--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have always been fascinated by the…" description: "\"I have always been fascinated by the human mind, conscious and unconscious - that is what writing and reading is about, too. The why of your life and t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/anne-roiphe-12677_choices_i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-hum_790902.jpg" --- # I have always been fascinated by the human mind, conscious… ![“I have always been fascinated by the human mind, conscious and unconscious - that is what writing and reading is about, too. The why of your life and the why of your choices and the what has happened that you know and the what that you don't know is really riveting, and psychoanalysts share my…” quote by Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/anne-roiphe-12677_choices_i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-hum_790902.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/anne-roiphe-12677_choices_i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-hum_790902.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf8/anne-roiphe-12677_choices_i-have-always-been-fascinated-by-the-hum_790902.jpg) > “I have always been fascinated by the human mind, conscious and unconscious - that is what writing and reading is about, too. The why of your life and the why of your choices and the what has happened that you know and the what that you don't know is really riveting, and psychoanalysts share my wonder at how it all unfolds.” [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote celebrates curiosity about the conscious and unconscious mind, seeing writing and reading as tools to explore life's motives and unknowns. **In simple terms:** Reading reveals hidden motives. Key Takeaway Use literature to explore self. Themes psychology literature self‑discovery Mood introspective inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - book clubs - creative writing - therapy - personal journaling Key Concepts cognitive inquiry narrative theory Questions to Reflect On - What hidden motives drive your choices? - How does reading shape your self‑understanding? A Different Perspective Interpretations can be biased; not all readers seek depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Conscious and unconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious-and-unconscious/) [Human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing and reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-and-reading/) ## Related quotes > [Poetry is a process of getting back to the unconscious. Hence, I am always writing-even when I'm not facing the white space. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusef-komunyakaa/poetry-is-a-process-of-getting-back-to-the-unconscious-hence-i-am/) [Yusef Komunyakaa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusef-komunyakaa/) > [Most people are sick. But only a few know that this is something they can be proud of. These are the psychoanalysts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/most-people-are-sick-but-only-a-few-know-that-this-is-something-they/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Psychoanalysts seem to be long on information and short on application.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-fowler/psychoanalysts-seem-to-be-long-on-information-and-short-on-application/) [Gene Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-fowler/) > [Of all the doctors I have known, psychoanalysts, a congregation of lay priests with bible, rites, and the faithful, constitute the most sinister, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ant-nio-lobo-antunes/of-all-the-doctors-i-have-known-psychoanalysts-a-congregation-of-lay/) [Antonio Lobo Antunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ant-nio-lobo-antunes/) > [All psychological research is completely barred by the interpretations of the psychoanalysts. Everything happens in the unconscious, and I don't know what this unconscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalie-sarraute/all-psychological-research-is-completely-barred-by-the/) [Nathalie Sarraute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalie-sarraute/) > [“I suppose that I did for myself what psychoanalysts do for their patients. I expressed some very long felt and deeply felt emotion. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-suppose-that-i-did-for-myself-what-psychoanalysts-do-for-their/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [When I spoke with psychoanalysts, they confirmed to me that the most neurotic relationship is always between mother and daughter. The cliché is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-ozon/when-i-spoke-with-psychoanalysts-they-confirmed-to-me-that-the-most/) [Francois Ozon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-ozon/) > [Psychoanalysts are bent on producing man abstractly, that is to say ideologically, for culture. It is Oedipus who produces man in this fashion and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/psychoanalysts-are-bent-on-producing-man-abstractly-that-is-to-say/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) > [Psychoanalysts are not occupied with the minds of their patients; they do not believe in the mind but in a cerebral intestine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-berenson/psychoanalysts-are-not-occupied-with-the-minds-of-their-patients-they/) [Bernard Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-berenson/) > [Americans use the word 'dream' as often as psychoanalysts do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/americans-use-the-word-dream-as-often-as-psychoanalysts-do/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [Many psychoanalysts refused to let me speak at their meetings. They were exceptionally vigorous because I had previously been an analyst and they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/many-psychoanalysts-refused-to-let-me-speak-at-their-meetings-they/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [The psychoanalysts pick our dreams as if they were our pockets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-psychoanalysts-pick-our-dreams-as-if-they-were-our-pockets/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Psychoanalysts are father