--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History Coming too close Is monstrous…" description: "\"History Coming too close Is monstrous, like a doll That is alive and bigger than the child Who tries to hold it.\" — Babette Deutsch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/babette-deutsch-42331_alive_history-coming-too-close-is-monstrous-li_2843113.png" --- # History Coming too close Is monstrous, like a doll That is… ![“History Coming too close Is monstrous, like a doll That is alive and bigger than the child Who tries to hold it.” quote by Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/babette-deutsch-42331_alive_history-coming-too-close-is-monstrous-li_2843113.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/babette-deutsch-42331_alive_history-coming-too-close-is-monstrous-li_2843113.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/babette-deutsch-42331_alive_history-coming-too-close-is-monstrous-li_2843113.png) > “History Coming too close Is monstrous, like a doll That is alive and bigger than the child Who tries to hold it.” [Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She likens history’s overwhelming force to a living doll larger than a child trying to hold it. **In simple terms:** History can feel overwhelming and uncontrollable. Key Takeaway Respect history’s power. Themes history overwhelm scale control power Mood reflective serious Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - Historical analysis - policy making - personal reflection Key Concepts humility learning from past strategic awareness Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay grounded? - What can you learn from past patterns? A Different Perspective History can be manipulated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Dolls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dolls/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ## Related quotes > [Birth and death - what could be more monstrous than that? We like to deceive ourselves and call it wondrous and beautiful and majestic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/birth-and-death-what-could-be-more-monstrous-than-that-we-like-to/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [“With lack of sleep and too much understanding I grow a little crazy, I think, like all men at sea who live too close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/with-lack-of-sleep-and-too-much-understanding-i-grow-a-little-crazy-i/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [Destiny can sometimes be history coming back to bite you in the arse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/destiny-can-sometimes-be-history-coming-back-to-bite-you-in-the-arse/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [I saw that it was all over, put away in a box like a doll no longer cared for, the magical intimacy of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/i-saw-that-it-was-all-over-put-away-in-a-box-like-a-doll-no-longer/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [A girl is like a doll you can dress her you can undress her but a real man do not play with dolls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arushi-tanwar/a-girl-is-like-a-doll-you-can-dress-her-you-can-undress-her-but-a/) [Arushi Tanwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arushi-tanwar/) > [Feminism … I think the simplest explanation, and one that captures the idea, is a song that Marlo Thomas sang, 'Free to be You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/feminism-i-think-the-simplest-explanation-and-one-that-captures-the/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [I do myself up kind of like a doll. I have a doll collection and I look at their outfits and kind of imitate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-momsen/i-do-myself-up-kind-of-like-a-doll-i-have-a-doll-collection-and-i/) [Taylor Momsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-momsen/) > [I keep telling myself that I'm a human being, an imperfect human being who's not made to look like a doll, and that who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watson/i-keep-telling-myself-that-i-m-a-human-being-an-imperfect-human-being/) [Emma Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watson/) > [He said, You're so tiny, like a doll, you look like you might break. I wanted him to break me. Part of me did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/he-said-you-re-so-tiny-like-a-doll-you-look-like-you-might-break-i/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [I got a tattoo saying 'Made in England' above my foot to represent that, that I felt like a doll for so long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cara-delevingne/i-got-a-tattoo-saying-made-in-england-above-my-foot-to-represent-that/) [Cara Delevingne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cara-delevingne/) > [“But people like the doll guy who sells women and the dog guy who buys women, and other guys who, say, rape women, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-stevens/but-people-like-the-doll-guy-who-sells-women-and-the-dog-guy-who-buys/) [Taylor Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-stevens/) > [Journalists are always calling my features Edwardian or Victorian, whatever that means. I am small, and people were smaller in those times. I'm pale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helena-bonham-carter/journalists-are-always-calling-my-features-edwardian-or-victorian/) [Helena Bonham Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helena-bonham-carter/) > [Oh, it's adorable! Just like a doll's house. -Snow White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snow-white/oh-it-s-adorable-just-like-a-doll-s-house-snow-white/) [Snow White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snow-white/) > [“You're like a doll I had when I was a kid. She was all stiched together and her head kept falling off, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-reeves/you-re-like-a-doll-i-had-when-i-was-a-kid-she-was-all-stiched/) [Dia Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-reeves/) > [“Every now and then I felt like I was Bill's doll.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/every-now-and-then-i-felt-like-i-was-bill-s-doll/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) ## More by Babette Deutsch > [Poetry is important. No less than science, it seeks a hold upon reality, and the closeness of its approach is the test of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/poetry-is-important-no-less-than-science-it-seeks-a-hold-upon-reality/) [Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) > [The poet, like the lover, is a person unable to reconcile what he knows with what he feels. His peculiarity is that he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/the-poet-like-the-lover-is-a-person-unable-to-reconcile-what-he-knows/) [Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) > [Who, except the poets, reads poetry?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/who-except-the-poets-reads-poetry/) [Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) > [Poetry is the fiery index to the genius of the age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/poetry-is-the-fiery-index-to-the-genius-of-the-age/) [Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) > [The poet who speaks out of the deepest instincts of man will be heard. The poet who creates a myth beyond the power of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/the-poet-who-speaks-out-of-the-deepest-instincts-of-man-will-be-heard/) [Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) > [Music proposes. Sound disposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/music-proposes-sound-disposes/) [Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) > [The difference between Pound and Whitman is not between the democrat who in deep distress could look hopefully toward the future and the fascist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/the-difference-between-pound-and-whitman-is-not-between-the-democrat/) [Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) > [How to sustain the miracle Of being, that like a muted bell, Or like some ocean-breathing shell, Quivers, intense and still?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/how-to-sustain-the-miracle-of-being-that-like-a-muted-bell-or-like/) [Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) > [There is no end to grief. Nor no end to poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/there-is-no-end-to-grief-nor-no-end-to-poetry/) [Babette Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) [Explore all 10 Babette Deutsch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. 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Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History Coming too close Is monstrous, like a doll That is alive and bigger than the child Who tries to hold it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Babette Deutsch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/history-coming-too-close-is-monstrous-like-a-doll-that-is-alive-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/history-coming-too-close-is-monstrous-like-a-doll-that-is-alive-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/babette-deutsch-42331_alive_history-coming-too-close-is-monstrous-li_2843113.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/babette-deutsch-42331_alive_history-coming-too-close-is-monstrous-li_2843113.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/babette-deutsch-42331_alive_history-coming-too-close-is-monstrous-li_2843113.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History Coming too close Is monstrous, like a doll That is alive and bigger than the child Who tries to hold…” — Babette Deutsch", "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": "Babette Deutsch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-deutsch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "History Coming too close Is monstrous,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/history-coming-too-close-is-monstrous-like-a-doll-that-is-alive-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-deutsch/history-coming-too-close-is-monstrous-like-a-doll-that-is-alive-and/#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 } } ] } ```