--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had tenderness in his heart — ‘a soft…" description: "\"He had tenderness in his heart — ‘a soft place,’ as Nicholas Higgins called it; but he had some pride in concealing it; he kept it very sacred and safe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68f/elizabeth-gaskell-894_admission_he-had-tenderness-in-his-heart-a-soft-pl_438123.jpg" --- # He had tenderness in his heart — ‘a soft place,’ as… ![“He had tenderness in his heart — ‘a soft place,’ as Nicholas Higgins called it; but he had some pride in concealing it; he kept it very sacred and safe, and was jealous of every circumstance that tried to gain admission. But if he dreaded exposure of his tenderness, he was equally desirous that…” quote by Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68f/elizabeth-gaskell-894_admission_he-had-tenderness-in-his-heart-a-soft-pl_438123.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68f/elizabeth-gaskell-894_admission_he-had-tenderness-in-his-heart-a-soft-pl_438123.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68f/elizabeth-gaskell-894_admission_he-had-tenderness-in-his-heart-a-soft-pl_438123.jpg) > “He had tenderness in his heart — ‘a soft place,’ as Nicholas Higgins called it; but he had some pride in concealing it; he kept it very sacred and safe, and was jealous of every circumstance that tried to gain admission. But if he dreaded exposure of his tenderness, he was equally desirous that all men should recognize his justice; and he felt that he had been unjust, in giving so scornful a hearing to anyone who had waited, with humble patience, for five hours, to speak to him.” [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) ## 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 hides his deep kindness behind pride, fearing vulnerability while yearning for others to see his fairness. **In simple terms:** He protects his tenderness but wants his justice recognized. Key Takeaway Balance openness with self‑respect. Themes pride vulnerability justice self‑protection Mood reflective conflicted Type literary character study When to use this quote - leadership - personal relationships - conflict resolution Key Concepts human nature social perception emotional concealment Questions to Reflect On - How does pride affect your willingness to show kindness? - What does true justice mean to you? A Different Perspective His fear of exposure may prevent authentic connections. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exposure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exposure/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Humble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humble/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Tenderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenderness/) ## Related quotes > [In those days we were punished very frequently and I felt that it was often unjust, and so I would resist the desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-hillary/in-those-days-we-were-punished-very-frequently-and-i-felt-that-it-was/) [Edmund Hillary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-hillary/) > [“Life often felt unjust, but death was the biggest injustice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/life-often-felt-unjust-but-death-was-the-biggest-injustice/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [Our greatest strength lies in the gentleness and tenderness of our heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/our-greatest-strength-lies-in-the-gentleness-and-tenderness-of-our/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart." Jane Austen in 'Emma”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/there-is-no-charm-equal-to-tenderness-of-heart-jane-austen-in-emma/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart,' said she afterwards to herself.  'There is nothing to be compared to it.  Warmth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/there-is-no-charm-equal-to-tenderness-of-heart-said-she-afterwards-to/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“He holds her with the strength of a million-man army, but with all the tenderness of her heart lying naked in the palms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kreitzer/he-holds-her-with-the-strength-of-a-million-man-army-but-with-all-the/) [Laura Kreitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kreitzer/) > [The combination of physical strength and moral sincerity combined with tenderness of heart is exactly what is wanted in a husband.--Ameila Peabody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-combination-of-physical-strength-and-moral-sincerity-combined/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/there-is-no-charm-equal-to-tenderness-of-heart/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [He's the kind of player that is worth the price of admission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-feaster/he-s-the-kind-of-player-that-is-worth-the-price-of-admission/) Jay Feaster > [Silly ideas, worth the admission price in smiles, but they're true. Is high-energy physics interesting because it's true or because it's crazy?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/silly-ideas-worth-the-admission-price-in-smiles-but-they-re-true-is/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [Strong men don't compromise, it is said, and principles should never be compromised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/strong-men-don-t-compromise-it-is-said-and-principles-should-never-be/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) > [Do you trust me? The question is usually asked before an admission that such trust is misplaced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-watson/do-you-trust-me-the-question-is-usually-asked-before-an-admission/) [S.J. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-watson/) > [Pride is an admission of weakness; it secretly fears all competition and dreads all rivals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/pride-is-an-admission-of-weakness-it-secretly-fears-all-competition/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [In Hollywood, not to have an analyst is virtually an admission of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-vanderbilt/in-hollywood-not-to-have-an-analyst-is-virtually-an-admission-of/) [Amy Vanderbilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-vanderbilt/) > [I wonder how long it would take him to realize I'm right as sin - it's the rest of the world that's wrong. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/i-wonder-how-long-it-would-take-him-to-realize-i-m-right-as-sin-it-s/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) ## More by Elizabeth Gaskell > [“Osborne and Roger knowing that the wife of the former was a Frenchwoman, and, conscious of each other's knowledge, felt doubly awkward; while Molly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/osborne-and-roger-knowing-that-the-wife-of-the-former-was-a/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Well, He had known what love was-a sharp pang, a fierce experience, in the midst of whose flames he was struggling! but, through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/well-he-had-known-what-love-was-a-sharp-pang-a-fierce-experience-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [In all disappointments sympathy is a great balm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/in-all-disappointments-sympathy-is-a-great-balm/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [But Margaret went less abroad, among machinery and men; saw less of power in its public effect, and, as it happened, she was thrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/but-margaret-went-less-abroad-among-machinery-and-men-saw-less-of/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“And besides, in the matter of friendship, I have observed that the disappointment here arises chiefly, not from liking our friends too well, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/and-besides-in-the-matter-of-friendship-i-have-observed-that-the/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [What other people may think of the rightness or wrongness is nothing in comparison to my own deep knowledge, my innate conviction that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/what-other-people-may-think-of-the-rightness-or-wrongness-is-nothing/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“The first question sobbed out by his choking voice, oppressed with emotion, was-- "Where is she?" They led him to the room where his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/the-first-question-sobbed-out-by-his-choking-voice-oppressed-with/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Wearily she went to bed, wearily she arose in four or five hours' time. But with the morning came hope, and a brighter view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/wearily-she-went-to-bed-wearily-she-arose-in-four-or-five-hours-time/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [No one loves me, - no one cares for me, but you, mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/no-one-loves-me-no-one-cares-for-me-but-you-mother/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [I won't say she was silly, but I think one of us was silly, and it wasn't me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/i-won-t-say-she-was-silly-but-i-think-one-of-us-was-silly-and-it-wasn/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Mr. Thorton love Margaret! Why, Margraret would never think of him, I'm sure! Such a thing has never entered her head." "Entering her heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/mr-thorton-love-margaret-why-margraret-would-never-think-of-him-i-m/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“He never looked at her; and yet, the careful avoidance of his eyes betokened that in some way he knew exactly where, if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/he-never-looked-at-her-and-yet-the-careful-avoidance-of-his-eyes/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“Ay! but mother's words are scarce, and weigh heavy. Father's liker me, and we talk a deal o' rubble; but mother's words are liker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/ay-but-mother-s-words-are-scarce-and-weigh-heavy-father-s-liker-me/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Margaret liked this smile; it was the first thing she had admired in this new friend of her father's; and the opposition of character,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/margaret-liked-this-smile-it-was-the-first-thing-she-had-admired-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Don’t be afraid,” she said, coldly, “ as far as love may go she may be worthy of you. It must have taken a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/don-t-be-afraid-she-said-coldly-as-far-as-love-may-go-she-may-be/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) [Explore all 330 Elizabeth Gaskell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) ## More Admission quotes > [I wonder how long it would take him to realize I'm right as sin - it's the rest of the world that's wrong. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/i-wonder-how-long-it-would-take-him-to-realize-i-m-right-as-sin-it-s/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [In Hollywood, not to have an analyst is virtually an admission of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-vanderbilt/in-hollywood-not-to-have-an-analyst-is-virtually-an-admission-of/) [Amy Vanderbilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-vanderbilt/) > [Pride is an admission of weakness; it secretly fears all competition and dreads all rivals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/pride-is-an-admission-of-weakness-it-secretly-fears-all-competition/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Do you trust me? The question is usually asked before an admission that such trust is misplaced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-j-watson/do-you-trust-me-the-question-is-usually-asked-before-an-admission/) [S.J. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-j-watson/) > [Strong men don't compromise, it is said, and principles should never be compromised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-carnegie/strong-men-don-t-compromise-it-is-said-and-principles-should-never-be/) [Andrew Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-carnegie/) > [Silly ideas, worth the admission price in smiles, but they're true. Is high-energy physics interesting because it's true or because it's crazy?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/silly-ideas-worth-the-admission-price-in-smiles-but-they-re-true-is/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [He's the kind of player that is worth the price of admission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-feaster/he-s-the-kind-of-player-that-is-worth-the-price-of-admission/) Jay Feaster > [However, I had a chance encounter with an admissions officer of Stevens Institute of Technology, who so impressed me by his erudition and enthusiasm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-reines/however-i-had-a-chance-encounter-with-an-admissions-officer-of/) [Frederick Reines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-reines/) > [African American children can't be educationally disadvantaged for 12 years and then experience a miracle cure when it comes time for admission into college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaka-fattah/african-american-children-can-t-be-educationally-disadvantaged-for-12/) [Chaka Fattah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaka-fattah/) > [The interval allowed was only five minutes, at the end of which I resumed the lecture; but so refreshing was the effects of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-combe/the-interval-allowed-was-only-five-minutes-at-the-end-of-which-i/) [George Combe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-combe/) > [Look around. Take the tour. Fear hangs on the wall and shame sometimes. Emotional dislocation too. But I am brave in my admission. Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-grimes/look-around-take-the-tour-fear-hangs-on-the-wall-and-shame-sometimes/) [Nikki Grimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-grimes/) > [We hear much nowadays as to the speculative ideas of men concerning the condition beyond the grave; but the admission that there is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-talmage/we-hear-much-nowadays-as-to-the-speculative-ideas-of-men-concerning/) [James E. Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-talmage/) > [A full and candid admission of one's mistakes should make proof against its repetition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/a-full-and-candid-admission-of-one-s-mistakes-should-make-proof/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [In poor environment, I find great inspiration. Many of the men and women whom I admire as artists, the things they write, the songs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-belafonte/in-poor-environment-i-find-great-inspiration-many-of-the-men-and/) [Harry Belafonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-belafonte/) > [I like to pretend that I'm a tough guy. It's kind of an admission of defeat if I have to ask for help -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-louise-parker/i-like-to-pretend-that-i-m-a-tough-guy-it-s-kind-of-an-admission-of/) [Mary-Louise Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-louise-parker/) Browse all 242 Admission quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He had tenderness in his heart — ‘a soft place,’ as Nicholas Higgins called it; but he had some pride in concealing it; he kept it very sacred and safe, and was jealous of every circumstance that tried to gain admission. 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