--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After all, let a man take what pains he…" description: "\"“After all, let a man take what pains he may to hush it down, a human soul is an awful ghostly, unquiet possession, for a bad man to have. Who knows th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb3/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_bad-man_after-all-let-a-man-take-what-pains-he-m_406215.jpg" --- # After all, let a man take what pains he may to hush it… ![“After all, let a man take what pains he may to hush it down, a human soul is an awful ghostly, unquiet possession, for a bad man to have. Who knows the metes and bounds of it? Who knows all it's awful perhapses, -those shudderings and temblings, which it can no more live down than it can outlive…” quote by Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb3/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_bad-man_after-all-let-a-man-take-what-pains-he-m_406215.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb3/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_bad-man_after-all-let-a-man-take-what-pains-he-m_406215.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb3/harriet-beecher-stowe-1149_bad-man_after-all-let-a-man-take-what-pains-he-m_406215.jpg) > ““After all, let a man take what pains he may to hush it down, a human soul is an awful ghostly, unquiet possession, for a bad man to have. Who knows the metes and bounds of it? Who knows all it's awful perhapses, -those shudderings and temblings, which it can no more live down than it can outlive its own eternity! What a fool is he who locks his door to keep out spirits, who has in his own bosom a spirit he dares not meet alone, -whose voice, smothered far down, and piled over with mountains of earthiness, is yet like the forewarning trumpet of doom!”” [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A soul is a restless, haunting presence that cannot be fully suppressed; trying to lock it away is futile. **In simple terms:** The soul is an uneasy, lingering presence. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and confront inner turmoil. Themes spirituality psychology freedom Mood somber introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal grief - mental health - spiritual crisis Key Concepts existential angst inner conflict Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to “lock your door” against inner spirits? - How can confronting one’s own soul alleviate fear? A Different Perspective Suppressing inner pain can intensify suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [After all, let a man take what pains he may to hush it down, a human soul is an awful, ghostly, unquiet possession for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/after-all-let-a-man-take-what-pains-he-may-to-hush-it-down-a-human-2/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [“And, perhaps, among us may be found generous spirits, who do not estimate honour and justice by dollars and cents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/and-perhaps-among-us-may-be-found-generous-spirits-who-do-not/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [What a fool is he who locks his door to keep out spirits, who has in his own bosom a spirit he dares not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/what-a-fool-is-he-who-locks-his-door-to-keep-out-spirits-who-has-in/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [I sometimes go back to walk through the ghostly remains of Sutton Place where the rude, new buildings stand squarely in one another's river…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/i-sometimes-go-back-to-walk-through-the-ghostly-remains-of-sutton/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [A picture that is ghostly and silent can be more eloquent and less clichéd than a noisier photo-journalistic approach and I have attempted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-norfolk/a-picture-that-is-ghostly-and-silent-can-be-more-eloquent-and-less/) Simon Norfolk > [Far, far away something made a single ghostly howl, like a banshee in the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/far-far-away-something-made-a-single-ghostly-howl-like-a-banshee-in/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [What silence rules the ghostly hours That guard the close of human sleep!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sterling/what-silence-rules-the-ghostly-hours-that-guard-the-close-of-human/) [George Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sterling/) > [“An invisible foot trod on his back, a ghostly patter passed downstairs, he heard the two police officers in the hall shout and run,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/an-invisible-foot-trod-on-his-back-a-ghostly-patter-passed-downstairs/) [H.G. 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Because now is the only time there ever is to do a thing in," said Miss Ophelia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/what-s-your-hurry-because-now-is-the-only-time-there-ever-is-to-do-a/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) [Explore all 280 Harriet Beecher Stowe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) ## More Bad man quotes > [I don't do plays without jokes anymore. I've retired from those plays. I think it's bad manners to invite people to sit in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/i-don-t-do-plays-without-jokes-anymore-i-ve-retired-from-those-plays/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [“It is said that the hallmark of a gentleman is that he is only ever rude intentionally. Arthur Bryant was no gentleman. 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