--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And it was then that the things I've…" description: "\"“And it was then that the things I've never liked to talk about began. Not that they were particularly terrible; I've no wish to exaggerate and I suffe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/anonymous-1_another-world_and-it-was-then-that-the-things-i-ve-nev_16168.jpg" --- # And it was then that the things I've never liked to talk… ![“And it was then that the things I've never liked to talk about began. Not that they were particularly terrible; I've no wish to exaggerate and I suffered less than others. Still, there was one thing in those early days that was really irksome: my habit of thinking like a free man. For instance, I…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/anonymous-1_another-world_and-it-was-then-that-the-things-i-ve-nev_16168.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/anonymous-1_another-world_and-it-was-then-that-the-things-i-ve-nev_16168.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d5/anonymous-1_another-world_and-it-was-then-that-the-things-i-ve-nev_16168.jpg) > ““And it was then that the things I've never liked to talk about began. Not that they were particularly terrible; I've no wish to exaggerate and I suffered less than others. Still, there was one thing in those early days that was really irksome: my habit of thinking like a free man. For instance, I would suddenly be seized with a desire to go down to the beach for a swim. And merely to have imagined the sound of ripples at my feet, the smooth feel of the water on my body as I struck out, and the wonderful sensation of relief it gave brought home still more cruelly the narrowness of my cell. Still, that phase lasted a few months only. Afterward, I had prisoner's thoughts. I waited for the daily walk in the courtyard or a visit from my lawyer. As for the rest of the time, I managed quite well, really. I've often thought that had I been compelled to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but gaze up at the patch of sky just overhead, I'd have got used to it by degrees. I'd have learned to watch for the passing of birds or drifting clouds, as I had come to watch for my lawyer's odd neckties, or, in another world, to wait patiently till Sunday for a spell of love-making with Marie. Well, here, anyhow, I wasn't penned in a hollow tree trunk. There were others in the world worse off than I. I remembered it had been one of Mother's pet ideas—she was always voicing it—that in the long run one gets used to anything.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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 reflects on how confinement reshapes desires, turning yearning for freedom into acceptance of limited surroundings, while noting human adaptability to hardship. **In simple terms:** Freedom becomes a mental prison. Key Takeaway Adaptation dulls longing. Themes Freedom vs. confinement Human adaptability Psychological coping Perspective shift Resilience Mood Melancholic Reflective Type Philosophical Narrative When to use this quote - Incarceration - Long-term isolation - Restricted environments Key Concepts Perception of liberty Mental imprisonment Practical Applications - Therapeutic journaling - Resilience training Questions to Reflect On - How does the mind transform physical constraints into mental narratives? - Can acceptance be mistaken for contentment? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterward Prisoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterward-prisoner-382645/) [Another world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-world/) [Free man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-man/) [Long run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-run/) [Prisoner Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisoner-thoughts-382643/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) [Thoughts Waited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-waited-382644/) ## Related quotes > [You are not a prisoner of your thoughts. You have the ability to control what you are thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/you-are-not-a-prisoner-of-your-thoughts-you-have-the-ability-to/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“He forced his mind clear of other thoughts and waited. Stillness, he had learned, did not come naturally. He practiced it. Sometimes, as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-musser/he-forced-his-mind-clear-of-other-thoughts-and-waited-stillness-he/) [Elizabeth Musser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-musser/) > [“The schizo knows how to leave: he has made departure into something as simple as being born or dying. But at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deleuze-guattari/the-schizo-knows-how-to-leave-he-has-made-departure-into-something-as/) [Deleuze Guattari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deleuze-guattari/) > [It is a mistake to suppose that the whole issue is how to free man. The issue is to improve the way in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-mistake-to-suppose-that-the-whole-issue-is-how-to-free-man/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Despair is a free man--hope is a slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/despair-is-a-free-man-hope-is-a-slave/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Follow, poet, follow right To the bottom of the night, With your unconstraining voice Still persuade us to rejoice; With the farming of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/follow-poet-follow-right-to-the-bottom-of-the-night-with-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The principle of free speech is no new doctrine born of the Constitution of the United States. It is a heritage of English-speaking peoples,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-principle-of-free-speech-is-no-new-doctrine-born-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A man who is willing to accept restriction and barriers and is not afraid of them is free. A man who does nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-who-is-willing-to-accept-restriction-and-barriers-and-is-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am a free man, the slave of Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-a-free-man-the-slave-of-christ/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no free man on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-free-man-on-earth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A slave is a free man if he is content with his lot; a free man is a slave if he seeks more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-slave-is-a-free-man-if-he-is-content-with-his-lot-a-free-man-is-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Politics are a lousy way for a free man to get things done. Politics are, like God's infinite mercy, a last resort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/politics-are-a-lousy-way-for-a-free-man-to-get-things-done-politics/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Which would be worse- to live as a monster, or to die as a free man?