--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It had been a conscious decision to pull…" description: "\"“It had been a conscious decision to pull free. It had taken everything I had to do it, like an animal gnawing a limb off to escape a trap. And somehow..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/donna-tartt-391_quote_it-had-been-a-conscious-decision-to-pull_2182697.jpg" --- # It had been a conscious decision to pull free. It had… ![“It had been a conscious decision to pull free. It had taken everything I had to do it, like an animal gnawing a limb off to escape a trap. And somehow I had done it;” quote by Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/donna-tartt-391_quote_it-had-been-a-conscious-decision-to-pull_2182697.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/donna-tartt-391_quote_it-had-been-a-conscious-decision-to-pull_2182697.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf9/donna-tartt-391_quote_it-had-been-a-conscious-decision-to-pull_2182697.jpg) > ““It had been a conscious decision to pull free. It had taken everything I had to do it, like an animal gnawing a limb off to escape a trap. And somehow I had done it;”” [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## 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 describes a painful, animal‑like struggle to free oneself, highlighting the intense effort required to escape a trap. **In simple terms:** Escaping a trap feels like a painful, animal struggle. Key Takeaway Endure hardship to break free. Themes struggle freedom resilience Mood determined somber Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - addiction recovery - career change - relationship break‑up - creative breakthrough Key Concepts Survival instinct personal transformation psychological pain Questions to Reflect On - What “traps” are you confronting? - How can you seek support while striving for freedom? A Different Perspective The metaphor may glorify suffering over seeking help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscious decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious-decision/) [Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) [Escape Trap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape-trap-2101558/) [Limb Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limb-escape-4722246/) [Pull Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pull-free-4722245/) ## Related quotes > [“(...) I do want to leave, in the desperate way that an animal wants to escape a trap. Wild and rabid. Ready to gnaw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-do-want-to-leave-in-the-desperate-way-that-an-animal-wants-to/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [You've heard of animals chewing off a leg to escape a trap? There's an animal kind of trick. A human would remain in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/you-ve-heard-of-animals-chewing-off-a-leg-to-escape-a-trap-there-s-an/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [I do everything I think possible or acceptable to escape from this trap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-derrida/i-do-everything-i-think-possible-or-acceptable-to-escape-from-this/) [Jacques Derrida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-derrida/) > [“It was going to be impossible to escape her own trap, she would lose this man without ever really having him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-was-going-to-be-impossible-to-escape-her-own-trap-she-would-lose/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Unfortunately, the escape became the trap.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-cameron/unfortunately-the-escape-became-the-trap/) [Marcia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-cameron/) > [Just because you escape one trap, doesn't mean you will escape the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/just-because-you-escape-one-trap-doesn-t-mean-you-will-escape-the-next/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [I've always wanted to write, I've always wanted to direct. The conscious decision was always to not be an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-levinson/i-ve-always-wanted-to-write-i-ve-always-wanted-to-direct-the/) [Sam Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-levinson/) > [I made a conscious decision back then that I would rather be the best actress who ever lived than the most famous one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-kirkland/i-made-a-conscious-decision-back-then-that-i-would-rather-be-the-best/) [Sally Kirkland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-kirkland/) > [“Everything you could be is dependent upon you making a conscious decision to open up to this river of light within yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-vickers/everything-you-could-be-is-dependent-upon-you-making-a-conscious/) [Lee Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-vickers/) > [It wasn't a conscious decision to pick only positive roles. Things just fell into place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiten-tejwani/it-wasn-t-a-conscious-decision-to-pick-only-positive-roles-things/) [Hiten Tejwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiten-tejwani/) > [I have no major regrets. I've made the conscious decision not to look at life that way. I always try to learn something -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-anne-moss/i-have-no-major-regrets-i-ve-made-the-conscious-decision-not-to-look/) [Carrie-Anne Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-anne-moss/) > [The conscious decision, early on, was that I was going to live in New York. That was it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ivory/the-conscious-decision-early-on-was-that-i-was-going-to-live-in-new/) [James Ivory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ivory/) > [It's a conscious decision to keep trying to do something new, to do things that excite me from my gut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anupriya-goenka/it-s-a-conscious-decision-to-keep-trying-to-do-something-new-to-do/) [Anupriya Goenka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anupriya-goenka/) > [I've made this conscious decision to tell people on the street when I think they're wearing something great. If more people did that, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-jensen/i-ve-made-this-conscious-decision-to-tell-people-on-the-street-when-i/) [Ashley Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-jensen/) > [It was a conscious decision on my part to take up fewer films. And if you're not seen that often on screen, nobody calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-lever/it-was-a-conscious-decision-on-my-part-to-take-up-fewer-films-and-if/) [Johnny Lever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-lever/) ## More by Donna Tartt > [I hope we're all ready to leave the phenomenal world, and enter into the sublime?