--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At six I lived in a graveyard full of…" description: "\"At six I lived in a graveyard full of dolls, avoiding myself, my body, the suspect in its grotesque house.\" — Anne Sexton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/anne-sexton-645_avoiding_at-six-i-lived-in-a-graveyard-full-of-do_194569.png" --- # At six I lived in a graveyard full of dolls, avoiding… ![“At six I lived in a graveyard full of dolls, avoiding myself, my body, the suspect in its grotesque house.” quote by Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/anne-sexton-645_avoiding_at-six-i-lived-in-a-graveyard-full-of-do_194569.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/anne-sexton-645_avoiding_at-six-i-lived-in-a-graveyard-full-of-do_194569.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/anne-sexton-645_avoiding_at-six-i-lived-in-a-graveyard-full-of-do_194569.png) > “At six I lived in a graveyard full of dolls, avoiding myself, my body, the suspect in its grotesque house.” [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A child hides from self and body, feeling trapped in a strange, unsettling environment. **In simple terms:** A child feels trapped and avoids self. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront hidden fears. Themes identity fear self‑avoidance trauma Mood introspective somber Type poetic reflective When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative writing - personal reflection - mental health workshops Key Concepts psychology self‑perception metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What does the graveyard symbolize for you? - How can you safely explore avoided parts of yourself? A Different Perspective The metaphor may obscure literal meaning for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Dolls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dolls/) [Graveyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graveyard/) ## Related quotes > [I will gradually drop this subject of graveyards. I have been trying all I could to get down to the sentimental part of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-will-gradually-drop-this-subject-of-graveyards-i-have-been-trying/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Take your foot out of the graveyard, they are busy being dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/take-your-foot-out-of-the-graveyard-they-are-busy-being-dead/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [George theThird Ought never to have occurred. One can only wonder At so grotesque a blunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-c-bentley/george-thethird-ought-never-to-have-occurred-one-can-only-wonder-at/) [E. C. Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-c-bentley/) > [Our tolerance of the intolerable found a low threshold as early as the late 1950s with the grotesque excesses of McCarthyism, which destroyed so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/our-tolerance-of-the-intolerable-found-a-low-threshold-as-early-as/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [There were days when she was unhappy, she did not know why,--when it did not seem worthwhile to be glad or sorry, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-chopin/there-were-days-when-she-was-unhappy-she-did-not-know-why-when-it-did/) [Kate Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-chopin/) > [Size without shape is grotesque.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-gironda/size-without-shape-is-grotesque/) [Vince Gironda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-gironda/) > [To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/to-the-hard-of-hearing-you-shout-and-for-the-almost-blind-you-draw/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Salvador Dali has been called kitsch, but, although some of this work may be grotesque, its brazenly self-conscious bad taste saves it from being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-dutton/salvador-dali-has-been-called-kitsch-but-although-some-of-this-work/) [Denis Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-dutton/) > [The statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-statesmen-will-invent-cheap-lies-putting-the-blame-upon-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [In a way Australia is like Catholicism. The company is sometimes questionable and the landscape is grotesque. But you always come back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keneally/in-a-way-australia-is-like-catholicism-the-company-is-sometimes/) [Thomas Keneally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keneally/) > [I think that, honestly, people's censorship issues are personal but I disagree with most of those personal choices that I see others make. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-rogen/i-think-that-honestly-people-s-censorship-issues-are-personal-but-i/) [Seth Rogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-rogen/) > [People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-commonly-travel-the-world-over-to-see-rivers-and-mountains-new/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“I was grotesque to the theatrical pitch, a stage miser, but I was certainly not a physical impossibility”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/i-was-grotesque-to-the-theatrical-pitch-a-stage-miser-but-i-was/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [I have to be careful to get out before I become the grotesque caricature of a hatchet-faced woman with big knockers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lee-curtis/i-have-to-be-careful-to-get-out-before-i-become-the-grotesque/) [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lee-curtis/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by Anne Sexton > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I am crazy as hell, but I know it. And knowing it is a kind of sanity that makes the sickness worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-am-crazy-as-hell-but-i-know-it-and-knowing-it-is-a-kind-of-sanity/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [And what of the dead? They lie without shoes in the stone boats. They are more like stone than the sea would be if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/and-what-of-the-dead-they-lie-without-shoes-in-the-stone-boats-they/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [The Witch's Life" When I was a child there was an old woman in our neighborhood whom we called The Witch. All day she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/the-witch-s-life-when-i-was-a-child-there-was-an-old-woman-in-our/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I have forgiven all the old actors for dying. A new one comes on with the same lines, like large white growths, in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-have-forgiven-all-the-old-actors-for-dying-a-new-one-comes-on-with/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“From the Garden” Come, my beloved, consider the lilies. We are of little faith. We talk too much. Put your mouthful of words away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/from-the-garden-come-my-beloved-consider-the-lilies-we-are-of-little/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Oh thumb, I want a drink it is dark, where are the big people, when will I get there...?