--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Standing in the courtyard with a glass…" description: "\"“Standing in the courtyard with a glass eye; only half the world is intelligible. The stones are wet and mossy and in the crevices are black toads. A b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/190/henry-miller-179_cellar_standing-in-the-courtyard-with-a-glass-e_3026114.jpg" --- # Standing in the courtyard with a glass eye; only half the… ![“Standing in the courtyard with a glass eye; only half the world is intelligible. The stones are wet and mossy and in the crevices are black toads. A big door bars the entrance to the cellar; the steps are slippery and soiled with bat dung. The door bulges and sags, the hinges are falling off, but…” quote by Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/190/henry-miller-179_cellar_standing-in-the-courtyard-with-a-glass-e_3026114.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/190/henry-miller-179_cellar_standing-in-the-courtyard-with-a-glass-e_3026114.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/190/henry-miller-179_cellar_standing-in-the-courtyard-with-a-glass-e_3026114.jpg) > ““Standing in the courtyard with a glass eye; only half the world is intelligible. The stones are wet and mossy and in the crevices are black toads. A big door bars the entrance to the cellar; the steps are slippery and soiled with bat dung. The door bulges and sags, the hinges are falling off, but there is an enameled sign on it, in perfect condition, which says: “Be sure to close the door.” Why close the door? I can’t make it out. I look again at the sign but it is removed; in it’s place there is a pane of colored glass. I take out my artificial eye, spit on it and polish it with my handkerchief. A woman is sitting on a dais above an immense carven desk; she has a snake around her neck. The entire room is lined with books and strange fish swimming in colored globes; there are maps and charts on the wall, maps of Paris before the plague, maps of the antique world, of Knossos and Carthage, of Carthage before and after the salting. In the corner of the room I see an iron bedstead and on it a corpse is lying; the woman gets up wearily, removes the corpse from the bed and absent mindedly throws it out the window. She returns to the huge carven desk, takes a goldfish from the bowl and swallows it. Slowly the room begins to revolve and one by one the continents slide into the sea; only the woman is left, but her body is a mass of geography. I lean out the window and the Eiffle Tower is fizzing champagne; it is built entirely of numbers and shrouded in black lace. The sewers are gurgling furiously. There are nothing but roofs everywhere, laid out with execrable geometric cunning.”” [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A surreal, labyrinthine scene explores perception, decay, and the uncanny, questioning reality and the mind’s limits. **In simple terms:** A bizarre, dream‑like room reveals hidden meanings and unsettling truths. Key Takeaway Question what is real, embrace the strange. Themes surrealism perception decay identity chaos Mood mysterious thought‑provoking dark Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - art analysis - psychology studies - philosophical debate Key Concepts dream logic symbolism philosophy artistic imagination Questions to Reflect On - What does the closed door represent? - How does the shifting geography affect understanding? A Different Perspective May be too abstract for practical use. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Getting a room's not always enough. Sometimes you gotta close the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/getting-a-room-s-not-always-enough-sometimes-you-gotta-close-the-door/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [I have this one room - it has a TV, a sofa, some candles. I close the door, sit down and lose myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-lewis/i-have-this-one-room-it-has-a-tv-a-sofa-some-candles-i-close-the-door/) [Denise Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-lewis/) > [When I was a child, we always had wine on the table, no matter how simple the meal. The wine had no special identity;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-p-pin/when-i-was-a-child-we-always-had-wine-on-the-table-no-matter-how/) [Jacques Pepin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-p-pin/) > [“Whenever I find myself in the cellar of affliction, I always look about for the wine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-rutherford/whenever-i-find-myself-in-the-cellar-of-affliction-i-always-look/) [Samuel Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-rutherford/) > [I told my wife a man is like wine, he gets better with age. She locked me in the cellar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-told-my-wife-a-man-is-like-wine-he-gets-better-with-age-she-locked/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [“There was a sensible part of me somewhere that clutched its pearls and hissed that I better not give up my V-card in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/there-was-a-sensible-part-of-me-somewhere-that-clutched-its-pearls/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [The very best of vineyards is the cellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/the-very-best-of-vineyards-is-the-cellar/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-rutherford/when-i-am-in-the-cellar-of-affliction-i-look-for-the-lord-s-choicest/) [Samuel Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-rutherford/) > [But the real interesting stuff