--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One mustn't look at the abyss, because…" description: "\"One mustn't look at the abyss, because there is at the bottom an inexpressible charm which attracts us.\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/gustave-flaubert-354_abyss_one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-th_1968806.jpg" --- # One mustn't look at the abyss, because there is at the… ![“One mustn't look at the abyss, because there is at the bottom an inexpressible charm which attracts us.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/gustave-flaubert-354_abyss_one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-th_1968806.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/gustave-flaubert-354_abyss_one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-th_1968806.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/gustave-flaubert-354_abyss_one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-th_1968806.jpg) > “One mustn't look at the abyss, because there is at the bottom an inexpressible charm which attracts us.” [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. Flaubert warns that gazing into the abyss can reveal an alluring, indescribable charm that draws us in **In simple terms:** Looking at deep darkness can be oddly attractive Key Takeaway Beware of fascination with destructive depths Themes psychology philosophy artistic expression Mood melancholic thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - psychotherapy - creative writing Key Concepts the abyss attraction existential dread Questions to Reflect On - What draws us to dark subjects? - Can this charm be transformed positively? A Different Perspective The allure may be metaphorical, not literal ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) [Charm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charm/) ## Related quotes > [One mustn't look at the abyss,because there is at the bottoman inexpressible charm which attracts us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-there-is-at-the-bottoman/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Civility is a charm that attracts the love of all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-horne/civility-is-a-charm-that-attracts-the-love-of-all-men/) [George Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-horne/) > [“When you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you. —FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-look-into-the-abyss-the-abyss-also-looks-into-you-friedrich/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you look into the abyss, it’s not supposed to wave back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/when-you-look-into-the-abyss-it-s-not-supposed-to-wave-back/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“When you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-you-look-into-the-abyss-the-abyss-also-looks-into-you/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-you-look-into-an-abyss-the-abyss-also-looks-into-you/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“When I look down into the abyss, Down into the merciless blackness, Colder and deeper than Hades itself, There I see the Kraken rising.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greig-beck/when-i-look-down-into-the-abyss-down-into-the-merciless-blackness/) [Greig Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greig-beck/) > [“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. 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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. 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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 Abyss quotes > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“The whole organization seemed to be in free fall, indulging in a collective fantasy in which experienced colleagues refused to admit that their every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-organization-seemed-to-be-in-free-fall-indulging-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [In the end things must be as they are and have always been--the great things remain for the great, the abysses for the profound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-the-end-things-must-be-as-they-are-and-have-always-been-the-great/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) > [I look into my heart and see the abyss looking back at me.' 'I won't let you fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/i-look-into-my-heart-and-see-the-abyss-looking-back-at-me-i-won-t-let/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/there-is-no-drop-of-water-in-the-ocean-not-even-in-the-deepest-parts/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“But first whom shall we send In search of this new world, whom shall we find Sufficient? Who shall tempt, with wand'ring feet The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/but-first-whom-shall-we-send-in-search-of-this-new-world-whom-shall/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Many women don’t know what orgasm is. Many men don’t know was total orgasm is. Many only achieve a local orgasm, a genital orgasm;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-women-don-t-know-what-orgasm-is-many-men-don-t-know-was-total/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear not. For fear itself is fed by fear, and all fears pass. Did no one tell you so? Come take my hand, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/fear-not-for-fear-itself-is-fed-by-fear-and-all-fears-pass-did-no-one/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [We belong to an age where apocalypse is our daily bread, coffee's black, and we know we're part of the abyss. Red Spider White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/we-belong-to-an-age-where-apocalypse-is-our-daily-bread-coffee-s/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) [Browse all 625 Abyss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One mustn't look at the abyss, because there is at the bottom an inexpressible charm which attracts us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gustave Flaubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-there-is-at-the-bottom-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abyss" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-there-is-at-the-bottom-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/gustave-flaubert-354_abyss_one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-th_1968806.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/gustave-flaubert-354_abyss_one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-th_1968806.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66c/gustave-flaubert-354_abyss_one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-th_1968806.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One mustn't look at the abyss, because there is at the bottom an inexpressible charm which attracts us.” — 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": "One mustn't look at the abyss,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-there-is-at-the-bottom-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-mustn-t-look-at-the-abyss-because-there-is-at-the-bottom-an/#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 } } ] } ```