--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She had told Erstwhile too much in the…" description: "\"“She had told Erstwhile too much in the past, and thus he knew that occasionally she did go crazy. Sometimes it was when she felt particularly trapped ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/frances-hardinge-1417_shuddering_she-had-told-erstwhile-too-much-in-the-p_2481492.jpg" --- # She had told Erstwhile too much in the past, and thus he… ![“She had told Erstwhile too much in the past, and thus he knew that occasionally she did go crazy. Sometimes it was when she felt particularly trapped or hopeless, or when the tunnels were unusually dark or stuffy, or when she got stuck in a crawl-through. Sometimes it happened for no obvious…” quote by Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/frances-hardinge-1417_shuddering_she-had-told-erstwhile-too-much-in-the-p_2481492.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/frances-hardinge-1417_shuddering_she-had-told-erstwhile-too-much-in-the-p_2481492.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/frances-hardinge-1417_shuddering_she-had-told-erstwhile-too-much-in-the-p_2481492.jpg) > ““She had told Erstwhile too much in the past, and thus he knew that occasionally she did go crazy. Sometimes it was when she felt particularly trapped or hopeless, or when the tunnels were unusually dark or stuffy, or when she got stuck in a crawl-through. Sometimes it happened for no obvious reason at all. She would feel a terrible panic tightening her chest and giving her heart a queasy lollop, she would be fighting for breath . . . and then she would be recovering somewhere, shuddering and sick, devastation around her and her fingernails broken from clawing at the rock walls and ceilings.”” [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character experiences intense panic attacks triggered by claustrophobic environments, leading to physical and emotional distress. **In simple terms:** Panic attacks in tight spaces cause severe distress. Key Takeaway Recognize triggers and seek help early. Themes mental health anxiety claustrophobia survival trauma Mood anxious tense urgent Type narrative descriptive When to use this quote - exploring caves - working in confined spaces - dealing with anxiety - seeking therapy Key Concepts psychology stress response coping mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - What environments make you feel trapped? - How can you calm your breathing during panic? A Different Perspective Panic may also stem from unrelated stressors, not just physical confinement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart Queasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-queasy-867342/) [Panic Tightening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/panic-tightening-867339/) [Shuddering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shuddering/) [Shuddering Sick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shuddering-sick-867340/) [Terrible Panic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-panic-867341/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I have terrible panic attacks. I usually get so tired from crying and being in pain that my only way out is sleeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soko/i-have-terrible-panic-attacks-i-usually-get-so-tired-from-crying-and/) [Soko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soko/) > [“A terrible panic that had no name came over her as she realized that many of the sweet babies in the world were born…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/a-terrible-panic-that-had-no-name-came-over-her-as-she-realized-that/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [Every morning I take out my bankbook, stare at it, shudder - and turn quickly to my typewriter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/every-morning-i-take-out-my-bankbook-stare-at-it-shudder-and-turn/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [The busy chatter of the heat Shrilled like a parakeet; And shuddering at the noonday light The dust lay dead and white As powder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-busy-chatter-of-the-heat-shrilled-like-a-parakeet-and-shuddering/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [“I don’t know that doom is a very nice word. It does suggest, I think, shuddering and cold sweat. There was none of that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/i-don-t-know-that-doom-is-a-very-nice-word-it-does-suggest-i-think/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [When our children die, we drop them into the unknown, shuddering with fear. We know that they go out from us, and we stand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/when-our-children-die-we-drop-them-into-the-unknown-shuddering-with-2/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [ In the study of this membrane \[the retina\] I for the first time felt my faith in Darwinism (hypothesis of natural selection) weakened, being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/in-the-study-of-this-membrane-the-retina-i-for-the-first-time-felt-my/) [Santiago Ramon y Cajal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/) > [“The earth was actually shuddering. It was as if you were a baby and your mother was shuddering with cold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/the-earth-was-actually-shuddering-it-was-as-if-you-were-a-baby-and/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [It seems to me a most dreadful thing to go out of the world and not leave one person behind you who is sorry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-seems-to-me-a-most-dreadful-thing-to-go-out-of-the-world-and-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shuddering would not stop. The pain was like the end of the world. He thought: There comes a point when the very discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-shuddering-would-not-stop-the-pain-was-like-the-end-of-the-world/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [ \[British television series\] Hammer House of Horror. I used to really enjoy these one-off stories where often there would be an incredibly cruel twist.