--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It comes over me that I had then a…" description: "\"“It comes over me that I had then a strange alter ego deep down somewhere inside me, as the full-blown flower is in the small tight bud, and I just too..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/henry-james-417_alter-ego_it-comes-over-me-that-i-had-then-a-stran_2132274.jpg" --- # It comes over me that I had then a strange alter ego deep… ![“It comes over me that I had then a strange alter ego deep down somewhere inside me, as the full-blown flower is in the small tight bud, and I just took the course, I just transferred him to the climate, that blighted him once and for ever.” quote by Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/henry-james-417_alter-ego_it-comes-over-me-that-i-had-then-a-stran_2132274.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/henry-james-417_alter-ego_it-comes-over-me-that-i-had-then-a-stran_2132274.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/henry-james-417_alter-ego_it-comes-over-me-that-i-had-then-a-stran_2132274.jpg) > ““It comes over me that I had then a strange alter ego deep down somewhere inside me, as the full-blown flower is in the small tight bud, and I just took the course, I just transferred him to the climate, that blighted him once and for ever.”” [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. A hidden, powerful part of oneself can emerge when circumstances change, transforming a suppressed potential into something vivid. **In simple terms:** A secret self can bloom when the environment shifts. Key Takeaway Embrace change to unlock hidden strengths. Themes identity transformation potential growth Mood reflective hopeful Type literary psychological When to use this quote - career shift - personal crisis - creative breakthrough - therapy sessions Key Concepts psychology self-actualization latent talent Questions to Reflect On - What parts of yourself are waiting for the right conditions? - How can you create environments that nurture hidden talents? A Different Perspective If the environment remains hostile, the hidden self may never surface. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alter ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alter-ego/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [She, though in full-blown flower of glorious beauty, Grows cold even in the summer of her age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/she-though-in-full-blown-flower-of-glorious-beauty-grows-cold-even-in/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [You cannot drop the ego. Once you start trying to drop the ego you will get in a very deep mess; you will become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/you-cannot-drop-the-ego-once-you-start-trying-to-drop-the-ego-you/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The guru is just trying to help you, to bring you to a point where you can at least surrender the ego. Then a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-guru-is-just-trying-to-help-you-to-bring-you-to-a-point-where-you/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“When our god fails to respond in the ways we expect, we humans tend to respond in one of two ways. We either blindly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glover/when-our-god-fails-to-respond-in-the-ways-we-expect-we-humans-tend-to/) Robert Glover > [“She would always be careful around people like Parley Burns, tricky people who are thin skinned and punitive and intelligent and surprisingly honest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hay/she-would-always-be-careful-around-people-like-parley-burns-tricky/) [Elizabeth Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hay/) > [“Peace can be found within, no matter the external circumstances.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-lokos/peace-can-be-found-within-no-matter-the-external-circumstances/) [Allan Lokos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-lokos/) > [“It doesn't take a man to have a child, it takes a man to raise a child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gonzobilly/it-doesn-t-take-a-man-to-have-a-child-it-takes-a-man-to-raise-a-child/) [GonzoBilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gonzobilly/) > [“Humans are the only ones who refuse to co-sleep with their newborns. All other mammals do it, and in a loving manner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/humans-are-the-only-ones-who-refuse-to-co-sleep-with-their-newborns/) [Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/) > [“I am far more fearful of the police than I am of North Korea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-am-far-more-fearful-of-the-police-than-i-am-of-north-korea/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“When the first force, social feeling and community expectation, is ignored or affronted, the person concerned will reveal certain aggressive character traits: vanity, ambition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-butler-bowdon/when-the-first-force-social-feeling-and-community-expectation-is/) [Tom Butler-Bowdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-butler-bowdon/) > [It's almost like it's my alter ego when I get on stage... I turn into this different person, seriously. Bipolar disorder. I'm tired of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britney-spears/it-s-almost-like-it-s-my-alter-ego-when-i-get-on-stage-i-turn-into/) [Britney Spears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britney-spears/) > [Wearing a corset, a ball gown, heels and a swan hat with wings to fight in the forest gave me a whole new appreciation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-collins/wearing-a-corset-a-ball-gown-heels-and-a-swan-hat-with-wings-to-fight/) [Lily Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-collins/) > [What happens if the music or alter ego isn't well received? The fact that people are talking about it, I won already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/musiq-soulchild/what-happens-if-the-music-or-alter-ego-isn-t-well-received-the-fact/) [Musiq Soulchild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/musiq-soulchild/) > [Effeminate men intrigue me more than anything in the world. I see them as my alter egos. I feel very drawn to them. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/effeminate-men-intrigue-me-more-than-anything-in-the-world-i-see-them/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [“What people saw when he appeared before them, then, was not really him, but a person he had invented, an artificial creature he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/what-people-saw-when-he-appeared-before-them-then-was-not-really-him/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## 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 Alter ego quotes > [“What people saw when he appeared before them, then, was not really him, but a person he had invented, an artificial creature he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/what-people-saw-when-he-appeared-before-them-then-was-not-really-him/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Effeminate men intrigue me more than anything in the world. I see them as my alter egos. I feel very drawn to them. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/effeminate-men-intrigue-me-more-than-anything-in-the-world-i-see-them/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [What happens if the music or alter ego isn't well received? The fact that people are talking about it, I won already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/musiq-soulchild/what-happens-if-the-music-or-alter-ego-isn-t-well-received-the-fact/) [Musiq Soulchild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/musiq-soulchild/) > [Wearing a corset, a ball gown, heels and a swan hat with wings to fight in the forest gave me a whole new appreciation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-collins/wearing-a-corset-a-ball-gown-heels-and-a-swan-hat-with-wings-to-fight/) [Lily Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-collins/) > [It's almost like it's my alter ego when I get on stage... I turn into this different person, seriously. Bipolar disorder. I'm tired of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britney-spears/it-s-almost-like-it-s-my-alter-ego-when-i-get-on-stage-i-turn-into/) [Britney Spears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britney-spears/) > [The first thing Islam does is to destroy the self image of the believers. It convinces them that without Islam they are worthless creatures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-sina/the-first-thing-islam-does-is-to-destroy-the-self-image-of-the/) [Ali Sina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-sina/) > [I loved the idea that I had an alter-ego but that my true identity was very well known and very much on the surface.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-rhodes/i-loved-the-idea-that-i-had-an-alter-ego-but-that-my-true-identity/) [Cody Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-rhodes/) > [I had this alter ego where I would go to the theater with mom. I wasn't embarrassed by it; it was separate for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jai-courtney/i-had-this-alter-ego-where-i-would-go-to-the-theater-with-mom-i-wasn/) [Jai Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jai-courtney/) > [I wish I could escape into some alter-ego, just so I could feel more comfortable onstage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/i-wish-i-could-escape-into-some-alter-ego-just-so-i-could-feel-more/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [Tulse Luper, who without too many confessions, in a sense, is a fictive version of me. I have to say he has far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/tulse-luper-who-without-too-many-confessions-in-a-sense-is-a-fictive/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [In America they like my spicy TV alter ego, probably because there were a lot of Italians and Hispanics in the country, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-tonioli/in-america-they-like-my-spicy-tv-alter-ego-probably-because-there/) [Bruno Tonioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-tonioli/) > [When I go onstage, I kind of turn into a beast sometimes, this alter-ego, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-scherzinger/when-i-go-onstage-i-kind-of-turn-into-a-beast-sometimes-this-alter/) [Nicole Scherzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-scherzinger/) > [ “The First \[Friend\] is the alter ego, the man who first reveals to you that you are not alone in the world by turning… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-first-friend-is-the-alter-ego-the-man-who-first-reveals-to-you/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [I don't feel I have an alter ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dita-von-teese/i-don-t-feel-i-have-an-alter-ego/) [Dita Von Teese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dita-von-teese/) > [ The \[travel\] writer, looking back at the journey from a distance of a year or two (or three), is a different character from the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/the-travel-writer-looking-back-at-the-journey-from-a-distance-of-a/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) [Browse all 79 Alter ego quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alter-ego/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It comes over me that I had then a strange alter ego deep down somewhere inside me, as the full-blown flower is in the small tight bud, and I just took the course, I just transferred him to the climate, that blighted him once and for ever.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-comes-over-me-that-i-had-then-a-strange-alter-ego-deep-down/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alter ego" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-comes-over-me-that-i-had-then-a-strange-alter-ego-deep-down/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/henry-james-417_alter-ego_it-comes-over-me-that-i-had-then-a-stran_2132274.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/henry-james-417_alter-ego_it-comes-over-me-that-i-had-then-a-stran_2132274.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/henry-james-417_alter-ego_it-comes-over-me-that-i-had-then-a-stran_2132274.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It comes over me that I had then a strange alter ego deep down somewhere inside me, as the full-blown flower…” — 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": "“It comes over me that I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-comes-over-me-that-i-had-then-a-strange-alter-ego-deep-down/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-comes-over-me-that-i-had-then-a-strange-alter-ego-deep-down/#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 } } ] } ```