--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was as though our love were a small…" description: "\"It was as though our love were a small creature caught in a trap and bleeding to death: I had to shut my eyes and wring its neck.\" — Graham Greene" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/graham-greene-441_bleeding_it-was-as-though-our-love-were-a-small-c_2395303.jpg" --- # It was as though our love were a small creature caught in… ![“It was as though our love were a small creature caught in a trap and bleeding to death: I had to shut my eyes and wring its neck.” quote by Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/graham-greene-441_bleeding_it-was-as-though-our-love-were-a-small-c_2395303.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/graham-greene-441_bleeding_it-was-as-though-our-love-were-a-small-c_2395303.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/graham-greene-441_bleeding_it-was-as-though-our-love-were-a-small-c_2395303.jpg) > “It was as though our love were a small creature caught in a trap and bleeding to death: I had to shut my eyes and wring its neck.” [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes love as a fragile, suffering entity that must be ended, using vivid imagery of a trapped creature to convey emotional pain. **In simple terms:** Love can feel trapped and painful, sometimes needing release. Key Takeaway Accept and release painful love responsibly. Themes love pain release attachment emotional struggle Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - journaling about relationships - support groups - mindfulness practices Key Concepts attachment theory emotional trauma relationship dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What does this metaphor reveal about your relationships? - How can you release love without harm? A Different Perspective May romanticize suffering, ignoring healthy boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bleeding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bleeding/) [Bleeding Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bleeding-death-407812/) [Caught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caught/) [Caught Trap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caught-trap-3058130/) [Creature Caught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creature-caught-5980205/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Necks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necks/) [Our love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-love/) [Small Creature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-creature-1259966/) [Trap Bleeding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trap-bleeding-5889134/) [Traps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traps/) ## Related quotes > [“But if love had to die, I wanted it to die quickly. It was as though our love were a small creature caught in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/but-if-love-had-to-die-i-wanted-it-to-die-quickly-it-was-as-though/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [A clear cold morning with high wind: we caught in a trap a large gray wolf, and last night obtained in the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meriwether-lewis/a-clear-cold-morning-with-high-wind-we-caught-in-a-trap-a-large-gray/) [Meriwether Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meriwether-lewis/) > [Will only looked at her. There had been light in his eyes on the stairs, as he'd locked the door, when he'd kissed her--a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/will-only-looked-at-her-there-had-been-light-in-his-eyes-on-the/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Life is a velvet crowbar hitting you over the head, youre bleeding syrup amour, bleeding to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/life-is-a-velvet-crowbar-hitting-you-over-the-head-youre-bleeding/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [Usually, I'm so self-absorbed that my companion could be bleeding to death, and I might not notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/usually-i-m-so-self-absorbed-that-my-companion-could-be-bleeding-to/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) > [Yes, she's bleeding to death upstairs, but I thought I'd avoid telling you right away, because I like to draw the suspense out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/yes-she-s-bleeding-to-death-upstairs-but-i-thought-i-d-avoid-telling/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Come on, Gypsy girl. 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"yes, she's bleeding to death Lu upstairs, but i thought I'd avoid telling you right away, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/as-could-the-sarcasm-in-her-voice-yes-she-s-bleeding-to-death-lu/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by Graham Greene > [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Pity is cruel. 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Damn me, I deserve it, but let her live forever.’ This was the love he should have felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-said-oh-god-help-her-damn-me-i-deserve-it-but-let-her-live-forever/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“A police photograph is like a passport photograph: the intelligence which casts a veil over the crude common shape is never recorded by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/a-police-photograph-is-like-a-passport-photograph-the-intelligence/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [ “I tossed up whether I'd see \[the critic\] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-or-not-i-knew-too-well-the/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/success-is-more-dangerous-than-failure-the-ripples-break-over-a-wider/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“But we do not love people for what they do for us. 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