--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not a fire of passion, not a ravaging…" description: "\"“Not a fire of passion, not a ravaging fire, but something paralyzing, like the fire of cluster bombs that suck up the oxygen around them and leave you..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/andre-aciman-459_feelings_not-a-fire-of-passion-not-a-ravaging-fir_1620284.jpg" --- # Not a fire of passion, not a ravaging fire, but something… ![“Not a fire of passion, not a ravaging fire, but something paralyzing, like the fire of cluster bombs that suck up the oxygen around them and leave you panting, because you’ve been kicked in the gut and a vacuum has ripped every living lung tissue and dried your mouth, and you hope nobody speaks…” quote by André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/andre-aciman-459_feelings_not-a-fire-of-passion-not-a-ravaging-fir_1620284.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/andre-aciman-459_feelings_not-a-fire-of-passion-not-a-ravaging-fir_1620284.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/andre-aciman-459_feelings_not-a-fire-of-passion-not-a-ravaging-fir_1620284.jpg) > ““Not a fire of passion, not a ravaging fire, but something paralyzing, like the fire of cluster bombs that suck up the oxygen around them and leave you panting, because you’ve been kicked in the gut and a vacuum has ripped every living lung tissue and dried your mouth, and you hope nobody speaks, because you can’t talk, and you pray no one asks you to move, because your heart is clogged and beats so fast it would sooner spit out shards of glass than let anything else flow through its narrowed chambers.”” [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. It describes an overwhelming, suffocating emotional pain that feels like a destructive, all‑consuming fire, leaving the speaker unable to speak or move. **In simple terms:** Intense emotional pain can feel paralyzing. Key Takeaway Seek support to breathe through trauma. Themes pain paralysis despair Mood despair intense Type literary emotive When to use this quote - grief - heartbreak - mental health crises - relationship loss Key Concepts existential dread psychological trauma Questions to Reflect On - What does this pain teach you about resilience? - Can you identify a moment of relief? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize suffering, overlooking practical coping. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cluster Bombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cluster-bombs-261647/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Heart Clogged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-clogged-261646/) [Kicked Gut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kicked-gut-261648/) [Panting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/panting/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Ravaging Paralyzing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ravaging-paralyzing-261645/) ## Related quotes > [Democracy never comes by the barrel of a gun, or by cluster bombs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malalai-joya/democracy-never-comes-by-the-barrel-of-a-gun-or-by-cluster-bombs/) [Malalai Joya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malalai-joya/) > [Many of the points made by the antiwar movement have been consciously assimilated by the Pentagon and its lawyers and advisers. Precision weaponry is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-of-the-points-made-by-the-antiwar-movement-have-been-consciously/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Cluster bombs are perhaps not good in themselves, but when they are dropped on identifiable concentrations of Taliban troops, they do have a heartening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/cluster-bombs-are-perhaps-not-good-in-themselves-but-when-they-are/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ The decision to attack the entire nation \[of Yugoslavia\] has been counterproductive, and our destruction of civilian life has now become senseless and excessively… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/the-decision-to-attack-the-entire-nation-of-yugoslavia-has-been/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [“Oh Ana!" he cries out loudly as he finds his release, holding me in place as he pours himself into me. He collapses, panting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-james/oh-ana-he-cries-out-loudly-as-he-finds-his-release-holding-me-in/) [E.L. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-james/) > [“It was a few minutes before Helena could stop panting. She dared not read any further, or she’d crash through the connecting door and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherry-thomas/it-was-a-few-minutes-before-helena-could-stop-panting-she-dared-not/) [Sherry Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherry-thomas/) > [Can I view thee panting, lying On thy stomach, without sighing; Can I unmoved see thee dying On a log Expiring frog!