of reality in politicians that have never taken them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/psychedelic-drugs-cause-paranoia-confusion-and-total-loss-of-reality/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [That feeling you get when you know you are forgetting something, but you don't know what.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-feeling-you-get-when-you-know-you-are-forgetting-something-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [But, when it comes to global warming, the public- at-large really doesn't know whom to believe anymore. And NASA has contributed to that confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cunningham/but-when-it-comes-to-global-warming-the-public-at-large-really-doesn/) [Walter Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cunningham/) > [You know your in LOVE,because,for once.. You know reality is better than your DREAMS..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-your-in-love-because-for-once-you-know-reality-is-better/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In these days of faith-cures, and hypnotism, and telepathy, and subliminalities – why, the simple old world grows very confusing. But rarely, very rarely novel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-de-la-mare/in-these-days-of-faith-cures-and-hypnotism-and-telepathy-and/) [Walter de la Mare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-de-la-mare/) > [“If you want nothing to do with god then why do you say his name all the time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-reimer/if-you-want-nothing-to-do-with-god-then-why-do-you-say-his-name-all/) Emily Reimer [Browse all 1,822 Confusion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He had been violently confused by her real presence in the opposite inaccessible corner. For months he had been possessed by the imagination of her. 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