--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: …I know that if I were mad, after several…" description: "\"“…I know that if I were mad, after several days of confinement I should take advantage of any lapses in my madness to murder anyone, preferably a docto..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/andr-breton-2478_surrealism_i-know-that-if-i-were-mad-after-several_2120319.jpg" --- # …I know that if I were mad, after several days of… ![“…I know that if I were mad, after several days of confinement I should take advantage of any lapses in my madness to murder anyone, preferably a doctor, who came near me. At least this would permit me, like the violent, to be confined in solitary. Perhaps they’d leave me alone.” quote by André Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/andr-breton-2478_surrealism_i-know-that-if-i-were-mad-after-several_2120319.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/andr-breton-2478_surrealism_i-know-that-if-i-were-mad-after-several_2120319.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28c/andr-breton-2478_surrealism_i-know-that-if-i-were-mad-after-several_2120319.jpg) > ““…I know that if I were mad, after several days of confinement I should take advantage of any lapses in my madness to murder anyone, preferably a doctor, who came near me. At least this would permit me, like the violent, to be confined in solitary. Perhaps they’d leave me alone.”” [André Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In confinement, the narrator contemplates using madness as a pretext for violence, reflecting desperation and loss of control. **In simple terms:** Desperation can drive extreme thoughts. Key Takeaway Seek help before despair leads to harm. Themes madness desperation violence solitary confinement Mood dark introspective Type psychological literary When to use this quote - mental health crisis - prison reform - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology existential dread literary surrealism Questions to Reflect On - How can one find agency in extreme confinement? - What alternatives exist to violent impulses? A Different Perspective Violent fantasies are not solutions and may worsen isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confined Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confined-solitary-4321469/) [Days Confinement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days-confinement-3373279/) [Madness Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness-murder-2143264/) [Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary/) [Surrealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrealism/) [Violent Confined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent-confined-4321470/) ## Related quotes > [What will be left of the power of example if it is proved that capital punishment has another power, and a very real one,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/what-will-be-left-of-the-power-of-example-if-it-is-proved-that/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“take whatever is coming.” He turned and left the room, wondering if Jack had a chance to tell his victim the punishment was up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-guess/take-whatever-is-coming-he-turned-and-left-the-room-wondering-if-jack/) [Joshua Guess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-guess/) > [“The act of love and the act of poetry Are not compatible With the reading aloud of a newspaper”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-act-of-love-and-the-act-of-poetry-are-not-compatible-with-the/) [André Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“This is the most beautiful night of all, the lightning filled night: day, compared to it, is night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/this-is-the-most-beautiful-night-of-all-the-lightning-filled-night/) [André Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“The double eyelid of the sun rises and falls on life. 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The flowers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hendrik-cramer/the-plants-in-the-garden-the-aloes-the-almond-tree-the-rose-tree-and/) [Hendrik Cramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hendrik-cramer/) > [“André Breton (who fled Nazi dominated Europe)told poets of this Caribbean country: 'Surrealism is allied with peoples of colour, first because it has sided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-craven/andr-breton-who-fled-nazi-dominated-europe-told-poets-of-this/) [David Craven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-craven/) > [“The ultimate aim of reality is to become science fiction!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-of-kittim/the-ultimate-aim-of-reality-is-to-become-science-fiction/) [Eli Of Kittim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-of-kittim/) ## More by André Breton > [Of all the arts in which the wise excel, nature's chief masterpiece is writing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/of-all-the-arts-in-which-the-wise-excel-nature-s-chief-masterpiece-is/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Under his (Marc Chagall, ed.) sole impulse metaphor made its triumphal entry into modern painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/under-his-marc-chagall-ed-sole-impulse-metaphor-made-its-triumphal/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Psychic automatism in its pure state, by which one proposes to express -- verbally, by means of the written word, or in any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/psychic-automatism-in-its-pure-state-by-which-one-proposes-to-express/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [The art of Frida Kahlo is a ribbon around a bomb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/the-art-of-frida-kahlo-is-a-ribbon-around-a-bomb/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“Let us not mince words: The marvelous is always beautiful, anything marvelous is beauitful, in fact only the marvelous is beautiful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/let-us-not-mince-words-the-marvelous-is-always-beautiful-anything/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“There has never been any forbidden fruit. 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Like this (she closes her eyes): Two, two what?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/a-game-say-something-close-your-eyes-and-say-something-anything-a/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [...with the end of my breath, which is the beginning of yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/with-the-end-of-my-breath-which-is-the-beginning-of-yours/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Past and future monopolize the poet’s sensory and intellectual faculties, detached from the immediate spectacle. These two philtres become utterly clear the moment one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/past-and-future-monopolize-the-poet-s-sensory-and-intellectual/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [If I place love above everything, it is because for me it is the most desperate, the most despairing state of affairs imaginable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/if-i-place-love-above-everything-it-is-because-for-me-it-is-the-most/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [I am the soul in limbo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/i-am-the-soul-in-limbo/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [Surrealism will usher you into death, which is a secret society. It will glove your hand, burying therein the profound M with which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/surrealism-will-usher-you-into-death-which-is-a-secret-society-it/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) [Explore all 141 André Breton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) ## More Solitary quotes > [A Light exists in Spring Not present on the Year At any other period - When March is scarcely here A Color stands abroad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/a-light-exists-in-spring-not-present-on-the-year-at-any-other-period/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [I saw above a sea of hills A solitary planet shine, And there was no one, near or far, to keep the world from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-teasdale/i-saw-above-a-sea-of-hills-a-solitary-planet-shine-and-there-was-no/) [Sara Teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-teasdale/) > [Something in our nature cries out to be loved by another. Isolation is devastating to the human psyche. That is why solitary confinement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/something-in-our-nature-cries-out-to-be-loved-by-another-isolation-is/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [Photography is solitary and there are lags between seeing with your eyes and seeing through the lens, and then seeing the image on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-marclay/photography-is-solitary-and-there-are-lags-between-seeing-with-your/) [Christian Marclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-marclay/) > [When I'm away from basketball, I'm the biggest kid. I do a good job of keeping myself sane. But on the other hand, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-duncan/when-i-m-away-from-basketball-i-m-the-biggest-kid-i-do-a-good-job-of/) [Tim Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-duncan/) > [The point I wish plainly to bring before you on this occasion is the individuality of each human soul--our Protestant idea, the right of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-point-i-wish-plainly-to-bring-before-you-on-this-occasion-is-the/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [“She knows how things fit together and move, but so few people understand her. She’s the most solitary person I’ve ever known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/she-knows-how-things-fit-together-and-move-but-so-few-people/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [So in the heart, When, fading slowly down the past, Fond memories depart, And each that leaves it seems the last; Long after all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-van-dyke/so-in-the-heart-when-fading-slowly-down-the-past-fond-memories-depart/) [Henry Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-van-dyke/) > [It has been my experience that nothing changes a person's life more than the discovery of one solitary truth: There is a meaning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-kelly/it-has-been-my-experience-that-nothing-changes-a-person-s-life-more/) [Matthew Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-kelly/) > [As far as living a solitary lifestyle, it takes just one person to dance alone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-dansky/as-far-as-living-a-solitary-lifestyle-it-takes-just-one-person-to/) [Martin Dansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-dansky/) > [Well, it's true that I've never been solitary, although I spend a lot of time alone. 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