--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never,” said he, as he ground his teeth…" description: "\"“Never,” said he, as he ground his teeth, “never was anything at once so frail and so indomitable. A mere reed she feels in my hand!” (And he shook me ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/charlotte-bronte-144_freedom-of-thought_never-said-he-as-he-ground-his-teeth-nev_2121764.jpg" --- # Never,” said he, as he ground his teeth, “never was… ![“Never,” said he, as he ground his teeth, “never was anything at once so frail and so indomitable. A mere reed she feels in my hand!” (And he shook me with the force of his hold.) “I could bend her with my finger and thumb: and what good would it do if I bent, if I uptore, if I crushed her?…” quote by Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/charlotte-bronte-144_freedom-of-thought_never-said-he-as-he-ground-his-teeth-nev_2121764.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/charlotte-bronte-144_freedom-of-thought_never-said-he-as-he-ground-his-teeth-nev_2121764.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/charlotte-bronte-144_freedom-of-thought_never-said-he-as-he-ground-his-teeth-nev_2121764.jpg) > ““Never,” said he, as he ground his teeth, “never was anything at once so frail and so indomitable. A mere reed she feels in my hand!” (And he shook me with the force of his hold.) “I could bend her with my finger and thumb: and what good would it do if I bent, if I uptore, if I crushed her? Consider that eye: consider the resolute, wild, free thing looking out of it, defying me, with more than courage—with a stern triumph. Whatever I do with its cage, I cannot get at it—the savage, beautiful creature! If I tear, if I rend the slight prison, my outrage will only let the captive loose. Conqueror I might be of the house; but the inmate would escape to heaven before I could call myself possessor of its clay dwellingplace. And it is you, spirit—with will and energy, and virtue and purity— that I want: not alone your brittle frame. Of yourself you could come with soft flight and nestle against my heart, if you would: seized against your will, you will elude the grasp like an essence—you will vanish ere I inhale your fragrance.”” [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects the tension between fragile beauty and indomitable spirit, urging respect for inner essence over attempts to control it. **In simple terms:** Respect inner spirit, not its fragile form. Key Takeaway Value freedom over domination. Themes freedom spirit control beauty Mood reflective poetic intense Type literary philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - artistic creation - self‑reflection - ethical leadership Key Concepts existentialism romanticism human nature Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor inner strength without trying to possess it? - What does true freedom look like in relationships? A Different Perspective Attempting to dominate can destroy what is most precious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Captive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captive/) [Captive Loose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captive-loose-4331940/) [Defying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defying/) [Freedom of thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-thought/) [Let Captive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-captive-4331939/) [Looking Defying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-defying-4331941/) ## Related quotes > [I could program a 'fabulous, I love it' kind of hit season right now. I'm more interested in breaking boundaries, telling a story, defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-could-program-a-fabulous-i-love-it-kind-of-hit-season-right-now-i-m/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [Suddenly the nickel-clad horse takes the bit in its mouth and goes slanting for the curbstone defying all prayers and all your powers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/suddenly-the-nickel-clad-horse-takes-the-bit-in-its-mouth-and-goes/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [ I don't know whom or what he was defying. \[...\] \[M\]aybe the God he had never believed in. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-don-t-know-whom-or-what-he-was-defying-m-aybe-the-god-he-had-never/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [A high view of God’s sovereignty fuels death-defying devotion to global missions. Maybe another way to put it, people, and more specifically pastors, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/a-high-view-of-god-s-sovereignty-fuels-death-defying-devotion-to/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/the-young-always-have-the-same-problem-how-to-rebel-and-conform-at/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Man seems to be capable of great virtues but not of small virtues; capable of defying his torturer but not of keeping his temper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/man-seems-to-be-capable-of-great-virtues-but-not-of-small-virtues-2/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Canadians are friends and Quebecers are my family. What France knows deep down is that within this great Canadian people, there is a Quebec…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-sarkozy/canadians-are-friends-and-quebecers-are-my-family-what-france-knows/) [Nicolas Sarkozy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-sarkozy/) > [So one time for my disillusioned artists, I hear ya Two times for the kid that air-guitars in the mirror Three times for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-denzongpa/so-one-time-for-my-disillusioned-artists-i-hear-ya-two-times-for-the/) [Danny Denzongpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-denzongpa/) > [The analytical geometry of Descartes and the calculus of Newton and Leibniz have expanded into the marvelous mathematical method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-murray-butler/the-analytical-geometry-of-descartes-and-the-calculus-of-newton-and/) [Nicholas