confessors who like to listen to the sins of the father as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/psychoanalysts-are-father-confessors-who-like-to-listen-to-the-sins/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [It is for ordinary minds, not for psychoanalysts, that our rules of evidence are framed. They have their source very often in considerations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-cardozo/it-is-for-ordinary-minds-not-for-psychoanalysts-that-our-rules-of/) [Benjamin Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-cardozo/) > [“Those of us who work in the field of trauma and abuse, whether psychologists, psychoanalysts, social workers, doctors, counselors, or psychotherapists, have been provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-sinason/those-of-us-who-work-in-the-field-of-trauma-and-abuse-whether/) [Valerie Sinason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-sinason/) ## More by Anne Roiphe > [There is cruelty in divorce. There is cruelty in forced or unfortunate marriage. We will continue to cry at weddings because we know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/there-is-cruelty-in-divorce-there-is-cruelty-in-forced-or-unfortunate/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [God is a God of Lovingkindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/god-is-a-god-of-lovingkindness/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [“I carried with me into the West End Bar, the White Horse Tavern, a long list of things I would never do: I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/i-carried-with-me-into-the-west-end-bar-the-white-horse-tavern-a-long/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [Many writers do write about their families and their immediate loved ones and love experiences, either as children or as adults. And very often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/many-writers-do-write-about-their-families-and-their-immediate-loved/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [When I grew up, you needed to have straight hair. It's symbolic of needing to be like everyone else, needing to look like everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/when-i-grew-up-you-needed-to-have-straight-hair-it-s-symbolic-of/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [Most of us don't have mothers who blazed a trail for us--at least, not all the way. Coming of age before or during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/most-of-us-don-t-have-mothers-who-blazed-a-trail-for-us-at-least-not/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [I think that certainly the artists of the '40s, '50s and '60s were fighting a very conformist society, which didn't give them enough space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/i-think-that-certainly-the-artists-of-the-40s-50s-and-60s-were/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [I would prefer you not to say, "That was the most terribly written piece I've ever read." That would hurt me. But you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/i-would-prefer-you-not-to-say-that-was-the-most-terribly-written/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [My mother had died when I wrote my first book. I was twenty-seven, so it was right at the beginning of my writing life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/my-mother-had-died-when-i-wrote-my-first-book-i-was-twenty-seven-so/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [What other people think of me is not really my major concern in life. What other people think of what I write is another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/what-other-people-think-of-me-is-not-really-my-major-concern-in-life/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [A person who has no secrets is a liar. We always fold ourselves away from others just enough to preserve a secret or two,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/a-person-who-has-no-secrets-is-a-liar-we-always-fold-ourselves-away/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [Reader, you forget that economics precedes religion; worship grew out of eating, not the other way around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/reader-you-forget-that-economics-precedes-religion-worship-grew-out/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [People always tell me either A. you love him. B. you hate him. My usual answer? C. All of the above.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/people-always-tell-me-either-a-you-love-him-b-you-hate-him-my-usual/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [Our mythology tells us so much about fathers and sons. ... What do we know about mothers and daughters? ... Our power is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/our-mythology-tells-us-so-much-about-fathers-and-sons-what-do-we-know/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) > [I think it is a good thing to have woman friends at every stage of life. We confide in each other, we support each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-roiphe/i-think-it-is-a-good-thing-to-have-woman-friends-at-every-stage-of/) [Anne Roiphe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) [Explore all 53 Anne Roiphe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-roiphe/) ## More Choices quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) Alison James > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [Clarissa," he said, "here with the vampire, I see. When things have settled a bit, we really must discuss you choice in pets..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clarissa-he-said-here-with-the-vampire-i-see-when-things-have-settled/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [I don't know that any woman could ever not think about that at some point - even making the choice not to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/i-don-t-know-that-any-woman-could-ever-not-think-about-that-at-some/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Browse all 11,466 Choices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have always been fascinated by the human mind, conscious and unconscious - that is what writing and reading is about, too. 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