--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man is whole only when he takes into…" description: "\"A man is whole only when he takes into account his shadow as well as himself - and what is a man's shadow but his upright astonishment?\" — Djuna Barnes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/djuna-barnes-3957_accounts_a-man-is-whole-only-when-he-takes-into-a_2725266.png" --- # A man is whole only when he takes into account his shadow… ![“A man is whole only when he takes into account his shadow as well as himself - and what is a man's shadow but his upright astonishment?” quote by Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/djuna-barnes-3957_accounts_a-man-is-whole-only-when-he-takes-into-a_2725266.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/djuna-barnes-3957_accounts_a-man-is-whole-only-when-he-takes-into-a_2725266.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b7/djuna-barnes-3957_accounts_a-man-is-whole-only-when-he-takes-into-a_2725266.png) > “A man is whole only when he takes into account his shadow as well as himself - and what is a man's shadow but his upright astonishment?” [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑acceptance requires acknowledging both light and dark parts of oneself, including unsettling aspects. **In simple terms:** Accept your shadow as part of you. Key Takeaway Integrate your hidden traits for wholeness. Themes self‑knowledge psychology wholeness Mood introspective thoughtful Type psychological literary When to use this quote - personal growth - therapy - creative expression - relationship dynamics Key Concepts shadow work identity integration Questions to Reflect On - What does your “shadow” look like? - How can confronting it empower you? A Different Perspective Some may view the shadow as inherently negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accounts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accounts/) [Astonishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishment/) [Man Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-shadow-495148/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Shadow Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow-man-495151/) [Shadow Upright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow-upright-2912798/) [Upright Astonishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upright-astonishment-2912797/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [A shadowless man is a monster, a devil, a thing of evil. A man without a shadow is soulless. A shadow without a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-yolen/a-shadowless-man-is-a-monster-a-devil-a-thing-of-evil-a-man-without-a/) [Jane Yolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-yolen/) > [“They constantly try to escape From the darkness outside and within By dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/they-constantly-try-to-escape-from-the-darkness-outside-and-within-by/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [Not many people like him, he's an angry man. He'd go after his own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hunt/not-many-people-like-him-he-s-an-angry-man-he-d-go-after-his-own/) [Stephen Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hunt/) > [That man has no shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/that-man-has-no-shadow/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Is an institution always a man's shadow shortened in the sun, the lowest common denominator of everybody in it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/is-an-institution-always-a-man-s-shadow-shortened-in-the-sun-the/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [I have gone through the most terrible affair that could possibly happen; only imagine, my shadow has gone mad; I suppose such a poor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-christian-andersen/i-have-gone-through-the-most-terrible-affair-that-could-possibly/) [Hans Christian Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-christian-andersen/) > [It is the same for all men. None of us can escape this shadow of the father, even if that shadow fills us with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-nerburn/it-is-the-same-for-all-men-none-of-us-can-escape-this-shadow-of-the/) [Kent Nerburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-nerburn/) > [The whole shadow of Man is only as big as his hat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bishop/the-whole-shadow-of-man-is-only-as-big-as-his-hat/) [Elizabeth Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bishop/) > [An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/an-institution-is-the-lengthened-shadow-of-one-man/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [There is much more mystery in the shadow of a man walking on a sunny day, than in all religions of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-de-chirico/there-is-much-more-mystery-in-the-shadow-of-a-man-walking-on-a-sunny/) [Giorgio de Chirico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-de-chirico/) > [“He was a shadow of the man that once intimidated us out of our home, a shell of a human being, a fragment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-louden/he-was-a-shadow-of-the-man-that-once-intimidated-us-out-of-our-home-a/) [David Louden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-louden/) > [If a man's shadow is brighter than himself, than that man becomes the shadow itself!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-a-man-s-shadow-is-brighter-than-himself-than-that-man-becomes-the/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [It certainly strikes the beholder with astonishment, to perceive what vast difficulties can be overcome by the pigmy arms of little mortal man, aided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-certainly-strikes-the-beholder-with-astonishment-to-perceive-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Realism falls short of reality. It shrinks it, attenuates it, falsifies it; it does not take into account our basic truths and our fundamental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/realism-falls-short-of-reality-it-shrinks-it-attenuates-it-falsifies/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [“A writer lives, at least, in a state of astonishment. Beneath any feeling he has of the good or evil of the world lies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sansom/a-writer-lives-at-least-in-a-state-of-astonishment-beneath-any/) [William Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sansom/) ## More by Djuna Barnes > [“There goes the dismantled—Love has fallen off her wall. A religious woman,” he thought to himself, “without the joy and safety of the Catholic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/there-goes-the-dismantled-love-has-fallen-off-her-wall-a-religious/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Of course I think of the past and of Paris, what else is there to remember?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/of-course-i-think-of-the-past-and-of-paris-what-else-is-there-to/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [A strong sense of identity gives man an idea he can do no wrong; too little accomplishes the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/a-strong-sense-of-identity-gives-man-an-idea-he-can-do-no-wrong-too/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [My war brought me many things; let yours bring you as much. 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Man seeking his own head? The human head, so rented by misery that even the teeth weigh! She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/god-she-cried-what-is-love-man-seeking-his-own-head-the-human-head-so/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Suffering for love is how I have learned practically everything I know, love of grandmother up and on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/suffering-for-love-is-how-i-have-learned-practically-everything-i/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“No man need curing of his individual sickness; his universal malady is what he should look to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/no-man-need-curing-of-his-individual-sickness-his-universal-malady-is/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [When autumn shadows throw their patterns across the land, they are not the images of fragile, dying leaves, not the bared arms of lofty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/when-autumn-shadows-throw-their-patterns-across-the-land-they-are-not/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [Our bones ache only while the flesh is on them. Stretch it as thin as the temple flesh of an ailing woman and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/our-bones-ache-only-while-the-flesh-is-on-them-stretch-it-as-thin-as/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“I tell you, Madame, if one gave birth to a heart on a plate, it would say “Love” and twitch like the lopped leg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-tell-you-madame-if-one-gave-birth-to-a-heart-on-a-plate-it-would/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [“Those who turn the day into night, the young, the drug addict, the profligate, the drunken and that most miserable, the lover who watches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/those-who-turn-the-day-into-night-the-young-the-drug-addict-the/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) > [I couldn't ever boil potatoes over the heat of your affection. Your love would never bridge a gap; it wouldn't even fill up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djuna-barnes/i-couldn-t-ever-boil-potatoes-over-the-heat-of-your-affection-your/) [Djuna Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) [Explore all 116 Djuna Barnes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djuna-barnes/) ## More Accounts quotes > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. 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