--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pulling away, I realized I had no place…" description: "\"“Pulling away, I realized I had no place to go and nothing I wanted to do except satisfy my curiosity about a woman who was coming on like gangbusters ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/james-ellroy-2967_broads_pulling-away-i-realized-i-had-no-place-t_3140139.jpg" --- # Pulling away, I realized I had no place to go and nothing… ![“Pulling away, I realized I had no place to go and nothing I wanted to do except satisfy my curiosity about a woman who was coming on like gangbusters and a big load of grief.” quote by James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/james-ellroy-2967_broads_pulling-away-i-realized-i-had-no-place-t_3140139.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/james-ellroy-2967_broads_pulling-away-i-realized-i-had-no-place-t_3140139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/james-ellroy-2967_broads_pulling-away-i-realized-i-had-no-place-t_3140139.jpg) > ““Pulling away, I realized I had no place to go and nothing I wanted to do except satisfy my curiosity about a woman who was coming on like gangbusters and a big load of grief.”” [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character feels trapped, seeking purpose only through an obsessive curiosity about a tumultuous woman and overwhelming grief. **In simple terms:** Desperation drives curiosity about a chaotic figure. Key Takeaway Explore underlying motives behind obsessive behavior. Themes obsession grief identity search despair Mood dark introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - character analysis - writing workshops - therapy sessions Key Concepts psychology existentialism narrative tension Questions to Reflect On - What does the woman's chaos represent to the narrator? - How can curiosity become a coping mechanism? A Different Perspective Risk glorifying unhealthy fixation; may ignore self‑care. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Lust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lust/) [Pulling away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulling-away/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [A funny thing happens in real estate. When it comes back, it comes back up like gangbusters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-corcoran/a-funny-thing-happens-in-real-estate-when-it-comes-back-it-comes-back/) [Barbara Corcoran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-corcoran/) > [Yeah, you know, you like it to come on like gangbusters, but you get into passages that are very interesting and subtle, and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-lichtenstein/yeah-you-know-you-like-it-to-come-on-like-gangbusters-but-you-get/) [Roy Lichtenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-lichtenstein/) > [“...the longer she had lived away, the more she realized that nowhere became home… though everywhere had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ornbratt/the-longer-she-had-lived-away-the-more-she-realized-that-nowhere/) Susan Örnbratt > [“But of course, it was too good to be true. A few feet away and we realized it was just a stick on fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mulle/but-of-course-it-was-too-good-to-be-true-a-few-feet-away-and-we/) [Mark Mulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mulle/) > [Being with you I realized what it is to love, being away from you I realized how hard it is to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-with-you-i-realized-what-it-is-to-love-being-away-from-you-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The pain cleared my vision, and once it was taken away, I realized just how much I'd been relying on the endorsement of others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/the-pain-cleared-my-vision-and-once-it-was-taken-away-i-realized-just/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [“For now, for one night, the pressures of the job were light-years away. He could do that to her, and for her, she realized.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-robb/for-now-for-one-night-the-pressures-of-the-job-were-light-years-away/) [J.D. Robb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-robb/) > [As a body in a world, here is our choice: we can be more loving or less loving. That's it. We can relax as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/as-a-body-in-a-world-here-is-our-choice-we-can-be-more-loving-or-less/) [David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/) > [“So, Buckley, huh?" he asked, pulling away from me. "You think he deserves that much credit?" "Well, he did bring us together and all,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-k-burke/so-buckley-huh-he-asked-pulling-away-from-me-you-think-he-deserves/) [Rachel K. Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-k-burke/) > [“Humans are funny. The more someone doesn’t want someone, the more that someone wants that someone. The time came when she started pulling away.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mcgahan/humans-are-funny-the-more-someone-doesn-t-want-someone-the-more-that/) [Kate McGahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mcgahan/) > [Usually in stories there are big problems in the beginning or couples are pulling away, there's a lot of bitterness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-ryan/usually-in-stories-there-are-big-problems-in-the-beginning-or-couples/) [Amy Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-ryan/) > [...Spiritual opening is not a withdrawal to some imagined realm or safe cave. It is not a pulling away, but a touching of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/spiritual-opening-is-not-a-withdrawal-to-some-imagined-realm-or-safe/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Strangely, what pierced his heart and mind most sharply was not the memory of her lips under his at the ball, but the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/strangely-what-pierced-his-heart-and-mind-most-sharply-was-not-the/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Holding something doesn't make it yours. You realize at some point you're just keeping it back for yourself, because it's pulling away with equal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-silvey/holding-something-doesn-t-make-it-yours-you-realize-at-some-point-you/) [Craig Silvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-silvey/) ## More by James Ellroy > [“Fear and I played peek-a-boo - it always seemed to grab my balls and twist just when it felt like something inside me could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/fear-and-i-played-peek-a-boo-it-always-seemed-to-grab-my-balls-and/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [My father actually went to college, and my mother went to nursing school, so, you know. I wouldn't... They were actually too square and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/my-father-actually-went-to-college-and-my-mother-went-to-nursing/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I've created a narrative of the world. I live in the world - tenuously, most times. I've avoided the digital world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-ve-created-a-narrative-of-the-world-i-live-in-the-world-tenuously/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Some men get the world, some men get ex-hookers and a trip to Arizona. You're in with the former, but my God I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/some-men-get-the-world-some-men-get-ex-hookers-and-a-trip-to-arizona/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [In the time just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when Perfidia opens, we were pre-psychologized. There were no concepts of identity, no politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/in-the-time-just-before-the-bombing-of-pearl-harbor-when-perfidia/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“It all came down to money - the great equalizer and common denominator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/it-all-came-down-to-money-the-great-equalizer-and-common-denominator/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I think the great unspoken theme in noir fiction is male self-pity. It pervades noir movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-think-the-great-unspoken-theme-in-noir-fiction-is-male-self-pity-it/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“Don't make a career out of underestimating me." — Claire de Haven”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/don-t-make-a-career-out-of-underestimating-me-claire-de-haven/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“I didn't care who we were. I required no consummation. I knew that whoever we were and whatever we had would never stop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-didn-t-care-who-we-were-i-required-no-consummation-i-knew-that/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Where’s your sketch pad?” I asked. … “I gave that up,” Kay said. “I wasn’t very good, so I changed my major.” “To what?”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/where-s-your-sketch-pad-i-asked-i-gave-that-up-kay-said-i-wasn-t-very/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I am a master of fiction. I am also the greatest crime novelist who ever lived. I am to the crime novel in specific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-am-a-master-of-fiction-i-am-also-the-greatest-crime-novelist-who/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [ I don't want to recover from writing this book \[The Onion\]. I feel very poised. I feel like I'm with my mother for the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-don-t-want-to-recover-from-writing-this-book-the-onion-i-feel-very/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Rock and rollers can get you the youth buzz, and younger people are fanatical readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/rock-and-rollers-can-get-you-the-youth-buzz-and-younger-people-are/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I don't know anybody in the underworld. I make this stuff up. I don't know any criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-don-t-know-anybody-in-the-underworld-i-make-this-stuff-up-i-don-t/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“He took three shots a night-no more, no less. He switched from whisky to straight gin. The bum compensated for the scant volume. Three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/he-took-three-shots-a-night-no-more-no-less-he-switched-from-whisky/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) [Explore all 143 James Ellroy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) ## More Broads quotes > [Thoroughly understand what it is to understand, and not only will you understand the broad lines of all there is to be understood but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lonergan/thoroughly-understand-what-it-is-to-understand-and-not-only-will-you/) [Bernard Lonergan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lonergan/) > [We'll walk together holding hands, and kiss in broad daylight, and love each other as much as we want to, and no one will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-ll-walk-together-holding-hands-and-kiss-in-broad-daylight-and-love/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-remember-that-intelligence-is-not-enough-intelligence-plus/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The "family" has clearly emerged anew in the late 1970s as a central subject for discussion, debate, research and writing in bothscholarly and popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/the-family-has-clearly-emerged-anew-in-the-late-1970s-as-a-central/) Sheila Kamerman > [I am formally accountable to the steering board of the PIC, and I meet with nine ambassadors from the PIC every week. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-am-formally-accountable-to-the-steering-board-of-the-pic-and-i-meet/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [If you know the differences between an oak and a poplar, a spruce and a pine, down to the needles... you are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-allen-lawson/if-you-know-the-differences-between-an-oak-and-a-poplar-a-spruce-and/) [T. Allen Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-allen-lawson/) > [Particularly the broad masses of the people can be moved only by the power of speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/particularly-the-broad-masses-of-the-people-can-be-moved-only-by-the/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [So the first thing I learned about how to get superior performance is not to buy stocks that are near their lows, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-neil/so-the-first-thing-i-learned-about-how-to-get-superior-performance-is/) [William O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-neil/) > [Broad-based, inclusive growth is what we need in America, not more advantages for people at the very top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/broad-based-inclusive-growth-is-what-we-need-in-america-not-more/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [A top World War II ace once said that fighter pilots fall into two broad categories: those who go out to kill and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-top-world-war-ii-ace-once-said-that-fighter-pilots-fall-into-two/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jubilee 2000 is a broad coalition which has moved the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/jubilee-2000-is-a-broad-coalition-which-has-moved-the-earth/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [As science is more and more subject to grave misuse as well as to use for human benefit it has also become the scientist's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-science-is-more-and-more-subject-to-grave-misuse-as-well-as-to-use/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 956 Broads quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Pulling away, I realized I had no place to go and nothing I wanted to do except satisfy my curiosity about a woman who was coming on like gangbusters and a big load of grief.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Ellroy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/pulling-away-i-realized-i-had-no-place-to-go-and-nothing-i-wanted-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Broads" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/pulling-away-i-realized-i-had-no-place-to-go-and-nothing-i-wanted-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/james-ellroy-2967_broads_pulling-away-i-realized-i-had-no-place-t_3140139.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/james-ellroy-2967_broads_pulling-away-i-realized-i-had-no-place-t_3140139.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/707/james-ellroy-2967_broads_pulling-away-i-realized-i-had-no-place-t_3140139.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Pulling away, I realized I had no place to go and nothing I wanted to do except satisfy my curiosity about a…” — James Ellroy", "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": "James Ellroy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Pulling away, I realized I had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/pulling-away-i-realized-i-had-no-place-to-go-and-nothing-i-wanted-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/pulling-away-i-realized-i-had-no-place-to-go-and-nothing-i-wanted-to/#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 } } ] } ```