--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had built up within himself a kind of…" description: "\"“He had built up within himself a kind of sanctuary in which she throned among his secret thoughts and longings. Little by little it became the scene o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/edith-wharton-512_absent-minded_he-had-built-up-within-himself-a-kind-of_2696316.png" --- # He had built up within himself a kind of sanctuary in… ![“He had built up within himself a kind of sanctuary in which she throned among his secret thoughts and longings. Little by little it became the scene of his real life, of his only rational activities; thither he brought the books he read, the ideas and feelings which nourished him, his judgments…” quote by Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/edith-wharton-512_absent-minded_he-had-built-up-within-himself-a-kind-of_2696316.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/edith-wharton-512_absent-minded_he-had-built-up-within-himself-a-kind-of_2696316.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/edith-wharton-512_absent-minded_he-had-built-up-within-himself-a-kind-of_2696316.png) > ““He had built up within himself a kind of sanctuary in which she throned among his secret thoughts and longings. Little by little it became the scene of his real life, of his only rational activities; thither he brought the books he read, the ideas and feelings which nourished him, his judgments and his visions. Outside it, in the scene of his actual life, he moved with a growing sense of unreality and insufficiency, blundering against familiar prejudices and traditional points of view as an absent-minded man goes on bumping into the furniture of his own room.”” [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man creates an inner sanctuary of thoughts and ideas, contrasting with his external reality, leading to a sense of unreality. **In simple terms:** He retreats into his mind, feeling detached from real life. Key Takeaway Balance inner reflection with external engagement. Themes psychology inner life reality introspection fiction Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal journals - creative writing - literary analysis Key Concepts selfhood sanctuary illusion Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards against losing touch with reality? - How can inner ideas inform external actions? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on inner world may cause disconnection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absent minded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absent-minded/) [Actual life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actual-life/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Little by little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-by-little/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Minded Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minded-man-913079/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Secret thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-thoughts/) [Sense Unreality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-unreality-1954105/) [Thoughts Longings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-longings-2698322/) ## Related quotes > [“Little by little it became the scene of his real life, of his only rational activities; thither he brought the books he read, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/little-by-little-it-became-the-scene-of-his-real-life-of-his-only/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [ I think that sense of unreality inspired me to write the story within the book that \[August\] Brill tells himself, one of the stories… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-think-that-sense-of-unreality-inspired-me-to-write-the-story-within/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“I now understand that deja vu is the awareness of the simultaneous occurrence of a nearly identical event in an alternate universe as perceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-czuchlewski/i-now-understand-that-deja-vu-is-the-awareness-of-the-simultaneous/) [David Czuchlewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-czuchlewski/) > [“Did you know, that one night; one moonless, clear, shining night; with the shadowy silhouettes of trees crisp against the star-filled sky – I,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhika-mukherjee/did-you-know-that-one-night-one-moonless-clear-shining-night-with-the/) [Radhika Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhika-mukherjee/) > [No one has ever asked an actor, 'You're playing a strong-minded man…' We assume that men are strong-minded, or have opinions. But a strong-minded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/no-one-has-ever-asked-an-actor-you-re-playing-a-strong-minded-man-we/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [The soft-minded man always fears change. He feels security in the status quo, and he has an almost morbid fear of the new. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-soft-minded-man-always-fears-change-he-feels-security-in-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [No serious-minded man should have time for the mediocre in any phase of his living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cash-penney/no-serious-minded-man-should-have-time-for-the-mediocre-in-any-phase/) [James Cash Penney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cash-penney/) > [The high-minded man does not bear grudges, for it is not the mark of a great soul to remember injuries, but to forget them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-high-minded-man-does-not-bear-grudges-for-it-is-not-the-mark-of-a/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Now, to a single-minded man, who is either brave enough or reckless enough to surrender himself wholly to one idea, and look neither right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/now-to-a-single-minded-man-who-is-either-brave-enough-or-reckless/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [A fair-minded man tries to see both sides of an argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/a-fair-minded-man-tries-to-see-both-sides-of-an-argument/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [The high-minded man is fond of conferring benefits, but it shames him to receive them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-high-minded-man-is-fond-of-conferring-benefits-but-it-shames-him/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“No high-minded man, no man of right feeling, can contemplate the lumbering and slovenly lying of the present day without grieving to see a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/no-high-minded-man-no-man-of-right-feeling-can-contemplate-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Even a feeble-minded man wants to be like other men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/even-a-feeble-minded-man-wants-to-be-like-other-men/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [The weak-minded man is the slave of his vices and the dupe of his virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-antoine-petit-senn/the-weak-minded-man-is-the-slave-of-his-vices-and-the-dupe-of-his/) [Jean Antoine Petit-Senn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-antoine-petit-senn/) > [“A tough man, usually ends up in prison, but a strong-minded man, will own the prison.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/a-tough-man-usually-ends-up-in-prison-but-a-strong-minded-man-will/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) ## More by Edith Wharton > [“Suddenly the air was full of that deep clangor of bells which periodically covers Rome with a roof of silver.