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/which-would-be-worse-to-live-as-a-monster-or-to-die-as-a-free-man/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Freedom of mind is the real freedom. A person whose mind is not free though he may not be in chains, is a slave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/freedom-of-mind-is-the-real-freedom-a-person-whose-mind-is-not-free/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every time you touch me I stop breathing, that's why I never have much to say. Every time I see you, my heart skips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-time-you-touch-me-i-stop-breathing-that-s-why-i-never-have-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Another world quotes > [I identify with Superman. I am adopted, I am an only child, and I love the idea that he comes from another world, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-singer/i-identify-with-superman-i-am-adopted-i-am-an-only-child-and-i-love/) [Bryan Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-singer/) > [Every time you touch me I stop breathing, that's why I never have much to say. Every time I see you, my heart skips…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-time-you-touch-me-i-stop-breathing-that-s-why-i-never-have-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Remove from the history of the past all those actions which have either sprung directly from the religious nature of man, or been modified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hopkins/remove-from-the-history-of-the-past-all-those-actions-which-have/) [Mark Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hopkins/) > [“Here, in the garden at night, it is another world, strange and yet friendly and familiar, never frightening. There is such quietness, such sweetness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/here-in-the-garden-at-night-it-is-another-world-strange-and-yet/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“A novel is not an allegory...it is a sensual experience of another world. If you don't enter that world, hold your breath with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/a-novel-is-not-an-allegory-it-is-a-sensual-experience-of-another/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [To try to really land a spacecraft really on another world is really difficult, and if we lose that ability, it's going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/to-try-to-really-land-a-spacecraft-really-on-another-world-is-really/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [“Story is a butterfly whose wings transport us to another world where we receive gifts that change who we are and who we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harley-king/story-is-a-butterfly-whose-wings-transport-us-to-another-world-where/) [Harley King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harley-king/) > [The young man knows that he is irretrievably lost. This is no town of cats, he finally realizes. It is the place where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-young-man-knows-that-he-is-irretrievably-lost-this-is-no-town-of/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [ \[The Utopia of Rules\] should offer a challenge to us all. Should we just accept this bureaucracy as inevitable? Or is there a way… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-tett/the-utopia-of-rules-should-offer-a-challenge-to-us-all-should-we-just/) [Gillian Tett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-tett/) > [We are here to make another world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-edwards-deming/we-are-here-to-make-another-world/) [W. Edwards Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-edwards-deming/) > [“How often since then has she wondered what might have happened if she'd tried to remain with him; if she’d returned Richard's kiss on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/how-often-since-then-has-she-wondered-what-might-have-happened-if-she/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [“There is another world and it is in this one. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-eluard/there-is-another-world-and-it-is-in-this-one/) [Paul Éluard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-eluard/) > [“One late-autumn day I opened the back door to fetch some water, and there was a young hare sat on my back step. Save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-ansell/one-late-autumn-day-i-opened-the-back-door-to-fetch-some-water-and/) [Neil Ansell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-ansell/) > ['Botanicula' tells the story of a group of twigs, nuts, and leaves trying to escape with the life essence of a tree in tow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/botanicula-tells-the-story-of-a-group-of-twigs-nuts-and-leaves-trying/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) [Browse all 707 Another world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And it was then that the things I've never liked to talk about began. Not that they were particularly terrible; I've no wish to exaggerate and I suffered less than others. Still, there was one thing in those early days that was really irksome: my habit of thinking like a free man. For instance, I would suddenly be seized with a desire to go down to the beach for a swim. And merely to have imagined the sound of ripples at my feet, the smooth feel of the water on my body as I struck out, and the wonderful sensation of relief it gave brought home still more cruelly the narrowness of my cell. Still, that phase lasted a few months only. Afterward, I had prisoner's thoughts. I waited for the daily walk in the courtyard or a visit from my lawyer. As for the rest of the time, I managed quite well, really. I've often thought that had I been compelled to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but gaze up at the patch of sky just overhead, I'd have got used to it by degrees. I'd have learned to watch for the passing of birds or drifting clouds, as I had come to watch for my lawyer's odd neckties, or, in another world, to wait patiently till Sunday for a spell of love-making with Marie. Well, here, anyhow, I wasn't penned in a hollow tree trunk. 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