--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What mattered more was the feeling, a…" description: "\"“What mattered more was the feeling, a rich sweet undertow so commanding that in class, on the school bus, lying in bed trying to think of something sa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d64/donna-tartt-391_money_what-mattered-more-was-the-feeling-a-ric_840598.jpg" --- # What mattered more was the feeling, a rich sweet undertow… ![“What mattered more was the feeling, a rich sweet undertow so commanding that in class, on the school bus, lying in bed trying to think of something safe or pleasant, some environment or configuration where my chest wasn’t tight with anxiety, all I had to do was sink into the blood-warm current and…” quote by Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d64/donna-tartt-391_money_what-mattered-more-was-the-feeling-a-ric_840598.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d64/donna-tartt-391_money_what-mattered-more-was-the-feeling-a-ric_840598.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d64/donna-tartt-391_money_what-mattered-more-was-the-feeling-a-ric_840598.jpg) > ““What mattered more was the feeling, a rich sweet undertow so commanding that in class, on the school bus, lying in bed trying to think of something safe or pleasant, some environment or configuration where my chest wasn’t tight with anxiety, all I had to do was sink into the blood-warm current and let myself spin away to the secret place where everything was all right.”” [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. He describes a vivid, comforting mental escape that eases anxiety, immersing in a warm, safe internal world. **In simple terms:** A mental sanctuary eases anxiety. Key Takeaway Cultivate calming inner spaces. Themes psychology comfort anxiety Mood calming introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - therapy - stress relief - creative writing Key Concepts mindfulness inner peace sensory imagery Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your mental sanctuary? - How can you balance escape with reality? A Different Perspective Escapism may avoid confronting real issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) [Mattered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mattered/) [Mattered Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mattered-feeling-638697/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [School bus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school-bus/) [Sweet Undertow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweet-undertow-638698/) [Undertow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undertow/) ## Related quotes > [“How were you supposed to explain this kind of thing? It seemed stupid to try. Even the memory was starting to seem vague and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/how-were-you-supposed-to-explain-this-kind-of-thing-it-seemed-stupid/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“You’ll be okay, Eila. You are stronger than you think,” he said, a tad too serious. 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Don't know what you're expecting of me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linkin-park/im-tried-of-being-what-you-want-me-to-be-feeling-so-faithless-lost/) [Linkin Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linkin-park/) > [I love the sea with its impenetrable fathoms, its wash and undertow, and rasp of shingle sucked anew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-e-barber/i-love-the-sea-with-its-impenetrable-fathoms-its-wash-and-undertow/) [Margaret E. Barber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-e-barber/) > [remember to recognize the small successes that you will have. Don't let the brightness of that big goal blind you to what happens on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-ball/remember-to-recognize-the-small-successes-that-you-will-have-don-t/) [Lucille Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-ball/) > [They will tell you tough stories of sharks all over the Cape, which I do not presume to doubt utterly,--how they will sometimes upset…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/they-will-tell-you-tough-stories-of-sharks-all-over-the-cape-which-i/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Patient endurance permits us to cling to our faith in the Lord and our faith in His timing when we are being tossed about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/patient-endurance-permits-us-to-cling-to-our-faith-in-the-lord-and/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) ## 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 Feeling quotes > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My feeling has always been that 'Good Eats' would have never happened had it been left to a committee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/my-feeling-has-always-been-that-good-eats-would-have-never-happened/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [Tryna hide this pain with these pain killers, she said the storms only will last a little while but shit it got me feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myself/tryna-hide-this-pain-with-these-pain-killers-she-said-the-storms-only/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myself/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Hate not knowing when things are going to happen feeling different every single day. It is called LIFE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-valdovinos/hate-not-knowing-when-things-are-going-to-happen-feeling-different/) [Stephanie Valdovinos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-valdovinos/) > [The best feeling comes when you realise, that you are perfectly happy without the things, once you thought you needed the most…!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-feeling-comes-when-you-realise-that-you-are-perfectly-happy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love transforming myself constantly because it gives me that 'new' feeling that I'm very much addicted to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-mondo/i-love-transforming-myself-constantly-because-it-gives-me-that-new/) [Brad Mondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-mondo/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [There has always been a feeling with people that they love my singing but not always the choice of material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/there-has-always-been-a-feeling-with-people-that-they-love-my-singing/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [What I do miss that I don't get anymore? You're going to think I'm crazy, but you want the truth, so here it is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mandrell/what-i-do-miss-that-i-don-t-get-anymore-you-re-going-to-think-i-m/) [Barbara Mandrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mandrell/) > [I think kids growing up, if they were picked on and feeling inferior at 12, they're going to feel that way at 72. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-think-kids-growing-up-if-they-were-picked-on-and-feeling-inferior/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [I don't think Alfonso was a big expert on Potter either. He was feeling his way through it more than I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-thewlis/i-don-t-think-alfonso-was-a-big-expert-on-potter-either-he-was/) [David Thewlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-thewlis/) > [The most difficult part for me is feeling connected to the people that I love but always being on the go to different places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-franti/the-most-difficult-part-for-me-is-feeling-connected-to-the-people/) [Michael Franti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-franti/) [Browse all 8,809 Feeling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What mattered more was the feeling, a rich sweet undertow so commanding that in class, on the school bus, lying in bed trying to think of something safe or pleasant, some environment or configuration where my chest wasn’t tight with anxiety, all I had to do was sink into the blood-warm current and let myself spin away to the secret place where everything was all right.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Tartt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/what-mattered-more-was-the-feeling-a-rich-sweet-undertow-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feeling" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/what-mattered-more-was-the-feeling-a-rich-sweet-undertow-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d64/donna-tartt-391_money_what-mattered-more-was-the-feeling-a-ric_840598.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d64/donna-tartt-391_money_what-mattered-more-was-the-feeling-a-ric_840598.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d64/donna-tartt-391_money_what-mattered-more-was-the-feeling-a-ric_840598.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What mattered more was the feeling, a rich sweet undertow so commanding that in class, on the school bus…” — Donna Tartt", "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": "Donna Tartt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What mattered more was the feeling,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/what-mattered-more-was-the-feeling-a-rich-sweet-undertow-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/what-mattered-more-was-the-feeling-a-rich-sweet-undertow-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 } } ] } ```