Murray Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-murray-butler/) > [In my mid-twenties, I said to myself: 'I can't perform anymore!' I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't perform for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-kayden/in-my-mid-twenties-i-said-to-myself-i-can-t-perform-anymore-i-didn-t/) [Spencer Kayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-kayden/) > [If you are proposing to commit a sin it is as well to commit it with intelligence. Otherwise you are insulting God as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/if-you-are-proposing-to-commit-a-sin-it-is-as-well-to-commit-it-with/) [P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/) > [Revisiting the Revolutionary War is a bracing reminder that the fate of a continent, and the shape of the modern world, turned on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/revisiting-the-revolutionary-war-is-a-bracing-reminder-that-the-fate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Fear best lends itself to the creation of Nature-defying illusions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/fear-best-lends-itself-to-the-creation-of-nature-defying-illusions/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [To hurry through the rise and fall of a fine, full sentence is like defying the role of time in human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/to-hurry-through-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-fine-full-sentence-is-like/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [The president is under 50 percent approval ratings in all the battleground states. So, you could say that President Obama is defying gravity by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-liasson/the-president-is-under-50-percent-approval-ratings-in-all-the/) [Mara Liasson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-liasson/) ## More by Charlotte Brontë > [When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should - so hard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/when-we-are-struck-at-without-a-reason-we-should-strike-back-again/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“A deal of people, Miss, are for trusting all to Providence; but I say Providence will not dispense with the means, though He often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/a-deal-of-people-miss-are-for-trusting-all-to-providence-but-i-say/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“This night is not calm; the equinox still struggles in its storms. The wild rains of the day are abated; the great single cloud…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/this-night-is-not-calm-the-equinox-still-struggles-in-its-storms-the/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“How dare I, Mrs Reed? How dare I? Because it is the truth. You think I have no feelings, and that I can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/how-dare-i-mrs-reed-how-dare-i-because-it-is-the-truth-you-think-i/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little amazed; but the cleverest, the acutest men are often under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-men-could-see-us-as-we-really-are-they-would-be-a-little-amazed/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Poverty, for me, is synonymous with degradation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/poverty-for-me-is-synonymous-with-degradation/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [When his first-born was put into his arms, he could see that the boy had inherited his own eyes, as they once were -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/when-his-first-born-was-put-into-his-arms-he-could-see-that-the-boy/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Talented people almost always know full well the excellence that is in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/talented-people-almost-always-know-full-well-the-excellence-that-is/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Not one spark of spirit, not one symptom of resistance, would they have shown till the hand of the Corsican bandit had grasped that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/not-one-spark-of-spirit-not-one-symptom-of-resistance-would-they-have/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Love can excuse anything except meanness; but meanness kills love, cripples even natural affection; without esteem true love cannot exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/love-can-excuse-anything-except-meanness-but-meanness-kills-love/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [I think you will learn to be natural with me, as I find it impossible to be conventional with you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-think-you-will-learn-to-be-natural-with-me-as-i-find-it-impossible/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“You are no ruin sir--no lighting-struck tree: you are green and vigorous. Plants will grow about your roots, whether you ask them or not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/you-are-no-ruin-sir-no-lighting-struck-tree-you-are-green-and/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) [Explore all 1,082 Charlotte Brontë quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) ## More Captive quotes > [“Looking out the rain-fogged window at the gray November day, Mary felt almost grateful for the snug warmth of her well-heated chamber. Escape, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-george/looking-out-the-rain-fogged-window-at-the-gray-november-day-mary-felt/) [Margaret George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-george/) > [“Cathy, don't look so defeated. She was only trying to put us down again. Maybe nothing did work out right for her, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/cathy-don-t-look-so-defeated-she-was-only-trying-to-put-us-down-again/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/my-name-is-truth-and-i-am-the-most-elusive-captive-in-the-universe/) [Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/) > [Make me a captive Lord, then I shall be truly