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/british-television-series-hammer-house-of-horror-i-used-to-really/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [After all, let a man take what pains he may to hush it down, a human soul is an awful, ghostly, unquiet possession for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/after-all-let-a-man-take-what-pains-he-may-to-hush-it-down-a-human-2/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [“And because our reason violently deters us from the brink, therefore, do we the more impetuously approach it. There is no passion in nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/and-because-our-reason-violently-deters-us-from-the-brink-therefore/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [When our children die, we drop them into the unknown, shuddering with fear. We know that they go out from us, and we stand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/when-our-children-die-we-drop-them-into-the-unknown-shuddering-with/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“a shuddering breath and moved to the side of the bed where a chair had been pulled up, most likely so that Ava, Dad’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-reed/a-shuddering-breath-and-moved-to-the-side-of-the-bed-where-a-chair/) [Terri Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-reed/) ## More by Frances Hardinge > [“It is dangerous to lock oneself away and lose track of what is happening outside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/it-is-dangerous-to-lock-oneself-away-and-lose-track-of-what-is/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Clent, however, suppressed any sense of pity without the slightest difficulty. His brain was busy with the icy clockwork of calculation. If only this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/clent-however-suppressed-any-sense-of-pity-without-the-slightest/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“I swam across the torrent of my madness, and pulled myself upon the shore of a new and better sanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/i-swam-across-the-torrent-of-my-madness-and-pulled-myself-upon-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Before her escort could react, she sprinted out from their little pool of lantern-light into the darkness, her feet pounding the soft, treacherous clods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/before-her-escort-could-react-she-sprinted-out-from-their-little-pool/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“She was not undamaged, however, and she knew it. No food or drink had passed her lips, but she had drunk deep of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/she-was-not-undamaged-however-and-she-knew-it-no-food-or-drink-had/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“All her life, Neverfell had suffered the dull, embarrassed ache of the knowledge that she was always the maddest person in the room. Funnily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/all-her-life-neverfell-had-suffered-the-dull-embarrassed-ache-of-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Well, if you are to help me with my work, you had better get used to stories without endings. True stories seldom have endings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/well-if-you-are-to-help-me-with-my-work-you-had-better-get-used-to/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“And you may comfort yourself with the thought that you have been the caltrop under her satin shoe every step of the way. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/and-you-may-comfort-yourself-with-the-thought-that-you-have-been-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“The little pedlar, it seemed, fancied that he had the tools to fix the wheel. The footmen were glad to hear this, and agreed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/the-little-pedlar-it-seemed-fancied-that-he-had-the-tools-to-fix-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“For a second, she could almost see Caverna as the Kleptomancer did, a murky, monstrous beauty, smiling her fine-fanged smile as she prepared to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/for-a-second-she-could-almost-see-caverna-as-the-kleptomancer-did-a/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Has it ever occurred to you that maybe you’re sane? That you’ve always been sane? That perhaps you’re the sanest person in the city?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/has-it-ever-occurred-to-you-that-maybe-you-re-sane-that-you-ve-always/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Thank you," she whispered. "I promise I will not interfere in Court business again." "Oh yes, you will." Zouelle looked up to see her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/thank-you-she-whispered-i-promise-i-will-not-interfere-in-court/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“People's personalities took up space, he sometimes thought. When they were trapped in a house or a job or a school together, they rubbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/people-s-personalities-took-up-space-he-sometimes-thought-when-they/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [Revenge is a dish best served unexpectedly and from a distance - like a thrown trifle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/revenge-is-a-dish-best-served-unexpectedly-and-from-a-distance-like-a/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“Little god, you see the world through such black eyes." "Got no choice. My father give ’em to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/little-god-you-see-the-world-through-such-black-eyes-got-no-choice-my/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) [Explore all 244 Frances Hardinge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) ## More Shuddering quotes > [“a shuddering breath and moved to the side of the bed where a chair had been pulled up, most likely so that