--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I didn't hit other people or hit…" description: "\"“I didn't hit other people or hit purposefully, I just hit. Some object would be at fault. My anger was at myself, every time, all vanity. As an adoles..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/eudora-welty-1564_adversary_i-didn-t-hit-other-people-or-hit-purpose_1412365.jpg" --- # I didn't hit other people or hit purposefully, I just hit… ![“I didn't hit other people or hit purposefully, I just hit. Some object would be at fault. My anger was at myself, every time, all vanity. As an adolescent I was a slammer of drawers and a packer of suitcases. I was responsible for scenes. Control came imperfectly to all of us: we reached it at…” quote by Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/eudora-welty-1564_adversary_i-didn-t-hit-other-people-or-hit-purpose_1412365.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/eudora-welty-1564_adversary_i-didn-t-hit-other-people-or-hit-purpose_1412365.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/eudora-welty-1564_adversary_i-didn-t-hit-other-people-or-hit-purpose_1412365.jpg) > ““I didn't hit other people or hit purposefully, I just hit. Some object would be at fault. My anger was at myself, every time, all vanity. As an adolescent I was a slammer of drawers and a packer of suitcases. I was responsible for scenes. Control came imperfectly to all of us: we reached it at different times of life, frustrated, shot into indignation, by different things - some that are grown out of, and others not. Of all my strong emotions, anger is the one least responsible for any of my work. I don't write out of anger. For one thing, simply as a fiction writer, I am minus an adversary - except, of course, that of time - and for another thing, the act of writing in itself brings me happiness.”” [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects that anger is directed inward, not a source of creative drive, and that writing brings happiness rather than serving as an outlet for rage. **In simple terms:** Anger is self‑directed and not his for writing. Key Takeaway Recognize the true motivations behind your work. Themes self‑reflection creativity emotion writing Mood introspective thoughtful Type literary psychological When to use this quote - personal journaling - creative workshops - therapy sessions Key Concepts psychology literature self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What emotions truly fuel your creativity? - Can you separate personal feelings from artistic output? A Different Perspective Anger can still influence work indirectly, even if not acknowledged. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversary/) [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Strong emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-emotions/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Vanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vanity/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I think you can't write with anger. I think it always has to be with a wink. There always has to be an element…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-russell/i-think-you-can-t-write-with-anger-i-think-it-always-has-to-be-with-a/) [Mark Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-russell/) > [The best emotions to write out of are anger and fear or dread. The least energizing emotion to write out of is admiration. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-best-emotions-to-write-out-of-are-anger-and-fear-or-dread-the/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Some of us, I imagine, write out of anger; some out of pain; some write out of prejudice or loss, some out of passion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-ellory/some-of-us-i-imagine-write-out-of-anger-some-out-of-pain-some-write/) [R.J. Ellory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-ellory/) > [I find there's this weird anger thing: Someone will approach me at the bar and say, 'Hey, can I buy you a drink?' And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-simone/i-find-there-s-this-weird-anger-thing-someone-will-approach-me-at-the/) [Hannah Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-simone/) > [Sometimes I wish I was dead I wish I wouldn't have to deal with this shitty life. I really wish my life was worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/sometimes-i-wish-i-was-dead-i-wish-i-wouldn-t-have-to-deal-with-this/) Im Nothing > [“It was that stages-of-anger thing. I was shocked and then I got pissed and then I fought like hell … and then I went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilsa-j-bick/it-was-that-stages-of-anger-thing-i-was-shocked-and-then-i-got-pissed/) [Ilsa J. Bick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilsa-j-bick/) > [“I tried to push down my anger. One thing I hated more than Daemon's douche-nozzle side was him telling me what to do. "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/i-tried-to-push-down-my-anger-one-thing-i-hated-more-than-daemon-s/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [“Strong emotions create significant changes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-marques/strong-emotions-create-significant-changes/) [Daniel Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-marques/) > [“The caption reads, “Emperor Andon-Roon enjoys a surge in popularity after brokering a peace deal with Caderyn after twelve cycles of war.” For some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-alder/the-caption-reads-emperor-andon-roon-enjoys-a-surge-in-popularity/) Stephen Alder > [“Jean-Claude’s eyes widened just a bit. ‘Ma petite, you have had a busy night, I see.’ His French accent was as thick as I’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/jean-claude-s-eyes-widened-just-a-bit-ma-petite-you-have-had-a-busy/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [A wild longing for strong emotions and sensations seethes in me, a rage against this toneless, flat, normal and sterile life. I have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-wild-longing-for-strong-emotions-and-sensations-seethes-in-me-a/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Reason is the first victim of strong emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/reason-is-the-first-victim-of-strong-emotion/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [I grew up in a family that despised displays of strong emotion, rage in particular. We stewed. We sulked. When arguments did occur, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koren-zailckas/i-grew-up-in-a-family-that-despised-displays-of-strong-emotion-rage/) [Koren Zailckas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koren-zailckas/) > [A man has only a limited number of ways in which he can express strong emotions or violent passions. He uses the same gestures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tadeusz-borowski/a-man-has-only-a-limited-number-of-ways-in-which-he-can-express/) [Tadeusz Borowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tadeusz-borowski/) > [On stage, you can bring all those strong emotions that you don't have the opportunity to live. You don't want to die for love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/on-stage-you-can-bring-all-those-strong-emotions-that-you-don-t-have/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) ## More by Eudora Welty > [“She (my mother) could still recite them (the poems) in full when she was lying helpless and nearly blind, in her bed, an old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/she-my-mother-could-still-recite-them-the-poems-in-full-when-she-was/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them. I suppose it’s an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/long-before-i-wrote-stories-i-listened-for-stories-listening-for-them/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Once you're into a story everything seems to apply-what you overhear on a city bus is exactly what your character would say on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/once-you-re-into-a-story-everything-seems-to-apply-what-you-overhear/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“Two by two, I read library books as fast as I could go, rushing them home in the basket of my bicycle. From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/two-by-two-i-read-library-books-as-fast-as-i-could-go-rushing-them/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“When somebody, no matter who, gives everything, it makes people feel ashamed for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/when-somebody-no-matter-who-gives-everything-it-makes-people-feel/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“Daydreaming had started me on the way; but story writing, once I was truly in its grip, took me and shook me awake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/daydreaming-had-started-me-on-the-way-but-story-writing-once-i-was/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“All children in those small-town, unhurried days had a vast inner life going on in the movies. Children were allowed to go without chaperone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/all-children-in-those-small-town-unhurried-days-had-a-vast-inner-life/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“At the sting in her eyes, she remembered for him that there must be no tears in his.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/at-the-sting-in-her-eyes-she-remembered-for-him-that-there-must-be-no/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“We do need to bring to our writing, over and over again, all the abundance we possess. To be able, to be ready, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/we-do-need-to-bring-to-our-writing-over-and-over-again-all-the/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“Could she ever be, would she be, where she was going?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/could-she-ever-be-would-she-be-where-she-was-going/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“When one of us (children) caught measles or whooping cough and we were isolated in bad upstairs, we wrote notes to each other perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/when-one-of-us-children-caught-measles-or-whooping-cough-and-we-were/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“She (my mother) stood always prepared in herself to challenge the world in our place. She did indeed tend to make the world look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/she-my-mother-stood-always-prepared-in-herself-to-challenge-the-world/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“For there is hate as well as love, she supposed, in the coming together and continuing of our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/for-there-is-hate-as-well-as-love-she-supposed-in-the-coming-together/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“In children's art class we sat in a ring of kindergarten chairs and drew three daffodils that had just been picked out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/in-children-s-art-class-we-sat-in-a-ring-of-kindergarten-chairs-and/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [People are mostly layers of violence and tenderness wrapped like bulbs, and it is difficult to say what makes them onions or hyacinths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/people-are-mostly-layers-of-violence-and-tenderness-wrapped-like/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) [Explore all 227 Eudora Welty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) ## More Adversary quotes > [“Satan wants you to believe that you don't have a choice in the matter. You can't be happy until things go the way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-rietzsch/satan-wants-you-to-believe-that-you-don-t-have-a-choice-in-the-matter/) Lindsey Rietzsch > [Anthony Weiner is a crafty and worthy