--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...until that moment I had not understood…" description: "\"...until that moment I had not understood that this was a story about lonely people, about absence and loss, and that that was why I had taken refuge i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/carlos-ruiz-zafon-126_absence_until-that-moment-i-had-not-understood-t_808340.jpg" --- # ...until that moment I had not understood that this was a… ![“...until that moment I had not understood that this was a story about lonely people, about absence and loss, and that that was why I had taken refuge in it until it became confused with my own life, like someone who has escaped into the pages of a novel because those whom he needs to love seem…” quote by Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/carlos-ruiz-zafon-126_absence_until-that-moment-i-had-not-understood-t_808340.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/carlos-ruiz-zafon-126_absence_until-that-moment-i-had-not-understood-t_808340.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/carlos-ruiz-zafon-126_absence_until-that-moment-i-had-not-understood-t_808340.jpg) > “...until that moment I had not understood that this was a story about lonely people, about absence and loss, and that that was why I had taken refuge in it until it became confused with my own life, like someone who has escaped into the pages of a novel because those whom he needs to love seem nothing more than ghosts inhabiting the mind of a stranger.” [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) ## 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 realizes the story mirrors his own loneliness, loss, and yearning for connection, blurring fiction and reality. **In simple terms:** He sees his own emptiness reflected in the tale. Key Takeaway Recognize when fiction becomes a refuge for personal pain. Themes loneliness loss fiction identity escape Mood melancholic reflective introspective Type literary psychological philosophical When to use this quote - reading therapy - writing personal essays - discussing grief in support groups - examining personal projections onto art Key Concepts psychology literary analysis empathy Questions to Reflect On - How does identifying with fictional characters help or hinder emotional healing? - What boundaries should we set between art and personal life? A Different Perspective The narrative may overemphasize personal projection, ignoring broader themes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Lonely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lonely/) [Lonely people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lonely-people/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuge/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“I had not understood that this was a story about lonely people, about absence and loss, and that that was why I had taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/i-had-not-understood-that-this-was-a-story-about-lonely-people-about/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [As our listeners will know, unless they've taken refuge at the bottom of a garden pond or somewhere similar, You-Know-Who's strategy of remaining in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-our-listeners-will-know-unless-they-ve-taken-refuge-at-the-bottom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This isn’t a story of great romance or of true love. It’s simply a story of being lonely and how comforting it is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-carter/this-isn-t-a-story-of-great-romance-or-of-true-love-it-s-simply-a/) T.E. Carter > [“So many things I had thought forgotten Return to my mind with stranger pain: Like letters that arrive addressed to someone Who left the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/so-many-things-i-had-thought-forgotten-return-to-my-mind-with-2/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“Strange are the ways of the mind, and stranger is the fuel of emotion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-lee-peters/strange-are-the-ways-of-the-mind-and-stranger-is-the-fuel-of-emotion/) [Dylan Lee Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-lee-peters/) > [Read my book with a boring ending, a short story of a lonely guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blink-182/read-my-book-with-a-boring-ending-a-short-story-of-a-lonely-guy/) Blink 182 > [“On the other side of the river and the shattered ammunition dump swarmed the hundreds of men who had taken refuge weeks before in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-e-lewis/on-the-other-side-of-the-river-and-the-shattered-ammunition-dump/) Jon E. Lewis > [The power of the Good has taken refuge in the nature of the Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-power-of-the-good-has-taken-refuge-in-the-nature-of-the-beautiful/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Courtesy is not dead - it has merely taken refuge in Great Britain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-duhamel/courtesy-is-not-dead-it-has-merely-taken-refuge-in-great-britain/) [Georges Duhamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-duhamel/) > [“Mustard gas was stubborn, clinging to the ground as long as three days. Heavier than air, it settled into craters and trenches where men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/mustard-gas-was-stubborn-clinging-to-the-ground-as-long-as-three-days/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [“He had taken a few days' leave from his army training and they had taken refuge in the Charing Cross Hotel while an unexploded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/he-had-taken-a-few-days-leave-from-his-army-training-and-they-had/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [It's an industry of lonely people in a crowd, Bill Margold was saying. 'They're scared to get close to each other. You're far better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-theroux/it-s-an-industry-of-lonely-people-in-a-crowd-bill-margold-was-saying/) [Louis Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-theroux/) > [“We are accustomed to think of ourselves as a great democratic body, linked by common ties of blood and language, united indissolubly by all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/we-are-accustomed-to-think-of-ourselves-as-a-great-democratic-body/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [My first job was in a nursing home - a terrible place in retrospect. It was in an old house, and the residents were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-edwards/my-first-job-was-in-a-nursing-home-a-terrible-place-in-retrospect-it/) [Kim Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-edwards/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) ## More by Carlos Ruiz Zafon > [“Our world will not die as a result of the bomb, as the papers say, it will die of laughter, of banality, of making a joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/our-world-will-not-die-as-a-result-of-the-bomb-as-the-papers-say-it/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“I carried the trace of her lips, of her breath on my skin through streets full of faceless people escaping from offices and shops.