--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He liked however the open shutters; he…" description: "\"“He liked however the open shutters; he opened everywhere those Mrs. Muldoon had closed, closing them as carefully afterwards, so that she shouldn't no..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30a/henry-james-417_city_he-liked-however-the-open-shutters-he-op_1480977.jpg" --- # He liked however the open shutters; he opened everywhere… ![“He liked however the open shutters; he opened everywhere those Mrs. Muldoon had closed, closing them as carefully afterwards, so that she shouldn't notice: he liked--oh this he did like, and above all in the upper rooms!--the sense of the hard silver of the autumn stars through the window-panes…” quote by Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30a/henry-james-417_city_he-liked-however-the-open-shutters-he-op_1480977.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30a/henry-james-417_city_he-liked-however-the-open-shutters-he-op_1480977.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30a/henry-james-417_city_he-liked-however-the-open-shutters-he-op_1480977.jpg) > ““He liked however the open shutters; he opened everywhere those Mrs. Muldoon had closed, closing them as carefully afterwards, so that she shouldn't notice: he liked--oh this he did like, and above all in the upper rooms!--the sense of the hard silver of the autumn stars through the window-panes, and scarcely less the flare of the street-lamps below, the white electric lustre which it would have taken curtains to keep out. This was human actual social; this was of the world he had lived in, and he was more at his ease certainly for the countenance, coldly general and impersonal, that all the while and in spite of his detachment it seemed to give him.”” [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator finds beauty in the ordinary, appreciating subtle details and the indifferent world that surrounds him. **In simple terms:** He enjoys simple, quiet moments. Key Takeaway Notice and cherish everyday details. Themes aesthetic appreciation solitude observation Mood thoughtful melancholic Type literary reflective When to use this quote - urban living - reading - mindful walking Key Concepts sensory perception detachment Questions to Reflect On - What small detail brings you joy today? - How does detachment affect your relationships? A Different Perspective His detachment may lead to emotional isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) [City-at-night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-at-night-32919/) [Curtains Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curtains-human-5396834/) [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Liked Open](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liked-open-5396832/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Open Shutters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-shutters-5396833/) [Shutters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shutters/) [Shutters Opened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shutters-opened-5396831/) ## Related quotes > [“It seemed to him he had waited an age for some stir of the great grim hush; the life of the town was itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-seemed-to-him-he-had-waited-an-age-for-some-stir-of-the-great-grim/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“Now the evening's at its noon, its meridian. The outgoing tide has simmered down, and there's a lull-like the calm in the eye of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/now-the-evening-s-at-its-noon-its-meridian-the-outgoing-tide-has/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“The ride had begun. The theatre and club spectaculars seemed to stick up into the sky at all sorts of crazy angles, probably because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/the-ride-had-begun-the-theatre-and-club-spectaculars-seemed-to-stick/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [Photographs aren't accounts of scrutiny. The shutter is open for a fraction of a second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/photographs-aren-t-accounts-of-scrutiny-the-shutter-is-open-for-a/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Never boss people around. It's more important to click with people than to click the shutter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-eisenstaedt/never-boss-people-around-it-s-more-important-to-click-with-people/) [Alfred Eisenstaedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-eisenstaedt/) > [Since 1873, I have been back four or five times. I have used the best cameras and the most sensitive emulsions on the market.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-jackson/since-1873-i-have-been-back-four-or-five-times-i-have-used-the-best/) [William Henry Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-jackson/) > [I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking. Recording the man shaving at the window opposite and the woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/i-am-a-camera-with-its-shutter-open-quite-passive-recording-not/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a wintry fireside; candles at four o'clock, warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-quincey/surely-everyone-is-aware-of-the-divine-pleasures-which-attend-a/) [Thomas de Quincey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-quincey/) > [Tea - the cups that cheer but not inebriate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/tea-the-cups-that-cheer-but-not-inebriate/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [ My mom had bought this camera to take classes herself and I remember working with her on it, understanding how the stop-motion \[worked\], having… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vespa/my-mom-had-bought-this-camera-to-take-classes-herself-and-i-remember/) [Jeff Vespa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vespa/) > [Many mothers make the mistake of forever looking for the bad in the child, trying to . . . uproot and drive it out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/many-mothers-make-the-mistake-of-forever-looking-for-the-bad-in-the/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [I am a camera, with its shutter open. Someday, all of this will be developed, printed, fixed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/i-am-a-camera-with-its-shutter-open-someday-all-of-this-will-be/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [A slight sound at evening lifts me up by the ears, and makes life seem inexpressibly serene and grand. It may be Uranus, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-slight-sound-at-evening-lifts-me-up-by-the-ears-and-makes-life-seem/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“It was darker in the tower than any place Devnee had ever been. The dark had textures, some velvet, some satin. The dark shifted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-b-cooney/it-was-darker-in-the-tower-than-any-place-devnee-had-ever-been-the/) [Caroline B. Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-b-cooney/) > [He owned an expensive camera that required thought before you pressed the shutter, and I quickly became his favorite subject, round-faced, missing teeth, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/he-owned-an-expensive-camera-that-required-thought-before-you-pressed/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) ## More by Henry James > [Though there are some disagreeable things in Venice there is nothing so disagreeable as the visitors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/though-there-are-some-disagreeable-things-in-venice-there-is-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“In literature we move through a blest world in which we know nothing except by style, but in which everything is saved by it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/in-literature-we-move-through-a-blest-world-in-which-we-know-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I shall stay here as long as I may, I don't want to think — I needn't think. I don't care for anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-shall-stay-here-as-long-as-i-may-i-don-t-want-to-think-i-needn-t/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“...It often seemed to her that she thought too much about