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/i-hope-we-re-all-ready-to-leave-the-phenomenal-world-and-enter-into/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-i-add-my-own-love-to-the-history-of-people-who-have-loved/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The world won't come to me...so I must go to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-world-won-t-come-to-me-so-i-must-go-to-it/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [There's an expectation these days that novels - like any other consumer product - should be made on a production line, with one dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/there-s-an-expectation-these-days-that-novels-like-any-other-consumer/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. But that Sunday afternoon, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-month-or-two-before-i-would-have-been-appalled-at-the-idea-of-any/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Well, I think storytellers have always found murder a fascinating device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/well-i-think-storytellers-have-always-found-murder-a-fascinating/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Always remember, the person we’re really working for is the person who’s restoring the piece a hundred years from now. He’s the one we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/always-remember-the-person-we-re-really-working-for-is-the-person-who/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The silence between us was happy and strange, connected by the cord and the icy voices thinly echoing. “You don’t have to talk,” she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-silence-between-us-was-happy-and-strange-connected-by-the-cord/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from all the world, that no one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-learn-as-a-child-that-one-is-a-being/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“You didn’t meet many people who moved freely through the world with such a vigorous contempt for it and at the same time such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/you-didn-t-meet-many-people-who-moved-freely-through-the-world-with/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“maybe that’s what’s waiting for us at the end of the journey, a majesty unimaginable until the very moment we find ourselves walking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/maybe-that-s-what-s-waiting-for-us-at-the-end-of-the-journey-a/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“lights and moods and seasons was to see it a thousand different ways and to keep it shut in the dark—a thing made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/lights-and-moods-and-seasons-was-to-see-it-a-thousand-different-ways/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don’t get to choose our own hearts. We can’t make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-great-sorrow-and-one-that-i-am-only-beginning-to-understand-we-don/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Upon meeting Julian Morrow, one has the impression that he is a man of extraordinary sympathy and warmth. But what you call his 'Asiatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/upon-meeting-julian-morrow-one-has-the-impression-that-he-is-a-man-of/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) [Explore all 590 Donna Tartt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## More Conscious decision quotes > [It was a conscious decision on my part to take up fewer films. And if you're not seen that often on screen, nobody calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-lever/it-was-a-conscious-decision-on-my-part-to-take-up-fewer-films-and-if/) [Johnny Lever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-lever/) > [I've made this conscious decision to tell people on the street when I think they're wearing something great. If more people did that, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-jensen/i-ve-made-this-conscious-decision-to-tell-people-on-the-street-when-i/) [Ashley Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-jensen/) > [It's a conscious decision to keep trying to do something new, to do things that excite me from my gut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anupriya-goenka/it-s-a-conscious-decision-to-keep-trying-to-do-something-new-to-do/) [Anupriya Goenka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anupriya-goenka/) > [The conscious decision, early on, was that I was going to live in New York. That was it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ivory/the-conscious-decision-early-on-was-that-i-was-going-to-live-in-new/) [James Ivory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ivory/) > [I have no major regrets. I've made the conscious decision not to look at life that way. I always try to learn something -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-anne-moss/i-have-no-major-regrets-i-ve-made-the-conscious-decision-not-to-look/) [Carrie-Anne Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-anne-moss/) > [It wasn't a conscious decision to pick only positive roles. Things just fell into place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiten-tejwani/it-wasn-t-a-conscious-decision-to-pick-only-positive-roles-things/) [Hiten Tejwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiten-tejwani/) > [“Everything you could be is dependent upon you making a conscious decision to open up to this river of light within yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-vickers/everything-you-could-be-is-dependent-upon-you-making-a-conscious/) [Lee Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-vickers/) > [I made a conscious decision back then that I would rather be the best actress who ever lived than the most famous one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-kirkland/i-made-a-conscious-decision-back-then-that-i-would-rather-be-the-best/) [Sally Kirkland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-kirkland/) > [I've always wanted to write, I've always wanted to direct. The conscious decision was always to not be an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-levinson/i-ve-always-wanted-to-write-i-ve-always-wanted-to-direct-the/) [Sam Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-levinson/) > [“There are two decisions you need to make after you have accepted Jesus into your life. One: You need to make the decision to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corallie-buchanan/there-are-two-decisions-you-need-to-make-after-you-have-accepted/) [Corallie Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corallie-buchanan/) > [I made a conscious decision when I was recording 'Acoustic Soul' to - and this is one of my mantras - follow the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-arie/i-made-a-conscious-decision-when-i-was-recording-acoustic-soul-to-and/) [India Arie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-arie/) > [I made a conscious decision when I was writing that book to depict in real time how I treated it, and how I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/i-made-a-conscious-decision-when-i-was-writing-that-book-to-depict-in/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [My conscious decision has always been to do work that's meaningful and play characters that give something to the film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huma-qureshi/my-conscious-decision-has-always-been-to-do-work-that-s-meaningful/) [Huma Qureshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huma-qureshi/) > [I've never made a conscious decision to choose work over other considerations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-berejiklian/i-ve-never-made-a-conscious-decision-to-choose-work-over-other/) [Gladys Berejiklian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-berejiklian/) > [It's a conscious decision, a full-time job, to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerli/it-s-a-conscious-decision-a-full-time-job-to-be-happy/) [Kerli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerli/) [Browse all 93 Conscious decision quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious-decision/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It had been a conscious decision to pull free. 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