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/i-carried-the-trace-of-her-lips-of-her-breath-on-my-skin-through/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“Nekada davno, u djetinjstvu, možda is toga što sam odrastao među knjigama i knjižarima, odlučio sam da želim postati pisac i živjeti životom punim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/nekada-davno-u-djetinjstvu-mo-da-is-toga-to-sam-odrastao-me-u/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“nations never see themselves clearly in the mirror, much less when war preys on their minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/nations-never-see-themselves-clearly-in-the-mirror-much-less-when-war/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [People might not agree with me, but I think a woman should have a feminine shape, something you can get your hands on. You,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/people-might-not-agree-with-me-but-i-think-a-woman-should-have-a/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“But I couldn't absorb the idea that death could actually walk by my side, with a human face and a heart that was poisoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/but-i-couldn-t-absorb-the-idea-that-death-could-actually-walk-by-my/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“Wise men think and speak alike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/wise-men-think-and-speak-alike/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“Time plays for the other team.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/time-plays-for-the-other-team/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Once I'd worked out that I couldn't possibly expect people to enjoy a monstrous, 3000-page book, I realised I could in fact create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/once-i-d-worked-out-that-i-couldn-t-possibly-expect-people-to-enjoy-a/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [The haunting of history is ever present in Barcelona. I see cities as organisms, as living creatures. To me, Madrid is a man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/the-haunting-of-history-is-ever-present-in-barcelona-i-see-cities-as/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Waiting is the rust of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/waiting-is-the-rust-of-the-soul/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“The main pillar of organized religion, with few exceptions, is the subjugation, repression, even the annulment of women in the group. Woman must accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/the-main-pillar-of-organized-religion-with-few-exceptions-is-the/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“Bea says that the art of reading is slowly dying, that it's an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/bea-says-that-the-art-of-reading-is-slowly-dying-that-it-s-an/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Human beings believe just as they breathe - in order to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/human-beings-believe-just-as-they-breathe-in-order-to-survive/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“Darwin was a dreamer, I can assure you. No evolution or anything of the sort. For every one who can reason, I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/darwin-was-a-dreamer-i-can-assure-you-no-evolution-or-anything-of-the/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) [Explore all 785 Carlos Ruiz Zafon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) ## More Absence quotes > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [Local and state governments have outrun the federal government. The EPA has served notice that it will enact a rule requiring CO2 reductions by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/local-and-state-governments-have-outrun-the-federal-government-the/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Cooperation isn't the absence of conflict but a means of managing conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/cooperation-isn-t-the-absence-of-conflict-but-a-means-of-managing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [Will capitalist economies operate at full employment in the absence of routine intervention? Certainly not. Are deviations from full employment a social problem? Obviously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/will-capitalist-economies-operate-at-full-employment-in-the-absence/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [We must begin by acknowledging that there is a complete absence of two things in Indian Society. One of these is equality. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/we-must-begin-by-acknowledging-that-there-is-a-complete-absence-of/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) [Browse all 2,057 Absence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...until that moment I had not understood that this was a story about lonely people, about absence and loss, and that that was why I had taken refuge in it until it became confused with my own life, like someone who has escaped into the pages of a novel because those whom he needs to love seem nothing more than ghosts inhabiting the mind of a stranger.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carlos Ruiz Zafon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/until-that-moment-i-had-not-understood-that-this-was-a-story-about/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/until-that-moment-i-had-not-understood-that-this-was-a-story-about/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/carlos-ruiz-zafon-126_absence_until-that-moment-i-had-not-understood-t_808340.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/carlos-ruiz-zafon-126_absence_until-that-moment-i-had-not-understood-t_808340.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/carlos-ruiz-zafon-126_absence_until-that-moment-i-had-not-understood-t_808340.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...until that moment I had not understood that this was a story about lonely people, about absence and loss…” — Carlos Ruiz Zafon", "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": "Carlos Ruiz Zafon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "...until that moment I had not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/until-that-moment-i-had-not-understood-that-this-was-a-story-about/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/until-that-moment-i-had-not-understood-that-this-was-a-story-about/#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 } } ] } ```