is in the cellar and the attic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/but-the-real-interesting-stuff-is-in-the-cellar-and-the-attic/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“with an ordinary face, he would have been one of the most distinguished of mankind! He had a heart that could have held the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-leroux/with-an-ordinary-face-he-would-have-been-one-of-the-most/) [Gaston Leroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-leroux/) > [They can do without architecture who have no olives nor wines in the cellar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/they-can-do-without-architecture-who-have-no-olives-nor-wines-in-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“The group sat in silence, absorbing the information. The whole room felt cramped. It was as though there were something else in the cellar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-forrest/the-group-sat-in-silence-absorbing-the-information-the-whole-room/) [Bella Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-forrest/) > [Our cellar home had a kitchen and a combination bedroom and half bath, which meant we had a sink next to the bed. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/our-cellar-home-had-a-kitchen-and-a-combination-bedroom-and-half-bath/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [Hobbies take place in the cellar and smell of airplane glue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/hobbies-take-place-in-the-cellar-and-smell-of-airplane-glue/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“So how was cellar duty tonight? Cellarific”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/so-how-was-cellar-duty-tonight-cellarific/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) ## More by Henry Miller > [“I reached out for something to attach myself to—and I found nothing. But in reaching out, in the effort to grasp, to attach myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-reached-out-for-something-to-attach-myself-to-and-i-found-nothing/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“I saw the errors I had made and assumed full responsibility for everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-saw-the-errors-i-had-made-and-assumed-full-responsibility-for/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [The monstrous thing is not that men have created roses out of this dung heap, but that, for some reason or other, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-monstrous-thing-is-not-that-men-have-created-roses-out-of-this/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [They never opened the door which leads to the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/they-never-opened-the-door-which-leads-to-the-soul/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“(...)I decided to let myself drift with the tide, to make not the least resistance to fate, no matter in what form it presented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-decided-to-let-myself-drift-with-the-tide-to-make-not-the-least/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“If it be knowledge or wisdom one is seeking, then one had better go direct to the source. 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The ego dies in its own glass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/in-the-egocentric-prism-the-helpless-victim-is-walled-in-by-the-very/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“When one spends what he has on himself, when one has a thoroughly good time with his own money, people are apt to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/when-one-spends-what-he-has-on-himself-when-one-has-a-thoroughly-good/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Paint what you like and die happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/paint-what-you-like-and-die-happy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [She may be lying in bed reading a book, she may be making love with a prize fighter, or she may be running like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/she-may-be-lying-in-bed-reading-a-book-she-may-be-making-love-with-a/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“And no one sets about saving the world unless he has first experienced the miracle of personal salvation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/and-no-one-sets-about-saving-the-world-unless-he-has-first/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“He looks about the room at the few sticks of furniture, at the dirty bed sheets and the wash basin with the dirty water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/he-looks-about-the-room-at-the-few-sticks-of-furniture-at-the-dirty/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Since then, of course, I have discovered what every madman in Paris discovers sooner of later; that there are no ready made infernos for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/since-then-of-course-i-have-discovered-what-every-madman-in-paris/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Looking back upon my career, I see myself as a person capable of undertaking almost any task, any vocation. It was the monotony and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/looking-back-upon-my-career-i-see-myself-as-a-person-capable-of/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“The word in your mouth is anarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/the-word-in-your-mouth-is-anarchy/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) [Explore all 894 Henry Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) ## More Cellar quotes > [When I was a child, we always had wine on the table, no matter how simple the meal. The wine had no special identity;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-p-pin/when-i-was-a-child-we-always-had-wine-on-the-table-no-matter-how/) [Jacques Pepin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-p-pin/) > [Hobbies take place in the cellar and smell of airplane glue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/hobbies-take-place-in-the-cellar-and-smell-of-airplane-glue/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Our cellar home had a kitchen and a combination bedroom and half bath, which meant we had a sink next to the bed. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/our-cellar-home-had-a-kitchen-and-a-combination-bedroom-and-half-bath/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) > [“The group sat in silence, absorbing the information. The whole room felt cramped. It was as though there were something else in the cellar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-forrest/the-group-sat-in-silence-absorbing-the-information-the-whole-room/) [Bella Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-forrest/) > [They can do without architecture who have no olives nor wines in the cellar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/they-can-do-without-architecture-who-have-no-olives-nor-wines-in-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“with an ordinary face, he would have been one of the most distinguished of mankind! He had a heart that could have held the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-leroux/with-an-ordinary-face-he-would-have-been-one-of-the-most/) [Gaston Leroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-leroux/) > [But the real interesting stuff is in the cellar and the attic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/but-the-real-interesting-stuff-is-in-the-cellar-and-the-attic/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-rutherford/when-i-am-in-the-cellar-of-affliction-i-look-for-the-lord-s-choicest/) [Samuel Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-rutherford/) > [The very best of vineyards is the cellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/the-very-best-of-vineyards-is-the-cellar/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“There was a sensible part of me somewhere that clutched its pearls and hissed that I better not give up my V-card in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/there-was-a-sensible-part-of-me-somewhere-that-clutched-its-pearls/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [I told my wife a man is like wine, he gets better with age. She locked me in the cellar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-told-my-wife-a-man-is-like-wine-he-gets-better-with-age-she-locked/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [“Whenever I find myself in the cellar of affliction, I always look about for the wine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-rutherford/whenever-i-find-myself-in-the-cellar-of-affliction-i-always-look/) [Samuel Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-rutherford/) > [“So how was cellar duty tonight? Cellarific”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/so-how-was-cellar-duty-tonight-cellarific/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [“A wine cellar requires order, forethought and good taste,’ the old man used to say. ‘These are the virtues that made Britain great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/a-wine-cellar-requires-order-forethought-and-good-taste-the-old-man/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [I love the Comedy Cellar. The audience has no expectations because they don't know me. It's great. It's only winning - if I bomb,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-elmaleh/i-love-the-comedy-cellar-the-audience-has-no-expectations-because/) [Gad Elmaleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-elmaleh/) Browse all 46 Cellar quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Standing in the courtyard with a glass eye; only half the world is intelligible. The stones are wet and mossy and in the crevices are black toads. A big door bars the entrance to the cellar; the steps are slippery and soiled with bat dung. The door bulges and sags, the hinges are falling off, but there is an enameled sign on it, in perfect condition, which says: “Be sure to close the door.” Why close the door? I can’t make it out. I look again at the sign but it is removed; in it’s place there is a pane of colored glass. I take out my artificial eye, spit on it and polish it with my handkerchief. A woman is sitting on a dais above an immense carven desk; she has a snake around her neck. The entire room is lined with books and strange fish swimming in colored globes; there are maps and charts on the wall, maps of Paris before the plague, maps of the antique world, of Knossos and Carthage, of Carthage before and after the salting. In the corner of the room I see an iron bedstead and on it a corpse is lying; the woman gets up wearily, removes the corpse from the bed and absent mindedly throws it out the window. She returns to the huge carven desk, takes a goldfish from the bowl and swallows it. Slowly the room begins to revolve and one by one the continents slide into the sea; only the woman is left, but her body is a mass of geography. I lean out the window and the Eiffle Tower is fizzing champagne; it is built entirely of numbers and shrouded in black lace. The sewers are gurgling furiously. 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