adversary - an unrepentant lefty who is usually a savvy media player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-stone/anthony-weiner-is-a-crafty-and-worthy-adversary-an-unrepentant-lefty/) [Roger Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-stone/) > [My adversary is the world of finance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-hollande/my-adversary-is-the-world-of-finance/) [Francois Hollande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-hollande/) > [And these two elements are at odds with one another because Freud is utterly adversary to almost all the ways of structuring the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/and-these-two-elements-are-at-odds-with-one-another-because-freud-is/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [You negotiate in bad faith if you do not forgive your adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/you-negotiate-in-bad-faith-if-you-do-not-forgive-your-adversary/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [“price. There is no such thing as pure good or pure evil, least of all in people. In the best of us there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/price-there-is-no-such-thing-as-pure-good-or-pure-evil-least-of-all/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [If you have an adversary, an opponent with an opposing point of view, give that person a platform, regardless of how extreme it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/if-you-have-an-adversary-an-opponent-with-an-opposing-point-of-view/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Historically, it is important to try to understand your adversary in order to figure out how they are thinking, what they will be doing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/historically-it-is-important-to-try-to-understand-your-adversary-in/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [“I've never viewed you as an enemy, more an adversary...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/i-ve-never-viewed-you-as-an-enemy-more-an-adversary/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [“We have first seized the front line of trenches, then the second and the third, and our adversary, shut up in his retreat, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/we-have-first-seized-the-front-line-of-trenches-then-the-second-and/) [Corneliu Zelea Codreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/) > [Only way to eliminate the element of surprise is to know yourself and now your adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-st-pierre/only-way-to-eliminate-the-element-of-surprise-is-to-know-yourself-and/) [Georges St-Pierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-st-pierre/) > [“You will never come up against a greater adversary than your own potential.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/star-trekek-the-next-generation-episode-guide-team/you-will-never-come-up-against-a-greater-adversary-than-your-own/) Star trekek The Next Generation Episode Guide Team > [“Whenever i see someone fighting me for no reason, I'm always highly impressed that God has instigated his anger against me, just as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/whenever-i-see-someone-fighting-me-for-no-reason-i-m-always-highly/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [An exhausted man easily falls prey to the adversary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/an-exhausted-man-easily-falls-prey-to-the-adversary/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) > [It is wrong to follow the advice of an adversary; nevertheless it is right to hear it, that you may do the contrary; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/it-is-wrong-to-follow-the-advice-of-an-adversary-nevertheless-it-is/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) [Browse all 142 Adversary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I didn't hit other people or hit purposefully, I just hit. Some object would be at fault. My anger was at myself, every time, all vanity. As an adolescent I was a slammer of drawers and a packer of suitcases. I was responsible for scenes. Control came imperfectly to all of us: we reached it at different times of life, frustrated, shot into indignation, by different things - some that are grown out of, and others not. Of all my strong emotions, anger is the one least responsible for any of my work. I don't write out of anger. For one thing, simply as a fiction writer, I am minus an adversary - except, of course, that of time - and for another thing, the act of writing in itself brings me happiness.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eudora Welty" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/i-didn-t-hit-other-people-or-hit-purposefully-i-just-hit-some-object/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adversary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/i-didn-t-hit-other-people-or-hit-purposefully-i-just-hit-some-object/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/eudora-welty-1564_adversary_i-didn-t-hit-other-people-or-hit-purpose_1412365.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/eudora-welty-1564_adversary_i-didn-t-hit-other-people-or-hit-purpose_1412365.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe7/eudora-welty-1564_adversary_i-didn-t-hit-other-people-or-hit-purpose_1412365.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I didn't hit other people or hit purposefully, I just hit. Some object would be at fault. My anger was at…” — Eudora Welty", "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": "Eudora Welty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I didn't hit other people or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/i-didn-t-hit-other-people-or-hit-purposefully-i-just-hit-some-object/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/i-didn-t-hit-other-people-or-hit-purposefully-i-just-hit-some-object/#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 } } ] } ```