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/can-i-view-thee-panting-lying-on-thy-stomach-without-sighing-can-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“There we were, filled with pure animal need, as he pinned me to the wooden table, and cruelly whipped my naked bottom; the two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-thrust/there-we-were-filled-with-pure-animal-need-as-he-pinned-me-to-the/) [Fiona Thrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-thrust/) > [“You probably have a lot of practice,” I said, panting as I snapped my hips against his face. “Is that why you’re so good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-erickson/you-probably-have-a-lot-of-practice-i-said-panting-as-i-snapped-my/) [Megan Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-erickson/) > [“Don’t give a fuck if you’re hot, wet and panting or pissed as hell, you’re sleepin’ by me, in my bed, at home.” said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/don-t-give-a-fuck-if-you-re-hot-wet-and-panting-or-pissed-as-hell-you/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [And panting Time toil'd after him in vain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/and-panting-time-toil-d-after-him-in-vain/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Panting like a marathon runner at mile twenty, overheated bloodhound, steam engine crawling up the Continental Divide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-vickers/panting-like-a-marathon-runner-at-mile-twenty-overheated-bloodhound/) [Dennis Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-vickers/) > [“The heat of late afternoon closed in around us like an animate thing; you could feel it on your skin, warm and moist, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-heat-of-late-afternoon-closed-in-around-us-like-an-animate-thing/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“If we are not apt to steer our life and engineer our individuality, we become preys of the pecking order or panting cardboard characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/if-we-are-not-apt-to-steer-our-life-and-engineer-our-individuality-we/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“Panting, he looked into a face he couldn't see. "What the fuck is your problem?" "I'm bored." With that, she head-butted him right in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/panting-he-looked-into-a-face-he-couldn-t-see-what-the-fuck-is-your/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) ## 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 Feelings quotes > [I have a strong feeling about this quick movement and changing of society and populations growing - something scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroshi-sugimoto/i-have-a-strong-feeling-about-this-quick-movement-and-changing-of/) [Hiroshi Sugimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroshi-sugimoto/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [We never realize the importance of any our action until we be the hunt of same situation in reaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fadi/we-never-realize-the-importance-of-any-our-action-until-we-be-the/) [Fadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fadi/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [If someone really loves you, no matter how many other people they meet, their feelings for you wouldn't change. A real lover cant be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-someone-really-loves-you-no-matter-how-many-other-people-they-meet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [“I urge you: don't cut short these thought-trains of yours. Follow them through to their end. Your thoughts and your feelings. Follow them through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-urge-you-don-t-cut-short-these-thought-trains-of-yours-follow-them/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Good girls don't hurt other people's feelings. Good girls are not overly aggressive, competitive, or boastful. Good girls please others. 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It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) [Browse all 21,172 Feelings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Not a fire of passion, not a ravaging fire, but something paralyzing, like the fire of cluster bombs that suck up the oxygen around them and leave you panting, because you’ve been kicked in the gut and a vacuum has ripped every living lung tissue and dried your mouth, and you hope nobody speaks, because you can’t talk, and you pray no one asks you to move, because your heart is clogged and beats so fast it would sooner spit out shards of glass than let anything else flow through its narrowed chambers.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "André Aciman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/not-a-fire-of-passion-not-a-ravaging-fire-but-something-paralyzing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feelings" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/not-a-fire-of-passion-not-a-ravaging-fire-but-something-paralyzing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/andre-aciman-459_feelings_not-a-fire-of-passion-not-a-ravaging-fir_1620284.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/andre-aciman-459_feelings_not-a-fire-of-passion-not-a-ravaging-fir_1620284.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/andre-aciman-459_feelings_not-a-fire-of-passion-not-a-ravaging-fir_1620284.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Not a fire of passion, not a ravaging fire, but something paralyzing, like the fire of cluster bombs that…” — 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": "“Not a fire of passion, not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/not-a-fire-of-passion-not-a-ravaging-fire-but-something-paralyzing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/not-a-fire-of-passion-not-a-ravaging-fire-but-something-paralyzing/#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 } } ] } ```