--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They could not alter your feelings: for…" description: "\"“They could not alter your feelings: for that matter you could not alter them yourself, even if you wanted to. They could lay bare the utmost detail of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/732/george-orwell-57_feelings-matter_they-could-not-alter-your-feelings-for-t_759513.jpg" --- # They could not alter your feelings: for that matter you… ![“They could not alter your feelings: for that matter you could not alter them yourself, even if you wanted to. They could lay bare the utmost detail of everything that you had done or said or thought; but the inner heart, whose workings were mysterious even to yourself, remained impregnable.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/732/george-orwell-57_feelings-matter_they-could-not-alter-your-feelings-for-t_759513.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/732/george-orwell-57_feelings-matter_they-could-not-alter-your-feelings-for-t_759513.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/732/george-orwell-57_feelings-matter_they-could-not-alter-your-feelings-for-t_759513.jpg) > ““They could not alter your feelings: for that matter you could not alter them yourself, even if you wanted to. They could lay bare the utmost detail of everything that you had done or said or thought; but the inner heart, whose workings were mysterious even to yourself, remained impregnable.”” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. External events cannot change your inner emotions; even self‑awareness cannot fully access the deepest parts of your heart, which stay protected. **In simple terms:** You cannot control feelings, nor fully understand them; they stay hidden. Key Takeaway Accept that some inner feelings are beyond control. Themes self‑awareness emotion privacy inner life Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical literary psychological When to use this quote - personal crises - therapy - relationship conflicts - self‑reflection - creative writing Key Concepts psychology human nature introspection Questions to Reflect On - What feelings do you keep hidden? - How do you protect your inner self? A Different Perspective Even if you try, you may not reach the core of your own emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alter Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alter-feelings-915994/) [Feelings Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-matter-234446/) [Heart Workings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-workings-5892595/) [Inner Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-heart-1785988/) [Thought Inner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-inner-1900068/) ## Related quotes > [Facts, at any rate, could not be kept hidden. They could be tracked down by inquiry, they could be squeezed out of you by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/facts-at-any-rate-could-not-be-kept-hidden-they-could-be-tracked-down/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“They could lay bare in the utmost detail everything that you had done or said or thought; but the inner heart, whose workings were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/they-could-lay-bare-in-the-utmost-detail-everything-that-you-had-done/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Feelings could override facts, as facts could alter feelings. Choose the truth first, rather than following after feelings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/feelings-could-override-facts-as-facts-could-alter-feelings-choose/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Times change because of life: Situations change because you alter them: My feelings change because people disregard & disrespect them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/times-change-because-of-life-situations-change-because-you-alter-them/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“As we advance in the spiritual life and in the practice of systematic self-examination we are often surprised by the discovery of vast unknown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-advance-in-the-spiritual-life-and-in-the-practice-of-systematic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People around you are quick to read your attitude of thought toward them. 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The outer cry is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/how-do-you-meditate-you-meditate-with-an-inner-cry-there-should-be-an/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [Intuition is a method of feeling one's way intellectually into the inner heart of a thing to locate what is unique and inexpressible in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/intuition-is-a-method-of-feeling-one-s-way-intellectually-into-the-2/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [The learned person who only talks will never Penetrate to the inner heart of humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/the-learned-person-who-only-talks-will-never-penetrate-to-the-inner/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Purify your intentions, your inner being, your heart and be sincere in your actions,’ he wrote. ‘God looks into your heart, not at your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristiane-backer/purify-your-intentions-your-inner-being-your-heart-and-be-sincere-in/) [Kristiane Backer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristiane-backer/) > [Follow your inner heart and the world moves in and helps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/follow-your-inner-heart-and-the-world-moves-in-and-helps/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“Beneath the current of our existence and within it, there is another current flowing in the opposite direction. In this life we go from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-unamuno/beneath-the-current-of-our-existence-and-within-it-there-is-another/) [Miguel de Unamuno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-unamuno/) > [When Scripture talks about the heart, it's not talking about that life-sustaining muscle. It's talking about our entire inner being. The heart is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/when-scripture-talks-about-the-heart-it-s-not-talking-about-that-life/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Feelings Matter quotes > [I'll always have feelings for you. No matter how hard I try to forget you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ll-always-have-feelings-for-you-no-matter-how-hard-i-try-to-forget/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I still have feelings for you. And no matter how many times I tell myself that I'm better off without you, a part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-still-have-feelings-for-you-and-no-matter-how-many-times-i-tell/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A Libra needs to know that their feelings matter as well. There is such a thing as being too nice, and people will take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-libra-needs-to-know-that-their-feelings-matter-as-well-there-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At the end of the day, nobody can lie. You can't argue feelings. It's a matter of respect. If you say 'Hey, what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-frye/at-the-end-of-the-day-nobody-can-lie-you-can-t-argue-feelings-it-s-a/) [Channing Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-frye/) > [Of course our feelings matter. But emotional decisions are usually not the best ones. On the other hand, your emotions can affect your decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/of-course-our-feelings-matter-but-emotional-decisions-are-usually-not/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [Everyone has feelings, no matter how they act. Don't play with someone else's feelings just because you're not sure of your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/everyone-has-feelings-no-matter-how-they-act-don-t-play-with-someone/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“I’m sorry,” she says. “What for?” “You’ve had a rough go.” “Everyone has a rough go. I’ve had it far easier than most people.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzi-lee/i-m-sorry-she-says-what-for-you-ve-had-a-rough-go-everyone-has-a/) [Mackenzi Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzi-lee/) > [Every time you take that first start of the season, you have those feelings no matter what, whether it's the first game or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-fried/every-time-you-take-that-first-start-of-the-season-you-have-those/) [Max Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-fried/) > [“Some people think mental illness is a matter of mood, a matter of personality. They think depression is simply a form of being sad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/some-people-think-mental-illness-is-a-matter-of-mood-a-matter-of/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Facts, at any rate, could not be kept hidden. 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They are the radio stations your mind listens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/but-feelings-no-matter-how-strong-or-ugly-are-not-a-part-of-who-you-2/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) [Browse all 20 Feelings Matter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-matter-234446/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They could not alter your feelings: for that matter you could not alter them yourself, even if you wanted to. 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