--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was so spellbound that I wrenched…" description: "\"“I was so spellbound that I wrenched myself free from his touch, because a moment longer and I would have slackened like one of those tiny wooden toys ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/andre-aciman-459_spell_i-was-so-spellbound-that-i-wrenched-myse_2950365.png" --- # I was so spellbound that I wrenched myself free from his… ![“I was so spellbound that I wrenched myself free from his touch, because a moment longer and I would have slackened like one of those tiny wooden toys whose gimp-legged body collapses as soon as the mainsprings are touched.” quote by André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/andre-aciman-459_spell_i-was-so-spellbound-that-i-wrenched-myse_2950365.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/andre-aciman-459_spell_i-was-so-spellbound-that-i-wrenched-myse_2950365.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/andre-aciman-459_spell_i-was-so-spellbound-that-i-wrenched-myse_2950365.png) > ““I was so spellbound that I wrenched myself free from his touch, because a moment longer and I would have slackened like one of those tiny wooden toys whose gimp-legged body collapses as soon as the mainsprings are touched.”” [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## 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 feels overwhelming attraction that threatens to overwhelm his self‑control, forcing him to pull away before losing himself. **In simple terms:** Intense attraction can feel suffocating, prompting self‑preservation. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect personal boundaries. Themes desire self‑control intimacy Mood passionate conflicted Type romantic dramatic When to use this quote - first love - personal boundaries - emotional intensity Key Concepts psychology romantic longing Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance desire with self‑preservation? - What signals tell you to step back? A Different Perspective Intense feelings can be hard to manage without clear communication. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body Collapses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-collapses-4443064/) [Spell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spell/) [Spellbound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spellbound/) [Spellbound Wrenched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spellbound-wrenched-4443062/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) [Wrenched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrenched-2631653/) [Wrenched Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrenched-free-4443063/) ## Related quotes > [“What if I wrenched the steering wheel hard to the right and we went crashing into those mist-shrouded trees? Hell, Jane’s hunkload of men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabi-wollstonecraft/what-if-i-wrenched-the-steering-wheel-hard-to-the-right-and-we-went/) [Tabi Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabi-wollstonecraft/) > [“It is like being wrenched soul first through time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moore/it-is-like-being-wrenched-soul-first-through-time/) [Alison Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moore/) > [“I turned away from him, the hot blood still coursing through my veins. I gripped the door handle, and it molded like dough into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-corso/i-turned-away-from-him-the-hot-blood-still-coursing-through-my-veins/) [Michael Corso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-corso/) > [To not be able to love the one you love is to have your life wrenched away,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/to-not-be-able-to-love-the-one-you-love-is-to-have-your-life-wrenched/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“The Apache wrenched his pony's head around and when Glanton spun to look at his men he found them frozen in deadlock with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-apache-wrenched-his-pony-s-head-around-and-when-glanton-spun-to/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [-that kiss- I am watching spellbound at this moment...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-kiss-i-am-watching-spellbound-at-this-moment/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Among the best of Hitchcock's own psychological thrillers is 'Spellbound,' whose story unusually wrapped the subject of psychoanalysis around a murder mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/among-the-best-of-hitchcock-s-own-psychological-thrillers-is/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [Love is like a spell, if it is cast incorrectly, it will result in hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-a-spell-if-it-is-cast-incorrectly-it-will-result-in-hate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I have tread all three of his books and they held me spellbound interesting story. Its fiction based on fact...mmm I like!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-alvin/i-have-tread-all-three-of-his-books-and-they-held-me-spellbound/) [Harold Alvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-alvin/) > [“If you feel afraid of magic, then you've been enchanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/if-you-feel-afraid-of-magic-then-you-ve-been-enchanted/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [And the sweetest, spellbound feeling spilling from her heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-kate/and-the-sweetest-spellbound-feeling-spilling-from-her-heart/) [Lauren Kate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-kate/) > [“You know, 'help me, Sophie Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/you-know-help-me-sophie-wan-kenobi-you-re-my-only-hope/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [“I did not expect to fall in love with this world, not so quickly, but with the blueness of the sky and the shimmer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/i-did-not-expect-to-fall-in-love-with-this-world-not-so-quickly-but/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [Then there came a midnight and the world was new. Now here am I so spellbound, darling. Not by stars, but just by you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beegie-adair/then-there-came-a-midnight-and-the-world-was-new-now-here-am-i-so/) [Beegie Adair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beegie-adair/) > ['Spellbound' has a lot of guitar playing on it, obviously, but I wanted to keep it with a more straightforward beat. It doesn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yngwie-malmsteen/spellbound-has-a-lot-of-guitar-playing-on-it-obviously-but-i-wanted/) [Yngwie Malmsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yngwie-malmsteen/) ## More by André Aciman > [Don't all writers have a hidden nerve, call it a secret chamber, something irreducibly theirs, which stirs their prose and makes it tick and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/don-t-all-writers-have-a-hidden-nerve-call-it-a-secret-chamber/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I wanted him to remember the morning on Monet's berm when I'd kissed him not the first but the second time and given him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-wanted-him-to-remember-the-morning-on-monet-s-berm-when-i-d-kissed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Rituals are how we step into our private field of dreams, a small Elysium all our own. Rituals are made not just for us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/rituals-are-how-we-step-into-our-private-field-of-dreams-a-small/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I desperately wanted to give him something. By contrast, taking seemed so bland, so facile, so mechanical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-desperately-wanted-to-give-him-something-by-contrast-taking-seemed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“The man who'll lay the last stone here isn't even born yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-man-who-ll-lay-the-last-stone-here-isn-t-even-born-yet/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Proust is interested in minutiae because life, as he sees it, is seldom ever about things but about our impression of