--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Violence is born of the desire to escape…" description: "\"“Violence is born of the desire to escape oneself.”\" — Iris Murdoch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/iris-murdoch-993_crime_violence-is-born-of-the-desire-to-escape_2261171.png" --- # Violence is born of the desire to escape oneself. ![“Violence is born of the desire to escape oneself.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/iris-murdoch-993_crime_violence-is-born-of-the-desire-to-escape_2261171.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/iris-murdoch-993_crime_violence-is-born-of-the-desire-to-escape_2261171.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/iris-murdoch-993_crime_violence-is-born-of-the-desire-to-escape_2261171.png) > ““Violence is born of the desire to escape oneself.”” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violence stems from wanting to flee one's own identity. **In simple terms:** Violence comes from escaping self. Key Takeaway Confront self, not violence. Themes identity violence escape Mood introspective serious Type literary psychological When to use this quote - therapy - conflict resolution - personal growth - education Key Concepts Self‑realization psychology Questions to Reflect On - What part of yourself do you avoid? - How does self‑acceptance reduce aggression? A Different Perspective Violence can also arise from external oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [I believe one has to escape oneself to discover oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/i-believe-one-has-to-escape-oneself-to-discover-oneself/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [Nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could, for all those born beneath an angry star, lest we forget how fragile we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sting/nothing-comes-from-violence-and-nothing-ever-could-for-all-those-born/) [Sting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sting/) > [“To talk about another, pleasantly or viciously, is an escape from oneself, and escape is the cause of restlessness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/to-talk-about-another-pleasantly-or-viciously-is-an-escape-from/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“Hardly even does one think of oneself, but only how to escape from oneself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/hardly-even-does-one-think-of-oneself-but-only-how-to-escape-from/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Sometimes it is painful to be oneself; at other times it seems impossible to escape oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/sometimes-it-is-painful-to-be-oneself-at-other-times-it-seems/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [“The suffering of being imprisoned rests in the fact that it is impossible, at any time, to escape from oneself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kobo-abe/the-suffering-of-being-imprisoned-rests-in-the-fact-that-it-is/) [Kōbō Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kobo-abe/) > [I think I was born with that desire to win and attention to detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-firmino/i-think-i-was-born-with-that-desire-to-win-and-attention-to-detail/) [Roberto Firmino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-firmino/) > [I think it's something you're born with - the desire to know how things work inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-imahara/i-think-it-s-something-you-re-born-with-the-desire-to-know-how-things/) [Grant Imahara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-imahara/) > [The desire to be and have a sister is a primitive and profound one that may have everything or nothing to do with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-fishel/the-desire-to-be-and-have-a-sister-is-a-primitive-and-profound-one/) [Elizabeth Fishel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-fishel/) > [I think a woman is born with the desire to hear she is beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/i-think-a-woman-is-born-with-the-desire-to-hear-she-is-beautiful/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“Every act of goodness is born from our desire to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/udai-yadla/every-act-of-goodness-is-born-from-our-desire-to-be-happy/) [Udai Yadla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/udai-yadla/) > [We're born with the desire, but we don't really know how to choose. 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It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. 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Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## More Crime quotes > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. 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