---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hatred is like a long, dark shadow. In…"
description: "\"“Hatred is like a long, dark shadow. In most cases, not even the person it falls upon knows where it comes from. It is like a two-edged sword. When you..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/haruki-murakami-21_hatred_hatred-is-like-a-long-dark-shadow-in-mos_404100.jpg"
---

#  Hatred is like a long, dark shadow. In most cases, not…

![“Hatred is like a long, dark shadow. In most cases, not even the person it falls upon knows where it comes from. It is like a two-edged sword. When you cut the other person, the more violently you hack at yourself.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/haruki-murakami-21_hatred_hatred-is-like-a-long-dark-shadow-in-mos_404100.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/haruki-murakami-21_hatred_hatred-is-like-a-long-dark-shadow-in-mos_404100.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f91/haruki-murakami-21_hatred_hatred-is-like-a-long-dark-shadow-in-mos_404100.jpg)

> ““Hatred is like a long, dark shadow. In most cases, not even the person it falls upon knows where it comes from. It is like a two-edged sword. When you cut the other person, the more violently you hack at yourself.””

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Hatred harms both the target and the harmer, acting like a two‑edged sword.

**In simple terms:** Hatred hurts both sides.

Key Takeaway

Release hatred to heal yourself.

Themes

psychology conflict self‑harm empathy

Mood

somber introspective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- conflict resolution
- self‑reflection
- therapy

Key Concepts

philosophy emotional intelligence

Questions to Reflect On

- What does hatred cost you personally?
- How can you transform hatred into compassion?

A Different Perspective

Hard to let go of deep resentment.

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[Cut Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cut-person-1497332/) [Edged Sword](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edged-sword/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Hatred Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred-like-696163/) [Like Edged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-edged-3616833/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/)

## Related quotes

> [“Hatred is like a tow-edged sword. When you cut the other person, you cut yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/hatred-is-like-a-tow-edged-sword-when-you-cut-the-other-person-you/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [Hatred is like a long, dark shadow. Not even the person it falls upon knows where it comes from, in most cases. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/hatred-is-like-a-long-dark-shadow-not-even-the-person-it-falls-upon/)

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> [“Money is like a two-edged sword, can be used for good and bad...is like the fire, if you don't know how to control it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-loskov/money-is-like-a-two-edged-sword-can-be-used-for-good-and-bad-is-like/)

[Kimberly Loskov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-loskov/)

> [Hatred like love feeds on the merest trifles. Everything adds to it. Just as the being we love can do no wrong, so the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/hatred-like-love-feeds-on-the-merest-trifles-everything-adds-to-it/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [“That is how they are. That is how the Cold Peace has made them. Afraid of what is new and different, and filled with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/that-is-how-they-are-that-is-how-the-cold-peace-has-made-them-afraid/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [Hatred is more like felony exception of gun and killing it is still a natural crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilteny/hatred-is-more-like-felony-exception-of-gun-and-killing-it-is-still-a/)

[LilTeny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilteny/)

> [The person that you should cut off is the person thats using you, disrespecting you, abusing you or playing you. Why havent you cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/the-person-that-you-should-cut-off-is-the-person-thats-using-you/)

[Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/)

> [Only cut off a person that has done something unforgivable and very disrespectful. A person you don't love or care about anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/only-cut-off-a-person-that-has-done-something-unforgivable-and-very/)

[Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/)

> [I don't want to say I'm a role model because I've not been the most clean-cut person, and there were times I could have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-walters/i-don-t-want-to-say-i-m-a-role-model-because-i-ve-not-been-the-most/)

[Ashley Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-walters/)

> [The old Indian proverb holds true. Once you've cut off a person's nose, there's no point in giving him a rose to smell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/the-old-indian-proverb-holds-true-once-you-ve-cut-off-a-person-s-nose/)

[Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/)

> [“Hatred is like a dam waiting to burst, and when it does, it is more devastating than what you had originally intended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-fleck/hatred-is-like-a-dam-waiting-to-burst-and-when-it-does-it-is-more/)

[Angelina Fleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-fleck/)

> [Hatred like love feeds on the merest trifles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/hatred-like-love-feeds-on-the-merest-trifles/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [Anger is a transient hatred; or at least very like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-south/anger-is-a-transient-hatred-or-at-least-very-like-it/)

[Robert South](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-south/)

> [Hatred is like fire, it makes even light rubbish deadly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/hatred-is-like-fire-it-makes-even-light-rubbish-deadly/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [If one judges love by the majority of its effects, it is more like hatred than like friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/if-one-judges-love-by-the-majority-of-its-effects-it-is-more-like/)

[Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

## More by Haruki Murakami

> [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/)

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> [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/)

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> [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/)

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> [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/)

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> [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

[Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

## More Hatred quotes

> [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/)

[Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/)

> [Only those who hate the Negro see hatred in the Negro.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/only-those-who-hate-the-negro-see-hatred-in-the-negro/)

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> [We witness anti-Semitic attacks in the heart of Europe. We hear anti-Semitic slanders in European media. We feel anti-Semitic hatred in the continent that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-shaked/we-witness-anti-semitic-attacks-in-the-heart-of-europe-we-hear-anti/)

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> [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/)

[Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/)

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[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

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[Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/)

> [The hatred of those who are near to us is the most violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publius-cornelius-tacitus/the-hatred-of-those-who-are-near-to-us-is-the-most-violent/)

[Publius Cornelius Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publius-cornelius-tacitus/)

> [“Their Love Is Average, Seeks Average But There Is Genius In Their Hatred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/their-love-is-average-seeks-average-but-there-is-genius-in-their/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [Enough for this bow &amp; arrow. It caused me nothing but sorrow. No need for another tomorrow. In your heart, I will never be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louaiq8/enough-for-this-bow-arrow-it-caused-me-nothing-but-sorrow-no-need-for/)

[Louaiq8](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louaiq8/)

> [Too many years of feeling degraded now hatred's the only feeling that comes~~~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/too-many-years-of-feeling-degraded-now-hatred-s-the-only-feeling-that/)

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> [Hate is a lack of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/hate-is-a-lack-of-imagination/)

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> [The terrorists-those nineteen people, with hundreds or maybe thousands behind them-did the worst thing you can possibly imagine. But tens of millions people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-terrorists-those-nineteen-people-with-hundreds-or-maybe-thousands/)

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[Browse all 3,825 Hatred quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/)

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