things, not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/proust-is-interested-in-minutiae-because-life-as-he-sees-it-is-seldom/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Well, since you're not going to do anything with me—can you at least read me a story? I'd settle for that. I wanted him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/well-since-you-re-not-going-to-do-anything-with-me-can-you-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“This is heaven.” And I wouldn’t hear him say another word for at least an hour. There was nothing I loved more in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/this-is-heaven-and-i-wouldn-t-hear-him-say-another-word-for-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“He loved the sticky taste. What had I done? I told him and pointed to the bruised evidence sitting on my desk. “Let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/he-loved-the-sticky-taste-what-had-i-done-i-told-him-and-pointed-to/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“When had they separated us, you and me, Oliver? And why did I know it, and why didn't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/when-had-they-separated-us-you-and-me-oliver-and-why-did-i-know-it/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“As we were swimming back, he asked as though it were an afterthought, “Are you going to hold last night against me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-we-were-swimming-back-he-asked-as-though-it-were-an-afterthought/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“To be with you. To be with you, Oliver. With or without my bathing suit. To be with you on my bed. In your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/to-be-with-you-to-be-with-you-oliver-with-or-without-my-bathing-suit/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I thought I could ever want another living soul, gently, softly, and, with the kindness one Jew extends to another, work his way into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-thought-i-could-ever-want-another-living-soul-gently-softly-and/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Oliver: But there's the catch: you're still twenty years younger than those gathered around you, which is why I can be twenty-four in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/oliver-but-there-s-the-catch-you-re-still-twenty-years-younger-than/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [I cannot write if there is a sense of plenitude. I have to hypothesize that there is a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-cannot-write-if-there-is-a-sense-of-plenitude-i-have-to-hypothesize/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) [Explore all 527 André Aciman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More Spell quotes > [Spell check bails me out on the constant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-yvars/spell-check-bails-me-out-on-the-constant/) [Daniel Yvars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-yvars/) > [I write like a two-year-old, and I can't spell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-redknapp/i-write-like-a-two-year-old-and-i-can-t-spell/) [Harry Redknapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-redknapp/) > [“My heart almost vaulted out of my chest. I was snuggled against Ryan’s shoulder. We were burrowed under the cloak and sleeping bag, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-dogra/my-heart-almost-vaulted-out-of-my-chest-i-was-snuggled-against-ryan-s/) [Sam Dogra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-dogra/) > [You're not a star until they can spell your name in Karachi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-bogart/you-re-not-a-star-until-they-can-spell-your-name-in-karachi/) [Humphrey Bogart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-bogart/) > [“Daimonology has no hierarchy, but only the spell of universal anarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-william-brown/daimonology-has-no-hierarchy-but-only-the-spell-of-universal-anarchy/) [Carl William Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-william-brown/) > [A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/a-synonym-is-a-word-you-use-when-you-can-t-spell-the-other-one/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [“At its most elemental, a spell is no more than a recipe for change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/at-its-most-elemental-a-spell-is-no-more-than-a-recipe-for-change/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [The spell you're under.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiss/the-spell-you-re-under/) [Kiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiss/) > [No one in this world, knows me the way you know me. So you'll probably always have a spell on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ne-yo/no-one-in-this-world-knows-me-the-way-you-know-me-so-you-ll-probably/) [Ne-yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ne-yo/) > [“I'm always angry about the death of people who are still alive, their eyes are opened, yet they can't see anything...the spell of ignorance”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/i-m-always-angry-about-the-death-of-people-who-are-still-alive-their/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“Will read a poem by Sir Walter Raleigh at his grandmother's funeral. "Pondering the joys we had, listen & keep very still. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-branard/will-read-a-poem-by-sir-walter-raleigh-at-his-grandmother-s-funeral/) [Lynne Branard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-branard/) > [“Mathews is in the wind.” “He doesn’t even know how to spell ‘wind’, he can’t be in it,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/mathews-is-in-the-wind-he-doesn-t-even-know-how-to-spell-wind-he-can/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [Likewise, there is no evidence that texting teaches people to spell badly: rather, research shows that those kids who text frequently are more likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/likewise-there-is-no-evidence-that-texting-teaches-people-to-spell/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [I believe in the power of song. Under the spell of the right song, passion is within reach, love is close by, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-sitek/i-believe-in-the-power-of-song-under-the-spell-of-the-right-song/) [Dave Sitek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-sitek/) > [Very true! Makes a chnage to see someone spell it out like that. :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azia/very-true-makes-a-chnage-to-see-someone-spell-it-out-like-that/) [Azia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azia/) [Browse all 294 Spell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spell/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I was so spellbound that I wrenched myself free from his touch, because a moment longer and I would have slackened like one of those tiny wooden toys whose gimp-legged body collapses as soon as the mainsprings are touched.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "André Aciman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-was-so-spellbound-that-i-wrenched-myself-free-from-his-touch/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Spell" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-was-so-spellbound-that-i-wrenched-myself-free-from-his-touch/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/andre-aciman-459_spell_i-was-so-spellbound-that-i-wrenched-myse_2950365.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/andre-aciman-459_spell_i-was-so-spellbound-that-i-wrenched-myse_2950365.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15a/andre-aciman-459_spell_i-was-so-spellbound-that-i-wrenched-myse_2950365.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was so spellbound that I wrenched myself free from his touch, because a moment longer and I would have…” — André Aciman", "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": "André Aciman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I was so spellbound that I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-was-so-spellbound-that-i-wrenched-myself-free-from-his-touch/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-was-so-spellbound-that-i-wrenched-myself-free-from-his-touch/#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 } } ] } ```