---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [A distressing event] came like a door…"
description: "\"[A distressing event] came like a door banging on to a silent room.\" — Hugh Walpole"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/hugh-walpole-30747_banging_a-distressing-event-came-like-a-door-ban_2548740.jpg"
---

#  \[A distressing event\] came like a door banging on to a…

![“&#91;A distressing event&#93; came like a door banging on to a silent room.” quote by Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/hugh-walpole-30747_banging_a-distressing-event-came-like-a-door-ban_2548740.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/hugh-walpole-30747_banging_a-distressing-event-came-like-a-door-ban_2548740.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/hugh-walpole-30747_banging_a-distressing-event-came-like-a-door-ban_2548740.jpg)

> “\[A distressing event\] came like a door banging on to a silent room.”

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

## About This Quote

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

A sudden, disruptive event shatters calm, forcing attention to a new reality.

**In simple terms:** A shocking event breaks silence.

Key Takeaway

Abrace change when it arrives.

Themes

disruption change attention

Mood

anxious alert

Type

narrative dramatic

When to use this quote

- personal crisis
- emergency response
- creative inspiration
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

psychology of shock narrative tension

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you respond to sudden change?
- What can you learn from disruption?

A Different Perspective

The event may be temporary; calm can return.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Distressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distressing/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/)

## Related quotes

> [Hollywood's not knocking on our door. They're banging down the door with a sledgehammer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watkin-tudor-jones/hollywood-s-not-knocking-on-our-door-they-re-banging-down-the-door/)

[Watkin Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watkin-tudor-jones/)

> [The sum of a man's problems come from his inability to be alone in a silent room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-sum-of-a-man-s-problems-come-from-his-inability-to-be-alone-in-a/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [A big reason I'd spent my career as a writer and not a public speaker is that I am a person who refines my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-moser/a-big-reason-i-d-spent-my-career-as-a-writer-and-not-a-public-speaker/)

[Laura Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-moser/)

> [The very air had screams smeared on it. He flinched from the noise in this silent room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/the-very-air-had-screams-smeared-on-it-he-flinched-from-the-noise-in/)

[Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/)

> [I sometimes read about authors who say they require a perfectly silent room maintained at precisely 68 degrees, with trash bags taped over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-weiner/i-sometimes-read-about-authors-who-say-they-require-a-perfectly/)

[Jennifer Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-weiner/)

> [“A silent room is not an affluent room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sravani-saha-nakhro/a-silent-room-is-not-an-affluent-room/)

[Sravani Saha Nakhro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sravani-saha-nakhro/)

> [He stood there for a moment looking around the silent room, shaking his head slowly. All these books, he thought, the residue of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-matheson/he-stood-there-for-a-moment-looking-around-the-silent-room-shaking/)

[Richard Matheson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-matheson/)

> [Java and C++ make you think that the new ideas are like the old ones. Java is the most distressing thing to hit computing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/java-and-c-make-you-think-that-the-new-ideas-are-like-the-old-ones/)

[Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/)

> [It seems that some consideration should be given to the cause of our mounting physical disabilities, but instead of going to the root of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-roloff/it-seems-that-some-consideration-should-be-given-to-the-cause-of-our/)

[Lester Roloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-roloff/)

> [What I saw in Baltimore was distressing and it tells me we need stronger policies in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-i-saw-in-baltimore-was-distressing-and-it-tells-me-we-need/)

[Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/)

> [What really worries me is that those who are in positions of power are not really affected by what we are writing. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/what-really-worries-me-is-that-those-who-are-in-positions-of-power/)

[Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/)

> [The old knowledge had been difficult but not distressing. It had been all paradox and myth, and it had made sense. The new knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-old-knowledge-had-been-difficult-but-not-distressing-it-had-been/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [At this very moment,... the most frightful horrors are taking place in every corner of the world. People are being crushed, slashed, disembowelled, mangled;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/at-this-very-moment-the-most-frightful-horrors-are-taking-place-in/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [There is nothing more distressing ... than the hard, scoffing spirit which treats the allegation of dishonesty in a public man as a cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-is-nothing-more-distressing-than-the-hard-scoffing-spirit-which/)

[Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/)

> [If you film a scene in a wide shot, especially a disturbing, distressing moment, I do feel like that helps you feel as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-karpovsky/if-you-film-a-scene-in-a-wide-shot-especially-a-disturbing/)

[Alex Karpovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-karpovsky/)