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/oh-thumb-i-want-a-drink-it-is-dark-where-are-the-big-people-when-will/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I want to kiss God on His nose and watch Him sneeze and so do you. Not out of disrespect. Out of pique. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-want-to-kiss-god-on-his-nose-and-watch-him-sneeze-and-so-do-you-not/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I, in my brand new body, which was not a woman's yet, told the stars my questions and thought God could really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-in-my-brand-new-body-which-was-not-a-woman-s-yet-told-the-stars-my/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Father, you died once, salted down at fifty-nine, packed down like a big snow angel, wasn't that enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/father-you-died-once-salted-down-at-fifty-nine-packed-down-like-a-big/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [When I'm writing, I know I'm doing the thing I was born to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/when-i-m-writing-i-know-i-m-doing-the-thing-i-was-born-to-do/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head-i-m/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I cannot walk an inch / without trying to walk to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-cannot-walk-an-inch-without-trying-to-walk-to-god/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Now that I have written many words, and let out so many loves, for so many, and been altogether what I always was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/now-that-i-have-written-many-words-and-let-out-so-many-loves-for-so/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Explore all 428 Anne Sexton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## More Avoiding quotes > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Exactly. So, what can't you take? Decide which of the two options is harder, and do the other. That way, no matter how hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/exactly-so-what-can-t-you-take-decide-which-of-the-two-options-is/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“What I'm trying to say is that I spent the last four months learning to be alone, avoiding the world, hating pretty much anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-cremer/what-i-m-trying-to-say-is-that-i-spent-the-last-four-months-learning/) [Andrea Cremer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-cremer/) > [ I can hardly believe what these 12 caricatures \[about Prophet Muhammad\] have caused in the world. We Danes feel like we have been placed… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-fogh-rasmussen/i-can-hardly-believe-what-these-12-caricatures-about-prophet-muhammad/) [Anders Fogh Rasmussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-fogh-rasmussen/) > [I know a bit about taxation and the remarkable effort that goes in to avoiding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rinder/i-know-a-bit-about-taxation-and-the-remarkable-effort-that-goes-in-to/) [Robert Rinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rinder/) > [When you are in hard labor, remember that the length of labor is usually proportional to the number of people around. Avoid the presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-odent/when-you-are-in-hard-labor-remember-that-the-length-of-labor-is/) [Michel Odent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-odent/) > [I don't believe in happy endings. Children have got to face death sooner or later. Granny and Grandpa die, dogs die, cats die, gerbils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-briggs/i-don-t-believe-in-happy-endings-children-have-got-to-face-death/) Raymond Briggs > [Resisting and avoiding pain sucks energy-and time. The more you let yourself feel those minute-and-a-half hells, the quicker you'll start feeling those minute-and-a-half happinesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-newman/resisting-and-avoiding-pain-sucks-energy-and-time-the-more-you-let/) [Leigh Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-newman/) > [Reading is sometimes an ingenious device for avoiding thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-helps/reading-is-sometimes-an-ingenious-device-for-avoiding-thought/) [Arthur Helps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-helps/) > [A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/a-day-can-really-slip-by-when-you-re-deliberately-avoiding-what-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [When someone starts Ignoring you, just back off without staying there with them Just to know the reason for avoiding..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishak/when-someone-starts-ignoring-you-just-back-off-without-staying-there/) [Vishak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishak/) > [You know what takes effort? Being kind, being patient, being respectful, telling someone how you feel politely instead of just avoiding them for six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-tapper/you-know-what-takes-effort-being-kind-being-patient-being-respectful/) [Jake Tapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-tapper/) > [It's all about being flexible, and avoiding choices whenever possible. Choices suck, they are inherently limiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-armstrong/it-s-all-about-being-flexible-and-avoiding-choices-whenever-possible/) Craig Armstrong > [In my personal life I'm very conservative. I've been married to the same person for nearly 50 years, I'm scrupulous about paying bills, avoiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/in-my-personal-life-i-m-very-conservative-i-ve-been-married-to-the/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) Browse all 713 Avoiding quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At six I lived in a graveyard full of dolls, avoiding myself, my body, the suspect in its grotesque house.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Sexton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/at-six-i-lived-in-a-graveyard-full-of-dolls-avoiding-myself-my-body/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Avoiding" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/at-six-i-lived-in-a-graveyard-full-of-dolls-avoiding-myself-my-body/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/anne-sexton-645_avoiding_at-six-i-lived-in-a-graveyard-full-of-do_194569.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/anne-sexton-645_avoiding_at-six-i-lived-in-a-graveyard-full-of-do_194569.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3e/anne-sexton-645_avoiding_at-six-i-lived-in-a-graveyard-full-of-do_194569.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At six I lived in a graveyard full of dolls, avoiding myself, my body, the suspect in its grotesque house.” — Anne Sexton", "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": "Anne Sexton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "At six I lived in a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/at-six-i-lived-in-a-graveyard-full-of-dolls-avoiding-myself-my-body/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/at-six-i-lived-in-a-graveyard-full-of-dolls-avoiding-myself-my-body/#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 } } ] } ```