herself, you could have made her blush any day of the year, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-often-seemed-to-her-that-she-thought-too-much-about-herself-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I reflected acutely that the sense of such differences, such superiorities of quality, always, on the part of the majority—which could include even stupid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-reflected-acutely-that-the-sense-of-such-differences-such/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She had had a real fright but had fallen back to earth. The odd thing was that in her fall her fear too had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-had-had-a-real-fright-but-had-fallen-back-to-earth-the-odd-thing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [I ought to tell you I'm probably your cousin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-cousin/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She had never met a woman who had less of that fault which is the principal obstacle to friendship - the air of reproducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-had-never-met-a-woman-who-had-less-of-that-fault-which-is-the/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [London is on the whole the most possible form of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/london-is-on-the-whole-the-most-possible-form-of-life/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [If you have work to do, don't wait to feel like it; set to work and you will feel like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/if-you-have-work-to-do-don-t-wait-to-feel-like-it-set-to-work-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She answered that she liked standing up and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-answered-that-she-liked-standing-up-and/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [It is no wonder he wins every game. He has never done a thing in his life exept play games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-is-no-wonder-he-wins-every-game-he-has-never-done-a-thing-in-his/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Make (the reader) think the evil, make him think it for himself, and you are released from weak specifications. My values are positively all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/make-the-reader-think-the-evil-make-him-think-it-for-himself-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“It was the air she wanted and the world she would now exclusively choose; the quiet chambers, nobly overwhelming, rich but slightly veiled, opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-was-the-air-she-wanted-and-the-world-she-would-now-exclusively/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [The time-honored bread-sauce of the happy ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-time-honored-bread-sauce-of-the-happy-ending/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) [Explore all 571 Henry James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## More City quotes > [I've seen a lot of people come out of Carol City, but I had this distinct vision for Carol City, just me coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-curry/i-ve-seen-a-lot-of-people-come-out-of-carol-city-but-i-had-this/) [Denzel Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-curry/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [I've been to Manchester enough to know it's a real place. It's not Factory Records and the Smiths bicycling around. I get it. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-murphy/i-ve-been-to-manchester-enough-to-know-it-s-a-real-place-it-s-not/) [James Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-murphy/) > [Though 'Fat City' was written long before cellphones or the Internet, its human apparatus is state of the art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/though-fat-city-was-written-long-before-cellphones-or-the-internet/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [I get paid to play, to win, to give the city pride, so maybe everybody can forget for a little while how hard life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-cunningham/i-get-paid-to-play-to-win-to-give-the-city-pride-so-maybe-everybody/) [Randall Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-cunningham/) > [In my first 100 days as Ontario's Minister of Transportation, I found a willing municipal partner in the City of Toronto that shares our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-mulroney/in-my-first-100-days-as-ontario-s-minister-of-transportation-i-found/) [Caroline Mulroney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-mulroney/) > [Even after my family moved West, I would come back to Long Island as a teenager, stay with aunts and go to the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everlast/even-after-my-family-moved-west-i-would-come-back-to-long-island-as-a/) [Everlast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everlast/) > [We all got driven out of Manhattan. It was a very conducive place for artists when I was growing up, and now it's definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/we-all-got-driven-out-of-manhattan-it-was-a-very-conducive-place-for/) [Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [“Poor people do not go on holiday; they go home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/poor-people-do-not-go-on-holiday-they-go-home/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [We have an obligation at the local level to do everything we can with the resources we have. And we do those things. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-wheeler/we-have-an-obligation-at-the-local-level-to-do-everything-we-can-with/) [Ted Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-wheeler/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [I loved 'Chicago Code;' I watched that a lot. It was great because it really captured the city - I'm from Chicago, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessy-schram/i-loved-chicago-code-i-watched-that-a-lot-it-was-great-because-it/) [Jessy Schram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessy-schram/) > [Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/vienna-is-a-handsome-lively-city-and-pleases-me-exceedingly/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) [Browse all 5,394 City quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He liked however the open shutters; he opened everywhere those Mrs. Muldoon had closed, closing them as carefully afterwards, so that she shouldn't notice: he liked--oh this he did like, and above all in the upper rooms!--the sense of the hard silver of the autumn stars through the window-panes, and scarcely less the flare of the street-lamps below, the white electric lustre which it would have taken curtains to keep out. This was human actual social; this was of the world he had lived in, and he was more at his ease certainly for the countenance, coldly general and impersonal, that all the while and in spite of his detachment it seemed to give him.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/he-liked-however-the-open-shutters-he-opened-everywhere-those-mrs/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "City" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/he-liked-however-the-open-shutters-he-opened-everywhere-those-mrs/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30a/henry-james-417_city_he-liked-however-the-open-shutters-he-op_1480977.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30a/henry-james-417_city_he-liked-however-the-open-shutters-he-op_1480977.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30a/henry-james-417_city_he-liked-however-the-open-shutters-he-op_1480977.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He liked however the open shutters; he opened everywhere those Mrs. Muldoon had closed, closing them as…” — Henry James", "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": "Henry James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He liked however the open shutters;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/he-liked-however-the-open-shutters-he-opened-everywhere-those-mrs/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/he-liked-however-the-open-shutters-he-opened-everywhere-those-mrs/#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 } } ] } ```