Ava, Dad’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-reed/a-shuddering-breath-and-moved-to-the-side-of-the-bed-where-a-chair/) [Terri Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-reed/) > [When our children die, we drop them into the unknown, shuddering with fear. We know that they go out from us, and we stand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/when-our-children-die-we-drop-them-into-the-unknown-shuddering-with/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“And because our reason violently deters us from the brink, therefore, do we the more impetuously approach it. There is no passion in nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/and-because-our-reason-violently-deters-us-from-the-brink-therefore/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [After all, let a man take what pains he may to hush it down, a human soul is an awful, ghostly, unquiet possession for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/after-all-let-a-man-take-what-pains-he-may-to-hush-it-down-a-human-2/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [ \[British television series\] Hammer House of Horror. I used to really enjoy these one-off stories where often there would be an incredibly cruel twist.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/british-television-series-hammer-house-of-horror-i-used-to-really/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [The shuddering would not stop. The pain was like the end of the world. He thought: There comes a point when the very discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-shuddering-would-not-stop-the-pain-was-like-the-end-of-the-world/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It seems to me a most dreadful thing to go out of the world and not leave one person behind you who is sorry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-seems-to-me-a-most-dreadful-thing-to-go-out-of-the-world-and-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The earth was actually shuddering. It was as if you were a baby and your mother was shuddering with cold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shaara/the-earth-was-actually-shuddering-it-was-as-if-you-were-a-baby-and/) [Michael Shaara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shaara/) > [ In the study of this membrane \[the retina\] I for the first time felt my faith in Darwinism (hypothesis of natural selection) weakened, being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/in-the-study-of-this-membrane-the-retina-i-for-the-first-time-felt-my/) [Santiago Ramon y Cajal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-ramon-y-cajal/) > [When our children die, we drop them into the unknown, shuddering with fear. We know that they go out from us, and we stand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/when-our-children-die-we-drop-them-into-the-unknown-shuddering-with-2/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“I don’t know that doom is a very nice word. It does suggest, I think, shuddering and cold sweat. There was none of that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/i-don-t-know-that-doom-is-a-very-nice-word-it-does-suggest-i-think/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [The busy chatter of the heat Shrilled like a parakeet; And shuddering at the noonday light The dust lay dead and white As powder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/the-busy-chatter-of-the-heat-shrilled-like-a-parakeet-and-shuddering/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Every morning I take out my bankbook, stare at it, shudder - and turn quickly to my typewriter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/every-morning-i-take-out-my-bankbook-stare-at-it-shudder-and-turn/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [Turbulence.” This is what pilots announce that you have encountered when your plane strikes an object in midair. You'll be flying along, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/turbulence-this-is-what-pilots-announce-that-you-have-encountered/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“Triste lay in a heap, her dress hitched up around her thighs, whimpering and shuddering until Gwenna shifted to kick her ungently in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-staveley/triste-lay-in-a-heap-her-dress-hitched-up-around-her-thighs/) [Brian Staveley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-staveley/) [Browse all 26 Shuddering quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shuddering/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She had told Erstwhile too much in the past, and thus he knew that occasionally she did go crazy. Sometimes it was when she felt particularly trapped or hopeless, or when the tunnels were unusually dark or stuffy, or when she got stuck in a crawl-through. Sometimes it happened for no obvious reason at all. She would feel a terrible panic tightening her chest and giving her heart a queasy lollop, she would be fighting for breath . . . and then she would be recovering somewhere, shuddering and sick, devastation around her and her fingernails broken from clawing at the rock walls and ceilings.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frances Hardinge" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/she-had-told-erstwhile-too-much-in-the-past-and-thus-he-knew-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Shuddering" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/she-had-told-erstwhile-too-much-in-the-past-and-thus-he-knew-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/frances-hardinge-1417_shuddering_she-had-told-erstwhile-too-much-in-the-p_2481492.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/frances-hardinge-1417_shuddering_she-had-told-erstwhile-too-much-in-the-p_2481492.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/371/frances-hardinge-1417_shuddering_she-had-told-erstwhile-too-much-in-the-p_2481492.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She had told Erstwhile too much in the past, and thus he knew that occasionally she did go crazy. 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