--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Who can know the heart of a man?" description: "\"“Who can know the heart of a man?”\" — Alice McDermott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/alice-mcdermott-1961_heart_who-can-know-the-heart-of-a-man-839432_839432.jpg" --- # Who can know the heart of a man? ![“Who can know the heart of a man?” quote by Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/alice-mcdermott-1961_heart_who-can-know-the-heart-of-a-man-839432_839432.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/alice-mcdermott-1961_heart_who-can-know-the-heart-of-a-man-839432_839432.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/alice-mcdermott-1961_heart_who-can-know-the-heart-of-a-man-839432_839432.jpg) > ““Who can know the heart of a man?”” [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding another’s inner life is impossible; we can only infer from outward signs. **In simple terms:** Heart of a man is unknowable. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty in judging others. Themes empathy uncertainty relationships Mood thoughtful empathetic Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - friendship - family dynamics - therapy sessions - conflict resolution Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What clues truly reveal inner motives? - How do we respect privacy while seeking understanding? A Different Perspective Assumptions can lead to misinterpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) ## Related quotes > [The heart of man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/the-heart-of-man-is-very-much-like-the-sea-it-has-its-storms-it-has/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/who-can-know-the-heart-of-youth-but-youth-itself/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Never be afraid of doing the thing you know in your heart is right, even if others don't agree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/never-be-afraid-of-doing-the-thing-you-know-in-your-heart-is-right/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [Whatever sin the heart of man is most prone to, that the devil will help forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/whatever-sin-the-heart-of-man-is-most-prone-to-that-the-devil-will/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [The heart of a man to the heart of a maid- Light of my tents, be fleet- Morning awaits at the end of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/the-heart-of-a-man-to-the-heart-of-a-maid-light-of-my-tents-be-fleet/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [A thing which fades With no outward sign- Is the flower Of the heart of man In this world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ono-no-komachi/a-thing-which-fades-with-no-outward-sign-is-the-flower-of-the-heart/) Ono no Komachi > [A boy plays with a girls heart. 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Rather, man doesnt want to know it in apprehension that what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/it-is-absolutely-wrong-that-man-cannot-know-the-mystries-of-womans/) Mak\_786 > [“Just be what you are and speak from your guts and heart—it’s all a man has. —Hubert Humphrey”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-carr/just-be-what-you-are-and-speak-from-your-guts-and-heart-it-s-all-a/) [Robyn Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-carr/) > [“The heart doesn't choose who to love or care for, it just loves and cares. Sometimes the people it does that for don't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ngaira/the-heart-doesn-t-choose-who-to-love-or-care-for-it-just-loves-and/) Naomi Ngaira ## More by Alice McDermott > [“Some vestige of his race or of his sex made him think, whenever he looked out across the ocean: As it was before me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/some-vestige-of-his-race-or-of-his-sex-made-him-think-whenever-he/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“If you want to see how far we have not come from the cave and the woods, from the lonely and dangerous days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/if-you-want-to-see-how-far-we-have-not-come-from-the-cave-and-the/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“John Keane pressed his chest to the steering wheel as he put the key in the ignition, taking a deep breath as he did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/john-keane-pressed-his-chest-to-the-steering-wheel-as-he-put-the-key/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“The fourth contraction seized her and suddenly she was perspiring. She heard herself cry out and then she heard the children’s voices like sparks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/the-fourth-contraction-seized-her-and-suddenly-she-was-perspiring-she/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“THE TINY SPIDERS that lived in the higher branches of the downed tree (which now meant the branches that lay on the other side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/the-tiny-spiders-that-lived-in-the-higher-branches-of-the-downed-tree/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [What makes a sentence, a phrase, a moment, or a scene delightful? Something about recognizing the truth in it, hearing the music in it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/what-makes-a-sentence-a-phrase-a-moment-or-a-scene-delightful/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Michael had slipped beyond the crest of the dune. 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The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [O tiger's heart wrapped in a woman's hide!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-tiger-s-heart-wrapped-in-a-woman-s-hide/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Love will fan the flame, and that flame will warm the heart that's waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-smith/love-will-fan-the-flame-and-that-flame-will-warm-the-heart-that-s/) [Michael W. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) > [Always have the fear of God in your heart, and remember that God is always with you, everywhere, whether you are walking or sitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennadius-of-constantinople/always-have-the-fear-of-god-in-your-heart-and-remember-that-god-is/) [Gennadius of Constantinople](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennadius-of-constantinople/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. Prize the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/set-not-your-hearts-on-the-flowers-of-this-world-they-shall-fade-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) [Browse all 45,172 Heart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Who can know the heart of a man?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice McDermott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/who-can-know-the-heart-of-a-man/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Heart" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/who-can-know-the-heart-of-a-man/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/alice-mcdermott-1961_heart_who-can-know-the-heart-of-a-man-839432_839432.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/alice-mcdermott-1961_heart_who-can-know-the-heart-of-a-man-839432_839432.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/alice-mcdermott-1961_heart_who-can-know-the-heart-of-a-man-839432_839432.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Who can know the heart of a man?” — Alice McDermott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alice McDermott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Who can know the heart of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/who-can-know-the-heart-of-a-man/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/who-can-know-the-heart-of-a-man/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```