--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That my lunacy had been recognized was…" description: "\"“That my lunacy had been recognized was chastening enough, but the judge's gratuitous \"fatuous\" carried with it intimations that I was in a blubbering,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/frederick-exley-33559_dreams_that-my-lunacy-had-been-recognized-was-c_3231422.jpg" --- # That my lunacy had been recognized was chastening enough… ![“That my lunacy had been recognized was chastening enough, but the judge's gratuitous "fatuous" carried with it intimations that I was in a blubbering, nose-picking state; an I had visions of arriving at my mother's door, garbed not in the "attractive," melancholic dementia of the poet but in the…” quote by Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/frederick-exley-33559_dreams_that-my-lunacy-had-been-recognized-was-c_3231422.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/frederick-exley-33559_dreams_that-my-lunacy-had-been-recognized-was-c_3231422.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/frederick-exley-33559_dreams_that-my-lunacy-had-been-recognized-was-c_3231422.jpg) > ““That my lunacy had been recognized was chastening enough, but the judge's gratuitous "fatuous" carried with it intimations that I was in a blubbering, nose-picking state; an I had visions of arriving at my mother's door, garbed not in the "attractive," melancholic dementia of the poet but in the drooling, masturbatory, moony-eyed condition of the Mongoloid.”” [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels both embarrassed by being labeled crazy and mocked by a judge’s harsh description, highlighting a clash between self‑perception and external judgment. **In simple terms:** Embarrassment and ridicule from others. Key Takeaway Acknowledge criticism but stay true to yourself. Themes self‑esteem judgment identity mental health humor Mood self‑conscious ironic defiant Type philosophical humorous When to use this quote - courtroom - personal reflection - creative writing - mental health therapy Key Concepts psychology social perception stigma Questions to Reflect On - How does external labeling affect your self‑image? - Can humor help cope with stigma? A Different Perspective The quote mixes humor with serious self‑image issues, which may downplay the gravity of mental health struggles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chastening Judge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chastening-judge-6114950/) [Condition Mongoloid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condition-mongoloid-6114951/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Judge Gratuitous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judge-gratuitous-6114948/) [Lunacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lunacy/) [Lunacy Recognized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lunacy-recognized-6114949/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [If you accept the institutional lunacy, then the policies are rational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-accept-the-institutional-lunacy-then-the-policies-are-rational/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Lunacy, like the rain, falls upon the evil and the good, and although it must forever remain a fearful misfortune, yet there may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inmate-of-the-glasgow-royal-asylum/lunacy-like-the-rain-falls-upon-the-evil-and-the-good-and-although-it/) [Inmate Of The Glasgow Royal Asylum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inmate-of-the-glasgow-royal-asylum/) > [Idiocy is the female defect ... It is no worse than the male defect, which is lunacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/idiocy-is-the-female-defect-it-is-no-worse-than-the-male-defect-which/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“Oddity, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. What one person rejects as lunacy, another reveres as truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gulley/oddity-like-beauty-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder-what-one-person/) [Philip Gulley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gulley/) > [Moderates want their faith respected. They don't want faith itself criticized, and yet faith itself is what is bringing us all this - this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/moderates-want-their-faith-respected-they-don-t-want-faith-itself/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“There is a duality to darkness known only to those who’ve been infected by its touch. Everyone knows the shadows: shallow, comfortable, mostly harmless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrell-drake/there-is-a-duality-to-darkness-known-only-to-those-who-ve-been/) [Darrell Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrell-drake/) > [Golf is typical capitalist lunacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/golf-is-typical-capitalist-lunacy/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [She is furious with herself for her own stupidity. Opening herself up like this, voluntarily, to a lifetime of worry and anguish. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/she-is-furious-with-herself-for-her-own-stupidity-opening-herself-up/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“How do people know they are sane? Can a person be gripped by lunacy, only to be released a short time later, never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-remy/how-do-people-know-they-are-sane-can-a-person-be-gripped-by-lunacy/) [Dee Remy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-remy/) > [“It must be nice to be righteous; from where I stand it looks like fucking lunacy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-lynch/it-must-be-nice-to-be-righteous-from-where-i-stand-it-looks-like/) [Scott Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-lynch/) > [The human race has today the means for annihilating itself--either in a fit of complete lunacy, i.e., in a big war...or by the careless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/the-human-race-has-today-the-means-for-annihilating-itself-either-in/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [“He is smitten on the brain, -he reads and writes verses! I caught him in the act! Fools might say he was inspired; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-john-trelawny/he-is-smitten-on-the-brain-he-reads-and-writes-verses-i-caught-him-in/) [Edward John Trelawny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-john-trelawny/) > [“When