--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Michael takes me from behind, half…" description: "\"“Michael takes me from behind, half asleep, fierce and close. He is taking me impersonally, and so I do not respond as I do when he is loving Anna. And..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/doris-lessing-501_bad-temper_michael-takes-me-from-behind-half-asleep_1445224.jpg" --- # Michael takes me from behind, half asleep, fierce and… ![“Michael takes me from behind, half asleep, fierce and close. He is taking me impersonally, and so I do not respond as I do when he is loving Anna. And besides with one half of my mind I am thinking how, if I hear Janet’s soft feet outside, I must be up and across the room to stop her coming in…” quote by Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/doris-lessing-501_bad-temper_michael-takes-me-from-behind-half-asleep_1445224.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/doris-lessing-501_bad-temper_michael-takes-me-from-behind-half-asleep_1445224.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/doris-lessing-501_bad-temper_michael-takes-me-from-behind-half-asleep_1445224.jpg) > ““Michael takes me from behind, half asleep, fierce and close. He is taking me impersonally, and so I do not respond as I do when he is loving Anna. And besides with one half of my mind I am thinking how, if I hear Janet’s soft feet outside, I must be up and across the room to stop her coming in. She never comes in until seven; that is the rule; I do not expect her to come in; yet I have to be alert. While Michael grips me and fills me the noises next door continue, and I know he hears them too, and that part of the pleasure, for him, is to take me in hazard; that Janet, the little girl, the eight-year-old, represents for him partly women—other women, whom he betrays to sleep with me; and partly, child; the essence of child, against whom he is asserting his rights to live. He never speaks of his own children without a small, half-affectionate, half-aggressive laugh—his heirs, and his assassins. My child, a few feet away through the wall, he will not allow to cheat him of his freedom. When we are finished, he says: “And now, Anna, I suppose you are going to desert me for Janet?” And he sounds like a child who feels himself slighted for a younger brother or sister. I laugh and kiss him; although the resentment is suddenly so strong I clench my teeth against it. I control it, as always, by thinking: If I were a man I’d be the same. The control and discipline of being a mother came so hard to me, that I can’t delude myself that if I’d been a man, and not forced into self-control, I’d have been any different. And yet for the few moments it takes for me to put on the wrap to go into Janet, the resentment is like a raging poison. Before I go in to Janet I wash myself quickly between the legs so that the smell of sex may not disturb her, even though she doesn’t yet know what it is. I like the smell, and hate to wash it off so quickly; and the fact that I must adds to my bad temper.”” [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## 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 explores complex sexual dynamics, jealousy, and the narrator’s internal conflict between desire, maternal instincts, and self‑control. **In simple terms:** A woman wrestles with desire, jealousy, and control. Key Takeaway Recognize and examine conflicting emotions. Themes sexuality jealousy power identity motherhood Mood conflicted reflective tense Type literary psychological confessional When to use this quote - intimate relationships - family dynamics - personal reflection - sexual health - emotional regulation Key Concepts psychology gender roles power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile desire with moral responsibilities? - What does control mean in intimate contexts? A Different Perspective The narrator’s rationalizations may overlook deeper trauma and power imbalance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad temper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-temper/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Little girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-girl/) [Younger brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/younger-brother/) ## Related quotes > [“Before Anna’s eyes she changed from a little girl into a sombre woman. She sat staring: serious, ironical. “Don’t you see, I’ve got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/before-anna-s-eyes-she-changed-from-a-little-girl-into-a-sombre-woman/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [For me it is really important to have a story with blood in the veins, there are bad tempers and good tempers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/for-me-it-is-really-important-to-have-a-story-with-blood-in-the-veins/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [“I do think your brother grows more peculiar every day,' I complain to Edward when he comes to my rooms in Whitehall Palace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/i-do-think-your-brother-grows-more-peculiar-every-day-i-complain-to/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [Clary," Jace said again. "You know: short, redheaded, bad temper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clary-jace-said-again-you-know-short-redheaded-bad-temper/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“If a man crosses a river and an empty boat collides with his own skiff, Even though he be bad tempered man He will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuang-tzu-2/if-a-man-crosses-a-river-and-an-empty-boat-collides-with-his-own/) Chuang-Tzu > [“The truth is that I will always need you more than you need me. It’s also the truth that I’m not a good bet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-morton/the-truth-is-that-i-will-always-need-you-more-than-you-need-me-it-s/) [Lily Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-morton/) > [Bad temper is its own scourge. Few things are more bitter than to feel bitter. A man's venom poisons himself more than his victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-buxton/bad-temper-is-its-own-scourge-few-things-are-more-bitter-than-to-feel/) [Charles Buxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-buxton/) > [“He was very interested in everything that lay