## More by Hugh Walpole

> [Art and life ought to be hurriedly remarried and brought to live together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/art-and-life-ought-to-be-hurriedly-remarried-and-brought-to-live/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [Men are often capable of greater things than they perform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/men-are-often-capable-of-greater-things-than-they-perform/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [In all science, error precedes the truth, and it is better it should go first than last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/in-all-science-error-precedes-the-truth-and-it-is-better-it-should-go/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [Happiness comes, I know, from some spring within a man — from some curious adjustment to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/happiness-comes-i-know-from-some-spring-within-a-man-from-some/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [I believe the root of all happiness on this earth to lie in the realization of a spiritual life with a consciousness of something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/i-believe-the-root-of-all-happiness-on-this-earth-to-lie-in-the/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [The most wonderful of all things in life, I believe, is the discovery of another human being with whom one's relationship has a glowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/the-most-wonderful-of-all-things-in-life-i-believe-is-the-discovery/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [A bibliomaniac is one to whom books are like bottles of whiskey to the inebriate, to whom anything that is between covers has an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/a-bibliomaniac-is-one-to-whom-books-are-like-bottles-of-whiskey-to/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [I almost think there is no wisdom comparable to that of exchanging what is called the realities of life for dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/i-almost-think-there-is-no-wisdom-comparable-to-that-of-exchanging/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [All paraphrases and expletives are so much in disuse that soon the only way of making love will be to say, "Lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/all-paraphrases-and-expletives-are-so-much-in-disuse-that-soon-the/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [Tisn't life that matters! 'Tis the courage you bring to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/tisn-t-life-that-matters-tis-the-courage-you-bring-to-it/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [“Code breaker Mabel Elliott's favorite quote was: It isn't life that matters! It's the courage we bring to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/code-breaker-mabel-elliott-s-favorite-quote-was-it-isn-t-life-that/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [Happiness comes from... some curious adjustment to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/happiness-comes-from-some-curious-adjustment-to-life/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [“She was young enough and inexperienced enough to make many demands upon life - that it should be romantic, that it should, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/she-was-young-enough-and-inexperienced-enough-to-make-many-demands/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [The happiest people I have known in this world have been the Saints-and, after these, the men and women who get immediate and conscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/the-happiest-people-i-have-known-in-this-world-have-been-the-saints/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

> [Don't play for safety - it's the most dangerous thing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/don-t-play-for-safety-it-s-the-most-dangerous-thing-in-the-world/)

[Hugh Walpole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

[Explore all 17 Hugh Walpole quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/)

## More Banging quotes

> [I was banging seven-gram rocks, because that’s how I roll. I have one speed, I have one gear: Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-was-banging-seven-gram-rocks-because-that-s-how-i-roll-i-have-one/)

[Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/)

> [A lot of banging in the head has built up over the decades, and for my own sanity, I needed to write. I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-donovan/a-lot-of-banging-in-the-head-has-built-up-over-the-decades-and-for-my/)

[Martin Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-donovan/)

> [The Metallica film was like this incredible life experience where I learned the most through guys that stereotypically you would think couldn't offer much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-berlinger/the-metallica-film-was-like-this-incredible-life-experience-where-i/)

[Joe Berlinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-berlinger/)

> [“the rest of you... keep banging the rocks together”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-rest-of-you-keep-banging-the-rocks-together/)

[Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/)

> [Basically Ken is a very gentle, home-loving person. I remember when one of his stick insects had a knee infection. He stayed up all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/basically-ken-is-a-very-gentle-home-loving-person-i-remember-when-one/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

> [I love the protests. And if you think about it, what better way to send a message to Wall Street than by sitting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/i-love-the-protests-and-if-you-think-about-it-what-better-way-to-send/)

[David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/)

> [How can you not love a man banging on the drums? He knows how to keep a rhythm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malin-akerman/how-can-you-not-love-a-man-banging-on-the-drums-he-knows-how-to-keep/)

[Malin Akerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malin-akerman/)

> [You always want to try, in everything you do, to attempt something you've never tried before, and the only way to succeed at that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-willimon/you-always-want-to-try-in-everything-you-do-to-attempt-something-you/)

[Beau Willimon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-willimon/)

> [The important thing is to learn a lesson every time you lose. Life is a learning process and you have to try to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcenroe/the-important-thing-is-to-learn-a-lesson-every-time-you-lose-life-is/)

[John McEnroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcenroe/)

> [I've been playing my instrument since I was about three or four. That's when I started banging around on the piano, trying to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-wolff/i-ve-been-playing-my-instrument-since-i-was-about-three-or-four-that/)

[Nat Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-wolff/)

> [At moments when life is at its worst there are two things you can do: 1.) break down,lose hope and refuse to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/at-moments-when-life-is-at-its-worst-there-are-two-things-you-can-do/)

[Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/)

> [The music I used to make was a lot more rock, so I come from this background of head banging a lot, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/the-music-i-used-to-make-was-a-lot-more-rock-so-i-come-from-this/)

[St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/)

> [Directing takes a lot longer than acting. This was about seven years in development, and then two and a half years with pre-production, production,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-schwimmer/directing-takes-a-lot-longer-than-acting-this-was-about-seven-years/)

[David Schwimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-schwimmer/)

> [And if there are no cars or planes, and if no one’s Uncle John is out in the wood lot west of town banging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/and-if-there-are-no-cars-or-planes-and-if-no-one-s-uncle-john-is-out/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [Music loud, hear it banging through the whole street. Beat getting shit on: toilet bowl seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-miller/music-loud-hear-it-banging-through-the-whole-street-beat-getting-shit/)

[Mac Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-miller/)

Browse all 179 Banging quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "[A distressing event] came like a door banging on to a silent room.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Hugh Walpole"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/a-distressing-event-came-like-a-door-banging-on-to-a-silent-room/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Banging"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/a-distressing-event-came-like-a-door-banging-on-to-a-silent-room/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/hugh-walpole-30747_banging_a-distressing-event-came-like-a-door-ban_2548740.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/hugh-walpole-30747_banging_a-distressing-event-came-like-a-door-ban_2548740.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/hugh-walpole-30747_banging_a-distressing-event-came-like-a-door-ban_2548740.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“[A distressing event] came like a door banging on to a silent room.” — Hugh Walpole",
                "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": "Hugh Walpole",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-walpole/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "[A distressing event] came like a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/a-distressing-event-came-like-a-door-banging-on-to-a-silent-room/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-walpole/a-distressing-event-came-like-a-door-banging-on-to-a-silent-room/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