you are gunning to be like other people, you are foolishly repeating their mistakes, and the worst of it all is that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/when-you-are-gunning-to-be-like-other-people-you-are-foolishly/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Oh, all kinds of lunacy happens in Ireland, all kinds of lunacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjelica-huston/oh-all-kinds-of-lunacy-happens-in-ireland-all-kinds-of-lunacy/) [Anjelica Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjelica-huston/) > [It doesn't dawn on this depraved bourgeois world that this is positively a sin against all reason; that it is criminal lunacy to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/it-doesn-t-dawn-on-this-depraved-bourgeois-world-that-this-is/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) ## More by Frederick Exley > [“Bunny Sue was nineteen. She had honey-bobbed hair and candid, near-insolent green eyes. She had a snub, delightful nose, a cool, regal, and tapering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/bunny-sue-was-nineteen-she-had-honey-bobbed-hair-and-candid-near/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“The world of the soap opera is the world of the Emancipated American Woman, a creature whose idleness is employed to no other purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/the-world-of-the-soap-opera-is-the-world-of-the-emancipated-american/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [In football a man was asked to do a difficult and brutal job, and he either did it or got out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/in-football-a-man-was-asked-to-do-a-difficult-and-brutal-job-and-he/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [I wanted to lie hour after hour on a couch, pouring out the dark, secret places of my heart--do this feeling that over my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/i-wanted-to-lie-hour-after-hour-on-a-couch-pouring-out-the-dark/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“Now I see in that laughter a good deal of desperation and sadness. About to leave the haven of our separate universities and be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/now-i-see-in-that-laughter-a-good-deal-of-desperation-and-sadness/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“There was a period when I lived on book reviews, when I had basked and drawn sustenance from what I deemed the light of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/there-was-a-period-when-i-lived-on-book-reviews-when-i-had-basked-and/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [Unlike some men, I had never drunk for boldness or charm or wit; I had used alcohol for precisely what it was, a depressant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/unlike-some-men-i-had-never-drunk-for-boldness-or-charm-or-wit-i-had/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“Whether or not I am a writer,” I wrote, “I have—and this is both my curse and my virtue—cultivated the instinct of one, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/whether-or-not-i-am-a-writer-i-wrote-i-have-and-this-is-both-my-curse/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“Mr. Blue's way of death was fitting. He had been utterly corrupted by America, and I find it proper that his carotid artery should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/mr-blue-s-way-of-death-was-fitting-he-had-been-utterly-corrupted-by/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“Whenever I think of the man I was in those days, cutting across the nat-cropped grass of the campus, burdened down by the weight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/whenever-i-think-of-the-man-i-was-in-those-days-cutting-across-the/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“I certainly didn't want to fight with him. I did, however, want to shout, "Listen, you son of a bitch, life isn't all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/i-certainly-didn-t-want-to-fight-with-him-i-did-however-want-to-shout/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“Listening now, it occured to me that I hadn't come very far over the yars -- no farther really than from one "gang bang"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/listening-now-it-occured-to-me-that-i-hadn-t-come-very-far-over-the/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) > [“Then he lost all coherence and began a hysterical giggle, compounded with a slight twitch and very pronounced emission of saliva from his mouth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/then-he-lost-all-coherence-and-began-a-hysterical-giggle-compounded/) [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) [Explore all 14 Frederick Exley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That my lunacy had been recognized was chastening enough, but the judge's gratuitous \"fatuous\" carried with it intimations that I was in a blubbering, nose-picking state; an I had visions of arriving at my mother's door, garbed not in the \"attractive,\" melancholic dementia of the poet but in the drooling, masturbatory, moony-eyed condition of the Mongoloid.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frederick Exley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/that-my-lunacy-had-been-recognized-was-chastening-enough-but-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dreams" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/that-my-lunacy-had-been-recognized-was-chastening-enough-but-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/frederick-exley-33559_dreams_that-my-lunacy-had-been-recognized-was-c_3231422.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/frederick-exley-33559_dreams_that-my-lunacy-had-been-recognized-was-c_3231422.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/frederick-exley-33559_dreams_that-my-lunacy-had-been-recognized-was-c_3231422.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That my lunacy had been recognized was chastening enough, but the judge's gratuitous \"fatuous\" carried with…” — Frederick Exley", "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": "Frederick Exley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“That my lunacy had been recognized...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/that-my-lunacy-had-been-recognized-was-chastening-enough-but-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-exley/that-my-lunacy-had-been-recognized-was-chastening-enough-but-the/#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 } } ] } ```