to the North because no one ever went that way and he was never allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/he-was-very-interested-in-everything-that-lay-to-the-north-because-no/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“So long as I perceive the world as hostile, I remain linked to it: \*I am not crazy\*. But sometimes, once my bad temper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/so-long-as-i-perceive-the-world-as-hostile-i-remain-linked-to-it-i-am/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Nah, I don't have a bad temper. I just have a quick reaction to bullshit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nah-i-don-t-have-a-bad-temper-i-just-have-a-quick-reaction-to-bullshit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A man of bad character punishes his own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ghazali/a-man-of-bad-character-punishes-his-own-soul/) [Al-Ghazali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ghazali/) > [“For example, if a man with a bad temper has been provoked, then he will surely start shouting or start a fight. You could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-t-rivers/for-example-if-a-man-with-a-bad-temper-has-been-provoked-then-he-will/) Clarence T. Rivers > [Truths of life¦ The most beautiful day: Today The easiest thing: Equivocate The biggest obstacle: Fear The gravest error: give up, to despair The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/truths-of-life-the-most-beautiful-day-today-the-easiest-thing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If a man is crossing the river and an empty boat collides with his skiff, even though he is a bad tempered man he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/if-a-man-is-crossing-the-river-and-an-empty-boat-collides-with-his/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [“To use strong language, she thought, was a sign of bad temper and lack of concern for others. Such people were not clever or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/to-use-strong-language-she-thought-was-a-sign-of-bad-temper-and-lack/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) ## More by Doris Lessing > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“In the morning, when she wishes me to wake, she crouches on my chest, and pats my face with her paw. Or, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/in-the-morning-when-she-wishes-me-to-wake-she-crouches-on-my-chest/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-know-whenever-women-make-imaginary-female-kingdoms-in-literature/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second best is anything but second best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/there-is-only-one-real-sin-and-that-is-to-persuade-oneself-that-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“She was using the water as she had used the fruit earlier—to calm herself, to assure herself of the possibility of normality. Yet all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/she-was-using-the-water-as-she-had-used-the-fruit-earlier-to-calm/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I remember World War II when there were very few books, very little paper available. For me to walk into a shop or look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-remember-world-war-ii-when-there-were-very-few-books-very-little/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“While she strode rapidly through the ward to the door at the other end, she was able to see that every bed or cot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/while-she-strode-rapidly-through-the-ward-to-the-door-at-the-other/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I do not think that marriage is one of my talents. I've been much happier unmarried than married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-that-marriage-is-one-of-my-talents-i-ve-been-much/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I haven't got the energy to write now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-haven-t-got-the-energy-to-write-now/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-really-fascinates-me-is-this-need-that-is-so-strong-now-that-if/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The charge that the United Nations are using bacteriological warfare in Korea cannot be dismissed merely because it would be insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-charge-that-the-united-nations-are-using-bacteriological-warfare/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What I did have, which others perhaps didn't, was a capacity for sticking at it, which really is the point, not the talent at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-i-did-have-which-others-perhaps-didn-t-was-a-capacity-for/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The human community is evolving... . We can survive anything you care to mention. We are supremely equipped to survive, to adapt and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-human-community-is-evolving-we-can-survive-anything-you-care-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [So love is rest? The cosy corner? The little nook? Sometimes it ought to be. Sometimes it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/so-love-is-rest-the-cosy-corner-the-little-nook-sometimes-it-ought-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) [Explore all 508 Doris Lessing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## More Bad temper quotes > [“To use strong language, she thought, was a sign of bad temper and lack of concern for others. Such people were not clever or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/to-use-strong-language-she-thought-was-a-sign-of-bad-temper-and-lack/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [If a man is crossing the river and an empty boat collides with his skiff, even though he is a bad tempered man he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/if-a-man-is-crossing-the-river-and-an-empty-boat-collides-with-his/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [Truths of life¦ The most beautiful day: Today The easiest thing: Equivocate The biggest obstacle: Fear The gravest error: give up, to despair The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/truths-of-life-the-most-beautiful-day-today-the-easiest-thing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“For