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/suddenly-the-air-was-full-of-that-deep-clangor-of-bells-which/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile. And he felt himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/untrained-human-nature-was-not-frank-and-innocent-it-was-full-of-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“High Pasture Come up--come up: in the dim vale below The autumn mist muffles the fading trees, But on this keen hill-pasture, though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/high-pasture-come-up-come-up-in-the-dim-vale-below-the-autumn-mist/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Two ways to be a light for all, is to be a flaming candle or the mirror that reflects it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/two-ways-to-be-a-light-for-all-is-to-be-a-flaming-candle-or-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“... no treasure-house of Atreus was ever as rich as a well-stored memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/no-treasure-house-of-atreus-was-ever-as-rich-as-a-well-stored-memory/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“...the endless labour of rolling human stupidity up the steep hill of understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-endless-labour-of-rolling-human-stupidity-up-the-steep-hill-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material and social interests held together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of-the-other-marriages-about/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-real-loneliness-is-living-among-all-these-kind-people-who-only/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [With a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/with-a-shiver-of-foreboding-he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Life is the saddest thing there is, next to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/life-is-the-saddest-thing-there-is-next-to-death/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/a-classic-is-classic-not-because-it-conforms-to-certain-structural/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [There is too much sour grapes for my taste in the present American attitude. The time to denounce the bankers was when we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-is-too-much-sour-grapes-for-my-taste-in-the-present-american/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“But in a few years more perhaps there may be; for, deep within us as the ghost instinct lurks, I seem to see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/but-in-a-few-years-more-perhaps-there-may-be-for-deep-within-us-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Dialogue in fiction should be reserved for the culminating moments and regarded as the spray into which the great wave of narrative breaks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/dialogue-in-fiction-should-be-reserved-for-the-culminating-moments/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“These Americans, under their forthcoming manner, their surface-gush, as some might call it, have an odd reticence about what goes on underneath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/these-americans-under-their-forthcoming-manner-their-surface-gush-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) [Explore all 504 Edith Wharton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## More Absent minded quotes > [The very serpents bite their tails; the bees forget to sting, For a language so celestial setteth up a wondering. And the touch of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/the-very-serpents-bite-their-tails-the-bees-forget-to-sting-for-a/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [I am a gifted absent-minded person who honks the horn at speed breakers / speed bumps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohit-sharma/i-am-a-gifted-absent-minded-person-who-honks-the-horn-at-speed/) [Mohit Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohit-sharma/) > [“I am amazingly absent; I believe I am the most absent creature in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-am-amazingly-absent-i-believe-i-am-the-most-absent-creature-in-the/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“To be productive, you have to stop being absent-minded”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/to-be-productive-you-have-to-stop-being-absent-minded/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [I believe in the gods; or rather I believe that I believe in the gods. But I don't believe that they are great brooding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/i-believe-in-the-gods-or-rather-i-believe-that-i-believe-in-the-gods/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [Old men when they begin to hear the last trumpet, on the morning breeze, often have a kind of absent-minded smile; like people listening.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-cary/old-men-when-they-begin-to-hear-the-last-trumpet-on-the-morning/) [Joyce Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-cary/) > [I like to put my iPad on the window and leave it there for however long the journey is, so that I'm staring out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-albarn/i-like-to-put-my-ipad-on-the-window-and-leave-it-there-for-however/) [Damon Albarn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-albarn/) > [“But it's not easy, because friendship is absent-minded or at least powerless. It cannot achieve what it wants. Perhaps, after all, it doesn't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/but-it-s-not-easy-because-friendship-is-absent-minded-or-at-least/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“He wrote Véra sheepishly: “Something has happened (only don’t be angry). I can’t remember (for God’s sake, don’t be angry!) I can’t remember (promise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/he-wrote-v-ra-sheepishly-something-has-happened-only-don-t-be-angry-i/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [The eager or dutiful persons who subject themselves to these tidal waves of the classics and the moderns find everything wonderful in an absent-minded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-eager-or-dutiful-persons-who-subject-themselves-to-these-tidal/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [The secret motive of the absent-minded is to be innocent while guilty. Absent-mindedness is spurious innocence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-secret-motive-of-the-absent-minded-is-to-be-innocent-while-guilty/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“But how will you bear an absentminded man who, if he happens to see you, will kill you? That is what tries the nerves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/but-how-will-you-bear-an-absentminded-man-who-if-he-happens-to-see/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [I must be getting absent-minded. Whenever I complain that things aren't what they used to be, I always forget to include myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/i-must-be-getting-absent-minded-whenever-i-complain-that-things-aren/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [Slothful, feeble, pretentious, pedantic, elitist - these are some of the epithets that eventually become associated with the absent minded scholar, the poor sighted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/slothful-feeble-pretentious-pedantic-elitist-these-are-some-of-the/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [“Once a hunter met a lion near the hungry critter's lair, and the way that lion mauled him was decidedly unfair; but the hunter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-mason/once-a-hunter-met-a-lion-near-the-hungry-critter-s-lair-and-the-way/) [Walt Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-mason/) [Browse all 47 Absent minded quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absent-minded/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He had built up within himself a kind of sanctuary in which she throned among his secret thoughts and longings. 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