--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But that afternoon he asked himself, with…" description: "\"But that afternoon he asked himself, with his infinite capacity for illusion, if such pitiless indifference might not be a subterfuge for hiding the to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_afternoon_but-that-afternoon-he-asked-himself-with_799917.jpg" --- # But that afternoon he asked himself, with his infinite… ![“But that afternoon he asked himself, with his infinite capacity for illusion, if such pitiless indifference might not be a subterfuge for hiding the torments of love.” quote by Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_afternoon_but-that-afternoon-he-asked-himself-with_799917.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_afternoon_but-that-afternoon-he-asked-himself-with_799917.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb8/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_afternoon_but-that-afternoon-he-asked-himself-with_799917.jpg) > “But that afternoon he asked himself, with his infinite capacity for illusion, if such pitiless indifference might not be a subterfuge for hiding the torments of love.” [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He wonders if apparent indifference is a mask for hidden love pain. **In simple terms:** Indifference may hide love's pain. Key Takeaway Look beyond surface behavior. Themes love indifference illusion pain Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - romantic relationships - family dynamics - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology human behavior relationships Questions to Reflect On - What masks might you be using? - How can you recognize hidden pain? A Different Perspective Not all indifference is deceptive; sometimes it's genuine. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heartbreaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartbreaking/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Memorable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorable/) [Subterfuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subterfuge/) [Torment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torment/) [Unrequited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unrequited/) [Unrequited love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unrequited-love/) ## Related quotes > [The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-universe-we-observe-has-precisely-the-properties-we-should-expect/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I became aware that the invincible power that has moved the world is unrequited, not happy, love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-became-aware-that-the-invincible-power-that-has-moved-the-world-is/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/it-was-inevitable-the-scent-of-bitter-almonds-always-reminded-him-of/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“why do I want to appear to be drinking more than I am?' 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I answered with the truth: Age isn't how old you are but how old you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/why-were-you-so-old-when-we-met-i-answered-with-the-truth-age-isn-t/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Between the covers of the books that no one had ever read again, in the old parchments damaged by dampness, a livid flower had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/between-the-covers-of-the-books-that-no-one-had-ever-read-again-in/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Fear had absorbed her completely and remained there, fixed, tenacious, almost corporeal, as if it were some invisible person who had made up his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/fear-had-absorbed-her-completely-and-remained-there-fixed-tenacious/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Today I know I was right. The adolescents of my generation, greedy for life, forgot in body and soul about their hopes for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/today-i-know-i-was-right-the-adolescents-of-my-generation-greedy-for/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“...It was then, for the first time, that she understood above all her virtues what was in command was the vanity of a metaphysical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/it-was-then-for-the-first-time-that-she-understood-above-all-her/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) [Explore all 872 Gabriel Garcia Marquez quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. 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There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. 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