example, if a man with a bad temper has been provoked, then he will surely start shouting or start a fight. You could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-t-rivers/for-example-if-a-man-with-a-bad-temper-has-been-provoked-then-he-will/) Clarence T. Rivers > [A man of bad character punishes his own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ghazali/a-man-of-bad-character-punishes-his-own-soul/) [Al-Ghazali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ghazali/) > [Nah, I don't have a bad temper. I just have a quick reaction to bullshit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nah-i-don-t-have-a-bad-temper-i-just-have-a-quick-reaction-to-bullshit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“So long as I perceive the world as hostile, I remain linked to it: \*I am not crazy\*. But sometimes, once my bad temper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/so-long-as-i-perceive-the-world-as-hostile-i-remain-linked-to-it-i-am/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“He was very interested in everything that lay to the North because no one ever went that way and he was never allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/he-was-very-interested-in-everything-that-lay-to-the-north-because-no/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Bad temper is its own scourge. Few things are more bitter than to feel bitter. A man's venom poisons himself more than his victim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-buxton/bad-temper-is-its-own-scourge-few-things-are-more-bitter-than-to-feel/) [Charles Buxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-buxton/) > [“The truth is that I will always need you more than you need me. It’s also the truth that I’m not a good bet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-morton/the-truth-is-that-i-will-always-need-you-more-than-you-need-me-it-s/) [Lily Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-morton/) > [“If a man crosses a river and an empty boat collides with his own skiff, Even though he be bad tempered man He will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuang-tzu-2/if-a-man-crosses-a-river-and-an-empty-boat-collides-with-his-own/) Chuang-Tzu > [Clary," Jace said again. "You know: short, redheaded, bad temper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clary-jace-said-again-you-know-short-redheaded-bad-temper/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“I do think your brother grows more peculiar every day,' I complain to Edward when he comes to my rooms in Whitehall Palace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/i-do-think-your-brother-grows-more-peculiar-every-day-i-complain-to/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [For me it is really important to have a story with blood in the veins, there are bad tempers and good tempers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/for-me-it-is-really-important-to-have-a-story-with-blood-in-the-veins/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [“You have a bad temper, Mr. Morrison.” “Get the hell off me,” Tate snarled through his teeth. “I’m not on you.” “Yes, you fucking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-frank/you-have-a-bad-temper-mr-morrison-get-the-hell-off-me-tate-snarled/) [Ella Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-frank/) [Browse all 93 Bad temper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-temper/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Michael takes me from behind, half asleep, fierce and close. He is taking me impersonally, and so I do not respond as I do when he is loving Anna. And besides with one half of my mind I am thinking how, if I hear Janet’s soft feet outside, I must be up and across the room to stop her coming in. She never comes in until seven; that is the rule; I do not expect her to come in; yet I have to be alert. While Michael grips me and fills me the noises next door continue, and I know he hears them too, and that part of the pleasure, for him, is to take me in hazard; that Janet, the little girl, the eight-year-old, represents for him partly women—other women, whom he betrays to sleep with me; and partly, child; the essence of child, against whom he is asserting his rights to live. He never speaks of his own children without a small, half-affectionate, half-aggressive laugh—his heirs, and his assassins. My child, a few feet away through the wall, he will not allow to cheat him of his freedom. When we are finished, he says: “And now, Anna, I suppose you are going to desert me for Janet?” And he sounds like a child who feels himself slighted for a younger brother or sister. I laugh and kiss him; although the resentment is suddenly so strong I clench my teeth against it. I control it, as always, by thinking: If I were a man I’d be the same. The control and discipline of being a mother came so hard to me, that I can’t delude myself that if I’d been a man, and not forced into self-control, I’d have been any different. And yet for the few moments it takes for me to put on the wrap to go into Janet, the resentment is like a raging poison. Before I go in to Janet I wash myself quickly between the legs so that the smell of sex may not disturb her, even though she doesn’t yet know what it is. I like the smell, and hate to wash it off so quickly; and the fact that I must adds to my bad temper.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Doris Lessing" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/michael-takes-me-from-behind-half-asleep-fierce-and-close-he-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad temper" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/michael-takes-me-from-behind-half-asleep-fierce-and-close-he-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/doris-lessing-501_bad-temper_michael-takes-me-from-behind-half-asleep_1445224.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/doris-lessing-501_bad-temper_michael-takes-me-from-behind-half-asleep_1445224.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/doris-lessing-501_bad-temper_michael-takes-me-from-behind-half-asleep_1445224.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Michael takes me from behind, half asleep, fierce and close. 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