--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He'd sensed the strength she'd called on…" description: "\"“He'd sensed the strength she'd called on to haul her sexuality out from under the weight of infertility. In his experience childlessness in women eith..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/glen-duncan-1307_childlessness_he-d-sensed-the-strength-she-d-called-on_2964789.png" --- # He'd sensed the strength she'd called on to haul her… ![“He'd sensed the strength she'd called on to haul her sexuality out from under the weight of infertility. In his experience childlessness in women either warped into a dedication to self-hating sexual expertise or formed a subsonic noise of sadness and loss.” quote by Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/glen-duncan-1307_childlessness_he-d-sensed-the-strength-she-d-called-on_2964789.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/glen-duncan-1307_childlessness_he-d-sensed-the-strength-she-d-called-on_2964789.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a3/glen-duncan-1307_childlessness_he-d-sensed-the-strength-she-d-called-on_2964789.png) > ““He'd sensed the strength she'd called on to haul her sexuality out from under the weight of infertility. In his experience childlessness in women either warped into a dedication to self-hating sexual expertise or formed a subsonic noise of sadness and loss.”” [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Childlessness can push women toward self‑criticism or a quiet sorrow, reshaping their sexual identity. **In simple terms:** Infertility may cause self‑hate or muted sadness. Key Takeaway Recognize and address emotional impacts of infertility. Themes identity sexuality infertility grief Mood somber empathetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - counseling sessions - support groups - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - What coping strategies help transform grief? - Can societal expectations be challenged? A Different Perspective Some may find empowerment instead of loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childlessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childlessness/) ## Related quotes > [“The judge took into account “the profound despair of a woman unable to give life…” As if a man couldn’t be as deeply affected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zidrou/the-judge-took-into-account-the-profound-despair-of-a-woman-unable-to/) Zidrou > [If any value is deeply evolutionarily familiar, it is reproductive success. If any value is truly unnatural, if there is one thing that humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satoshi-kanazawa/if-any-value-is-deeply-evolutionarily-familiar-it-is-reproductive/) [Satoshi Kanazawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satoshi-kanazawa/) > [There is simply no dignified way for a woman to live alone. Oh, she can get along financially perhaps (though not nearly as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/there-is-simply-no-dignified-way-for-a-woman-to-live-alone-oh-she-can/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Honestly, we'd probably be great parents. But it's a human being, and unless you think you have excellent skills and have a drive or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/honestly-we-d-probably-be-great-parents-but-it-s-a-human-being-and/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [I'm not that big a fan of marriage as an institution, and I don't know why women need to have children to be seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-tomei/i-m-not-that-big-a-fan-of-marriage-as-an-institution-and-i-don-t-know/) [Marisa Tomei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-tomei/) > [There have been times when I wanted children and other times I've been grateful not to have them. I am a mess if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjelica-huston/there-have-been-times-when-i-wanted-children-and-other-times-i-ve/) [Anjelica Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjelica-huston/) > [“...it is plain that the proportion of celibates was high in the Roman empire and that the fall in the fertility of marriages was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-power/it-is-plain-that-the-proportion-of-celibates-was-high-in-the-roman/) [Eileen Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-power/) > [“There were a lot of these middle-aged single types in the neighborhood, shipwrecked by every kind of catastrophe, but she was one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/there-were-a-lot-of-these-middle-aged-single-types-in-the/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I would have been a terrible mother because I'm basically a very selfish human being. Not that that has stopped most people going off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-would-have-been-a-terrible-mother-because-i-m-basically-a-very/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [My rational mind knows I am blessed. So many women - some of whom I've interviewed over the years - endure infertility and childlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-garraway/my-rational-mind-knows-i-am-blessed-so-many-women-some-of-whom-i-ve/) [Kate Garraway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-garraway/) > [“If you like your evening plans you aren't allowed to regret what led you to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-jenkins-reid/if-you-like-your-evening-plans-you-aren-t-allowed-to-regret-what-led/) [Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-jenkins-reid/) > [“At the cry of a new born salt is being sprinkle at the wound of a barren woman”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adejimi/at-the-cry-of-a-new-born-salt-is-being-sprinkle-at-the-wound-of-a/) [peter adejimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adejimi/) > [Childlessness doesn't make people selfish; selfishness makes people selfish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/childlessness-doesn-t-make-people-selfish-selfishness-makes-people/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Something about family and trying to relate it to the movie with, 'Oh, if I was to have a child how many kids do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-aniston/something-about-family-and-trying-to-relate-it-to-the-movie-with-oh/) [Jennifer Aniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-aniston/) > [In accordance with my conception of life, I have chosen not to bring children into the world. A coin is examined, and only after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wessel-zapffe/in-accordance-with-my-conception-of-life-i-have-chosen-not-to-bring/) [Peter Wessel Zapffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wessel-zapffe/) ## More by Glen Duncan > [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“For the longest time the romantic explanation for low rates of female infection endured: Possession of a womb, it was supposed, conferred a gentleness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/for-the-longest-time-the-romantic-explanation-for-low-rates-of-female/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The question 'What was there before creation?' is meaningless. Time is a property of creation, therefore before creation there was no before creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-question-what-was-there-before-creation-is-meaningless-time-is-a/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The beauty spot by her lip was one of a dozen or so scattered over her body. My new constellations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-beauty-spot-by-her-lip-was-one-of-a-dozen-or-so-scattered-over/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [Fairy tales read before bed tend to make me dream. They're all quite violent stories, as are my dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/fairy-tales-read-before-bed-tend-to-make-me-dream-they-re-all-quite/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [I don’t know where the universe came from or what happens to creatures when they die. I don’t know if the whole thing’s an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/i-don-t-know-where-the-universe-came-from-or-what-happens-to/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [In a fit of pique, I said to my agent, 'I'm going to write something you can sell.' The idea was to write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/in-a-fit-of-pique-i-said-to-my-agent-i-m-going-to-write-something-you/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The Mortals are free, Lucifer. What they've done they've done from within themselves. - Raphael”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-mortals-are-free-lucifer-what-they-ve-done-they-ve-done-from/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [One day the ordinariness will be terminally punctuated by the extraordinary full stop of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/one-day-the-ordinariness-will-be-terminally-punctuated-by-the/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [When I see gurgling retarded children (that's God's doing, by the way, not mine) happily styling their hair with their own stinking mards, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/when-i-see-gurgling-retarded-children-that-s-god-s-doing-by-the-way/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“She understood the genre constraints, the decencies we were supposed to be observing. The morally cosy vision allows the embrace of monstrosity only as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/she-understood-the-genre-constraints-the-decencies-we-were-supposed/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Show us the world's not the way we thought it was and part of us rejoices.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/show-us-the-world-s-not-the-way-we-thought-it-was-and-part-of-us/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“It’s just what you’re stuck with, the lousy furniture you can’t change. The educated me knows hell’s nothing, a fiction I happened to inherit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/it-s-just-what-you-re-stuck-with-the-lousy-furniture-you-can-t-change/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Afterwards, sitting on my bunk, I cried. I read somewhere that when you’re a kid it’s people’s cruelty that makes you cry, then when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/afterwards-sitting-on-my-bunk-i-cried-i-read-somewhere-that-when-you/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The absurdity of it, she thought, this quest for the love of a man who was her equal. She loathed herself for it. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-absurdity-of-it-she-thought-this-quest-for-the-love-of-a-man-who/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) [Explore all 259 Glen Duncan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) ## More Childlessness quotes > [“The judge took into account “the profound despair of a woman unable to give life…” As if a man couldn’t be as deeply affected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zidrou/the-judge-took-into-account-the-profound-despair-of-a-woman-unable-to/) Zidrou > [Something about family and trying to relate it to the movie with, 'Oh, if I was to have a child how many kids do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-aniston/something-about-family-and-trying-to-relate-it-to-the-movie-with-oh/) [Jennifer Aniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-aniston/) > [Childlessness doesn't make people selfish; selfishness makes people selfish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/childlessness-doesn-t-make-people-selfish-selfishness-makes-people/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“At the cry of a new born salt is being sprinkle at the wound of a barren woman”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adejimi/at-the-cry-of-a-new-born-salt-is-being-sprinkle-at-the-wound-of-a/) [peter adejimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adejimi/) > [“If you like your evening plans you aren't allowed to regret what led you to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-jenkins-reid/if-you-like-your-evening-plans-you-aren-t-allowed-to-regret-what-led/) [Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-jenkins-reid/) > [My rational mind knows I am blessed. So many women - some of whom I've interviewed over the years - endure infertility and childlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-garraway/my-rational-mind-knows-i-am-blessed-so-many-women-some-of-whom-i-ve/) [Kate Garraway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-garraway/) > [I would have been a terrible mother because I'm basically a very selfish human being. Not that that has stopped most people going off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-would-have-been-a-terrible-mother-because-i-m-basically-a-very/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [“There were a lot of these middle-aged single types in the neighborhood, shipwrecked by every kind of catastrophe, but she was one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/there-were-a-lot-of-these-middle-aged-single-types-in-the/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“...it is plain that the proportion of celibates was high in the Roman empire and that the fall in the fertility of marriages was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-power/it-is-plain-that-the-proportion-of-celibates-was-high-in-the-roman/) [Eileen Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-power/) > [There have been times when I wanted children and other times I've been grateful not to have them. I am a mess if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjelica-huston/there-have-been-times-when-i-wanted-children-and-other-times-i-ve/) [Anjelica Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjelica-huston/) > [I'm not that big a fan of marriage as an institution, and I don't know why women need to have children to be seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-tomei/i-m-not-that-big-a-fan-of-marriage-as-an-institution-and-i-don-t-know/) [Marisa Tomei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-tomei/) > [Honestly, we'd probably be great parents. But it's a human being, and unless you think you have excellent skills and have a drive or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/honestly-we-d-probably-be-great-parents-but-it-s-a-human-being-and/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [There is simply no dignified way for a woman to live alone. Oh, she can get along financially perhaps (though not nearly as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/there-is-simply-no-dignified-way-for-a-woman-to-live-alone-oh-she-can/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [If any value is deeply evolutionarily familiar, it is reproductive success. If any value is truly unnatural, if there is one thing that humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satoshi-kanazawa/if-any-value-is-deeply-evolutionarily-familiar-it-is-reproductive/) [Satoshi Kanazawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satoshi-kanazawa/) > [In accordance with my conception of life, I have chosen not to bring children into the world. A coin is examined, and only after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wessel-zapffe/in-accordance-with-my-conception-of-life-i-have-chosen-not-to-bring/) [Peter Wessel Zapffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wessel-zapffe/) [Browse all 29 Childlessness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childlessness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He'd sensed the strength she'd called on to haul her sexuality out from under the weight of infertility. 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