--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He racked his brains for a way of making…" description: "\"“He racked his brains for a way of making his declaration. Torn all the while between fear of offending and shame at his own faint-heartedness, he wept..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/gustave-flaubert-354_fear_he-racked-his-brains-for-a-way-of-making_117374.jpg" --- # He racked his brains for a way of making his declaration… ![“He racked his brains for a way of making his declaration. Torn all the while between fear of offending and shame at his own faint-heartedness, he wept tears of dejection and desire. Then he made forceful resolutions. He wrote letters, and tore them up; he gave himself a time limit, then extended…” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/gustave-flaubert-354_fear_he-racked-his-brains-for-a-way-of-making_117374.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/gustave-flaubert-354_fear_he-racked-his-brains-for-a-way-of-making_117374.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/gustave-flaubert-354_fear_he-racked-his-brains-for-a-way-of-making_117374.jpg) > ““He racked his brains for a way of making his declaration. Torn all the while between fear of offending and shame at his own faint-heartedness, he wept tears of dejection and desire. Then he made forceful resolutions. He wrote letters, and tore them up; he gave himself a time limit, then extended it. Often he started out with a determination to dare all; but his decisiveness quickly deserted him in Emma's presence \[...\] Emma, for her part, never questioned herself to find out whether she was in love with him. Love, she believed, must come suddenly, with thunder and lightning, a hurricane from on high that swoops down into your life and turns it topsy-turvy, snatches away your will-power like a leaf, hurls your heart and soul into the abyss. She did not know how on the terrace of a house the rain collects in pools when the gutters are choked; and she would have continued to feel quite safe had she not suddenly discovered a crack in the wall.”” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lover wrestles with self‑doubt, fear of rejection, and the idealized notion of love as a sudden, overwhelming force, while the beloved remains uncertain of her own feelings. **In simple terms:** He overthinks love; she doubts love’s sudden nature. Key Takeaway Romantic anxiety and mythic expectations clash. Themes love self‑doubt expectation psychology Mood melancholic intense Type narrative reflection When to use this quote - first dates - courtship - creative writing Key Concepts idealization indecision Practical Applications - practice honest communication - challenge romantic myths Questions to Reflect On - What role does fear play in expressing affection? - How does mythic love shape real relationships? A Different Perspective Over‑analysis can stall genuine connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faint Heartedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faint-heartedness-1379044/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Heart and soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-and-soul/) [Heartedness Wept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartedness-wept-1379042/) [Hurls Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurls-heart-1379043/) [Thunder and lightning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thunder-and-lightning/) [Time limit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-limit/) [Wept Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wept-tears-470337/) [Wrote Letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-letters-460860/) ## Related quotes > [I like to avoid concessions to faint-heartedness. One can never tell where that road may lead one; one gives way first in words, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/i-like-to-avoid-concessions-to-faint-heartedness-one-can-never-tell/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Conscience is the accumulated sediment of ancestral faint- heartedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/conscience-is-the-accumulated-sediment-of-ancestral-faint-heartedness/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Never be frightened at your own faint-heartedness in attaining love. Don't be frightened overmuch even at your evil actions. I am sorry I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/never-be-frightened-at-your-own-faint-heartedness-in-attaining-love/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“So far as Emma was concerned she did not ask herself whether she was in love. Love, she thought, was something that must come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/so-far-as-emma-was-concerned-she-did-not-ask-herself-whether-she-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When, on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, Jerome had played his parents an ethereal, far more beautiful version of 'Hallelujah' by a kid called Buckley,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/when-on-their-twenty-fifth-wedding-anniversary-jerome-had-played-his/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Two aged men, that had been foes for life, Met by a grave, and wept - and in those tears They washed away the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/two-aged-men-that-had-been-foes-for-life-met-by-a-grave-and-wept-and/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [“Do you think that I would not have let you know that, if you suffered, I was suffering too: that if you wept there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/do-you-think-that-i-would-not-have-let-you-know-that-if-you-suffered/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [ “At the top of the page I wrote my full name \[...\] At the sight of it, many thoughts rushed through me, but I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/at-the-top-of-the-page-i-wrote-my-full-name-at-the-sight-of-it-many/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“On that long journey she wept all the tears stored in her soul, leaving none in reserve for later sorrows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/on-that-long-journey-she-wept-all-the-tears-stored-in-her-soul/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [The nation wept tears of remorse for their leader: the tear-gas accomplished what was expected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minimaks/the-nation-wept-tears-of-remorse-for-their-leader-the-tear-gas/) [Minimaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minimaks/) > [As for Ellai, she told her sister what had passed, and Nitid wept, and her tears fell to earth and became chimaera, children of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/as-for-ellai-she-told-her-sister-what-had-passed-and-nitid-wept-and/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [I cry myself to sleep sometimes, wept the and the tears From malice, divorce meets to lost peers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-grae/i-cry-myself-to-sleep-sometimes-wept-the-and-the-tears-from-malice/) [Jean Grae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-grae/) > [After he made up his mind to spend the rest of the war in the hospital, Yossarian wrote letters to everyone he knew saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/after-he-made-up-his-mind-to-spend-the-rest-of-the-war-in-the/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [“I wrote letters in the classroom, I wrote letters at my desk at home with Seagull in my lap, I wrote letters at empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-wrote-letters-in-the-classroom-i-wrote-letters-at-my-desk-at-home/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [My father is my biggest literary influence. Recently, I've been looking through his letters. He was in the National Guard when I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/my-father-is-my-biggest-literary-influence-recently-i-ve-been-looking/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Fear quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) [Nagisa Tatsumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagisa-tatsumi/) > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“Snip off the little worries and expressions of worry” like little branches atop a tall tree.28 If you are truly worried, sharing your concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/snip-off-the-little-worries-and-expressions-of-worry-like-little/) [Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/) > [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) [Browse all 35,569 Fear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He racked his brains for a way of making his declaration. Torn all the while between fear of offending and shame at his own faint-heartedness, he wept tears of dejection and desire. Then he made forceful resolutions. He wrote letters, and tore them up; he gave himself a time limit, then extended it. Often he started out with a determination to dare all; but his decisiveness quickly deserted him in Emma's presence [...] Emma, for her part, never questioned herself to find out whether she was in love with him. Love, she believed, must come suddenly, with thunder and lightning, a hurricane from on high that swoops down into your life and turns it topsy-turvy, snatches away your will-power like a leaf, hurls your heart and soul into the abyss. She did not know how on the terrace of a house the rain collects in pools when the gutters are choked; and she would have continued to feel quite safe had she not suddenly discovered a crack in the wall.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gustave Flaubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/he-racked-his-brains-for-a-way-of-making-his-declaration-torn-all-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fear" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/he-racked-his-brains-for-a-way-of-making-his-declaration-torn-all-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/gustave-flaubert-354_fear_he-racked-his-brains-for-a-way-of-making_117374.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/gustave-flaubert-354_fear_he-racked-his-brains-for-a-way-of-making_117374.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/gustave-flaubert-354_fear_he-racked-his-brains-for-a-way-of-making_117374.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He racked his brains for a way of making his declaration. Torn all the while between fear of offending and…” — Gustave Flaubert", "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": "Gustave Flaubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He racked his brains for a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/he-racked-his-brains-for-a-way-of-making-his-declaration-torn-all-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/he-racked-his-brains-for-a-way-of-making-his-declaration-torn-all-the/#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 } } ] } ```