free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/make-me-a-captive-lord-then-i-shall-be-truly-free/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“Trauma is personal. It does not disappear if it is not validated. When it is ignored or invalidated the silent screams continue internally heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-bernock/trauma-is-personal-it-does-not-disappear-if-it-is-not-validated-when/) [Danielle Bernock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-bernock/) > [“He knew that no matter what, this woman, once his blood slave, then his greatest downfall, and finally his salvation would never fail to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-stevens/he-knew-that-no-matter-what-this-woman-once-his-blood-slave-then-his/) [Erica Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-stevens/) > [“Every person I save is another victory against the evil that festers in this world and I will not rest until every captive is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinley-macgregor/every-person-i-save-is-another-victory-against-the-evil-that-festers/) [Kinley MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinley-macgregor/) > [“One of the worst cases of employee abuse that I witnessed in the workplace was a toxic manager holding employees captive in a remote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/one-of-the-worst-cases-of-employee-abuse-that-i-witnessed-in-the/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“I wonder which one of us is more despicable.Is it the person relentlessly chasing after love or the person desperately holding it captive? We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dahlia-lu/i-wonder-which-one-of-us-is-more-despicable-is-it-the-person/) [Dahlia Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dahlia-lu/) > [Our bodies are held captive, but our pursuit of freedom cannot be contained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/our-bodies-are-held-captive-but-our-pursuit-of-freedom-cannot-be/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [The rise of digital technology put marketers in a bind. No longer a captive audience, consumers were splitting their time across devices, social networks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/the-rise-of-digital-technology-put-marketers-in-a-bind-no-longer-a/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [Oh, Jacques, we're used to each other, we're a pair of captive hawks caught in the same cage, and so we've grown used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/oh-jacques-we-re-used-to-each-other-we-re-a-pair-of-captive-hawks/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“Damn, Ian was already there. I braced myself as he came out from behind the RV. He sniffed, his nose wrinkling. Then he looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/damn-ian-was-already-there-i-braced-myself-as-he-came-out-from-behind/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [In 'Falling Skies,' I was playing a soldier and a fighter, and then, when I was taken captive, you're still in this post-apocalyptic world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessy-schram/in-falling-skies-i-was-playing-a-soldier-and-a-fighter-and-then-when/) [Jessy Schram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessy-schram/) > [Cage of freedom, that's our prison; we're the jailer and captive combined Cage of freedom, cast in power; all the trappings of our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-anderson/cage-of-freedom-that-s-our-prison-we-re-the-jailer-and-captive/) [Jon Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-anderson/) [Browse all 138 Captive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Never,” said he, as he ground his teeth, “never was anything at once so frail and so indomitable. A mere reed she feels in my hand!” (And he shook me with the force of his hold.) “I could bend her with my finger and thumb: and what good would it do if I bent, if I uptore, if I crushed her? Consider that eye: consider the resolute, wild, free thing looking out of it, defying me, with more than courage—with a stern triumph. Whatever I do with its cage, I cannot get at it—the savage, beautiful creature! If I tear, if I rend the slight prison, my outrage will only let the captive loose. Conqueror I might be of the house; but the inmate would escape to heaven before I could call myself possessor of its clay dwellingplace. And it is you, spirit—with will and energy, and virtue and purity— that I want: not alone your brittle frame. Of yourself you could come with soft flight and nestle against my heart, if you would: seized against your will, you will elude the grasp like an essence—you will vanish ere I inhale your fragrance.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charlotte Brontë" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/never-said-he-as-he-ground-his-teeth-never-was-anything-at-once-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Captive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/never-said-he-as-he-ground-his-teeth-never-was-anything-at-once-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/charlotte-bronte-144_freedom-of-thought_never-said-he-as-he-ground-his-teeth-nev_2121764.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/charlotte-bronte-144_freedom-of-thought_never-said-he-as-he-ground-his-teeth-nev_2121764.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/charlotte-bronte-144_freedom-of-thought_never-said-he-as-he-ground-his-teeth-nev_2121764.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Never,” said he, as he ground his teeth, “never was anything at once so frail and so indomitable. A mere…” — Charlotte Brontë", "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": "Charlotte Brontë", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Never,” said he, as he ground...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/never-said-he-as-he-ground-his-teeth-never-was-anything-at-once-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/never-said-he-as-he-ground-his-teeth-never-was-anything-at-once-so/#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 } } ] } ```