--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was suddenly possessed with the idea…" description: "\"“I was suddenly possessed with the idea that the blind, blank back of his head really was his face—an awful, eyeless face staring at me! And I fancied ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/g-k-chesterton-2-16186_quote_i-was-suddenly-possessed-with-the-idea-t_986177.jpg" --- # I was suddenly possessed with the idea that the blind… ![“I was suddenly possessed with the idea that the blind, blank back of his head really was his face—an awful, eyeless face staring at me! And I fancied that the figure running in front of me was really a figure running backwards, and dancing as he ran.” quote by G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/g-k-chesterton-2-16186_quote_i-was-suddenly-possessed-with-the-idea-t_986177.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/g-k-chesterton-2-16186_quote_i-was-suddenly-possessed-with-the-idea-t_986177.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/g-k-chesterton-2-16186_quote_i-was-suddenly-possessed-with-the-idea-t_986177.jpg) > ““I was suddenly possessed with the idea that the blind, blank back of his head really was his face—an awful, eyeless face staring at me! And I fancied that the figure running in front of me was really a figure running backwards, and dancing as he ran.”” [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) ## 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 imagines a grotesque, featureless face, turning perception into horror and absurdity. **In simple terms:** Seeing something as a face makes it terrifying. Key Takeaway Question appearances, not just appearances. Themes perception illusion absurdity Mood uneasy curious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - psychology - art criticism Key Concepts Existentialism surrealism Questions to Reflect On - What does a “blank face” symbolize? - How does absurdity reveal truth? A Different Perspective The image may be a metaphor for dehumanization, but literal interpretation can mislead. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Face Staring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-staring-1989424/) [Possessed Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possessed-idea-469355/) [Running Backwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running-backwards-1989425/) [Staring Fancied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring-fancied-1989423/) [Suddenly Possessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suddenly-possessed-1989422/) ## Related quotes > [Those who have experienced a great deal of violence or committed a great deal of violence themselves, those who are existing in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-wyatt/those-who-have-experienced-a-great-deal-of-violence-or-committed-a/) [Rupert Wyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-wyatt/) > [“When I got to my own face, I found myself staring at it, so bright with dark all around it, like it was someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/when-i-got-to-my-own-face-i-found-myself-staring-at-it-so-bright-with/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Running backwards down the stairs, holding the camera, trying to focus on what's in front of you is difficult, and you need to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hargrave/running-backwards-down-the-stairs-holding-the-camera-trying-to-focus/) [Sam Hargrave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hargrave/) > [“I stood there for a moment, studying each of us, taking in Kirstens's smile, Whitney's haunting gaze, the way my mother cocked her head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-stood-there-for-a-moment-studying-each-of-us-taking-in-kirstens-s/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [When a maturity level and an age don't coincide. Now, there's a life running as\* backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/when-a-maturity-level-and-an-age-don-t-coincide-now-there-s-a-life/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [The face staring back at me isn't beautiful but she isn't something that would scare the horses, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/the-face-staring-back-at-me-isn-t-beautiful-but-she-isn-t-something/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [I learned to run backwards from Muhammad Ali. He told me about running backwards because you try to imitate everything you do in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugar-ray-leonard/i-learned-to-run-backwards-from-muhammad-ali-he-told-me-about-running/) [Sugar Ray Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugar-ray-leonard/) > [The first - the most obvious test of a true social entrepreneur - is are they possessed, really possessed by an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-drayton/the-first-the-most-obvious-test-of-a-true-social-entrepreneur-is-are/) [Bill Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-drayton/) > [We do not possess an 'ego.' We are possessed by the idea of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wei-wu-wei/we-do-not-possess-an-ego-we-are-possessed-by-the-idea-of-one/) [Wei Wu Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wei-wu-wei/) > [The artist should have a powerful will. He should be powerfully possessed by one idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/the-artist-should-have-a-powerful-will-he-should-be-powerfully/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [We cannot see anything until we are possessed with the idea of it, take it into our heads,--and then we can hardly see anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-cannot-see-anything-until-we-are-possessed-with-the-idea-of-it/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [If you are possessed by an idea, you find it expressed everywhere, you even smell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/if-you-are-possessed-by-an-idea-you-find-it-expressed-everywhere-you/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [A person possessed with an idea cannot be reasoned with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/a-person-possessed-with-an-idea-cannot-be-reasoned-with/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [“The first - the most obvious (test of a true social entrepreneur) - is are they possessed, really possessed by an idea... The idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-drayton/the-first-the-most-obvious-test-of-a-true-social-entrepreneur-is-are-2/) [Bill Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-drayton/) ## More by G. K. Chesterton > [“It's just because I have picked a little about mystics that I have no use for mystagogues. Real mystics don't hide mysteries, they reveal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/it-s-just-because-i-have-picked-a-little-about-mystics-that-i-have-no/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“The history of the thing might amuse you," he said. "When first I became one of the New Anarchists I tried all kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/the-history-of-the-thing-might-amuse-you-he-said-when-first-i-became/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." - On Running After Ones Hat, All Things Considered, 1908”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/an-inconvenience-is-only-an-adventure-wrongly-considered-an-adventure/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“Satan fell by the force of gravity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/satan-fell-by-the-force-of-gravity/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“In every society, the rich are the scum of the earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/in-every-society-the-rich-are-the-scum-of-the-earth/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“People who lose all their charity generally lose all their logic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/people-who-lose-all-their-charity-generally-lose-all-their-logic/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction where it was never meant to be. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/modesty-has-moved-from-the-organ-of-ambition-modesty-has-settled-upon/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“I mean,' he said with increasing vehemence, 'that if there be a house for me in heaven it will either have a green lamp-post…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/i-mean-he-said-with-increasing-vehemence-that-if-there-be-a-house-for/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“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/) > [“The world will never be safe for democracy—it is a dangerous trade”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/the-world-will-never-be-safe-for-democracy-it-is-a-dangerous-trade/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“The most sacred thing is to be able to shut your own door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/the-most-sacred-thing-is-to-be-able-to-shut-your-own-door/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“But the reason we fly from the city is not in reality that it is not poetical; it is that its poetry is too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/but-the-reason-we-fly-from-the-city-is-not-in-reality-that-it-is-not/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“If you try to talk about a truth that’s merely moral, people always think it’s merely metaphorical. A real live man with two legs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/if-you-try-to-talk-about-a-truth-that-s-merely-moral-people-always/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“Let me take once again a rough parable. Suppose I advertised in the papers that I had a place for any one who was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/let-me-take-once-again-a-rough-parable-suppose-i-advertised-in-the/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) > [“We deny the snobbish English assumption that the uneducated are the dangerous criminals. We remember the Roman Emperors. We remember the great poisoning princes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/we-deny-the-snobbish-english-assumption-that-the-uneducated-are-the/) [G. K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) [Explore all 37 G. K. Chesterton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/) ## More Possessed Idea quotes > [A person possessed with an idea cannot be reasoned with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/a-person-possessed-with-an-idea-cannot-be-reasoned-with/) [James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/) > [The first - the most obvious test of a true social entrepreneur - is are they possessed, really possessed by an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-drayton/the-first-the-most-obvious-test-of-a-true-social-entrepreneur-is-are/) [Bill Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-drayton/) > [“The first - the most obvious (test of a true social entrepreneur) - is are they possessed, really possessed by an idea... The idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-drayton/the-first-the-most-obvious-test-of-a-true-social-entrepreneur-is-are-2/) [Bill Drayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-drayton/) > [We do not possess an 'ego.' We are possessed by the idea of one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wei-wu-wei/we-do-not-possess-an-ego-we-are-possessed-by-the-idea-of-one/) [Wei Wu Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wei-wu-wei/) > [The artist should have a powerful will. He should be powerfully possessed by one idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-henri/the-artist-should-have-a-powerful-will-he-should-be-powerfully/) [Robert Henri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-henri/) > [We cannot see anything until we are possessed with the idea of it, take it into our heads,--and then we can hardly see anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-cannot-see-anything-until-we-are-possessed-with-the-idea-of-it/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [If you are possessed by an idea, you find it expressed everywhere, you even smell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/if-you-are-possessed-by-an-idea-you-find-it-expressed-everywhere-you/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 8 Possessed Idea quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possessed-idea-469355/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I was suddenly possessed with the idea that the blind, blank back of his head really was his face—an awful, eyeless face staring at me! And I fancied that the figure running in front of me was really a figure running backwards, and dancing as he ran.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "G. K. Chesterton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/i-was-suddenly-possessed-with-the-idea-that-the-blind-blank-back-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Possessed Idea" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/i-was-suddenly-possessed-with-the-idea-that-the-blind-blank-back-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/g-k-chesterton-2-16186_quote_i-was-suddenly-possessed-with-the-idea-t_986177.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/g-k-chesterton-2-16186_quote_i-was-suddenly-possessed-with-the-idea-t_986177.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f5/g-k-chesterton-2-16186_quote_i-was-suddenly-possessed-with-the-idea-t_986177.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was suddenly possessed with the idea that the blind, blank back of his head really was his face—an awful…” — G. K. Chesterton", "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": "G. K. Chesterton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I was suddenly possessed with the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/i-was-suddenly-possessed-with-the-idea-that-the-blind-blank-back-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton-2/i-was-suddenly-possessed-with-the-idea-that-the-blind-blank-back-of/#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 } } ] } ```