--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That was what she really wanted. To…" description: "\"That was what she really wanted. To forget so thoroughly she'd never have another memory again, the bitter so bitter you gave up the sweet.\" — Janet Fitch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/janet-fitch-717_bitter_that-was-what-she-really-wanted-to-forge_1957771.png" --- # That was what she really wanted. To forget so thoroughly… ![“That was what she really wanted. To forget so thoroughly she'd never have another memory again, the bitter so bitter you gave up the sweet.” quote by Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/janet-fitch-717_bitter_that-was-what-she-really-wanted-to-forge_1957771.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/janet-fitch-717_bitter_that-was-what-she-really-wanted-to-forge_1957771.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/020/janet-fitch-717_bitter_that-was-what-she-really-wanted-to-forge_1957771.png) > “That was what she really wanted. To forget so thoroughly she'd never have another memory again, the bitter so bitter you gave up the sweet.” [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) ## 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 wishes to erase painful memories, preferring oblivion over the lingering bitterness of past experiences. **In simple terms:** She wants to forget to avoid lingering pain. Key Takeaway Consider confronting rather than erasing painful memories. Themes memory pain forgetting escape desire Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - journaling - mindfulness - artistic expression Key Concepts psychological avoidance trauma coping nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - What does forgetting achieve? - Can confronting pain lead to growth? A Different Perspective Forgetting may not resolve underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter/) [Bitter Gave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitter-gave-3213423/) [Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forget/) [Gave Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gave-sweet-3116480/) [Gave up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gave-up/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Memory Bitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory-bitter-2992847/) [Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweet/) [Thoroughly Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoroughly-memory-3213422/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Wanted Forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-forget-292223/) ## Related quotes > [Life is just a memory. Bitter or sweet, it is nothing but memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb/life-is-just-a-memory-bitter-or-sweet-it-is-nothing-but-memory/) [Caleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb/) > [“Then he gave me a sweet kiss as if I was his one and only lover.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-c-scott-2/then-he-gave-me-a-sweet-kiss-as-if-i-was-his-one-and-only-lover/) [Jess C. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-c-scott-2/) > [Damn, woman! I just gave you sweet loving five minutes ago! - Chef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/south-park/damn-woman-i-just-gave-you-sweet-loving-five-minutes-ago-chef/) [South Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/south-park/) > [I wanted to forget abt the boy u forgot abt me </3…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priya/i-wanted-to-forget-abt-the-boy-u-forgot-abt-me-3/) [Priya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priya/) > [I always wanted to FORGET my feelings for you.But your SMILE always keep me reminding how I PERFECTLY LIKE YOU..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arvie/i-always-wanted-to-forget-my-feelings-for-you-but-your-smile-always/) [Arvie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arvie/) > [“Why was it that a person could forget a thousand moments over a lifetime but never purge the one memory she truly wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-tagg/why-was-it-that-a-person-could-forget-a-thousand-moments-over-a/) [Melissa Tagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-tagg/) > [I loved him in that moment, loved him more than I'd ever loved anyone, and I wanted to to tell them all that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-loved-him-in-that-moment-loved-him-more-than-i-d-ever-loved-anyone/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“The truth is, I would've felt empty anywhere. I realize now that through a million moments of adventure and excitement, I was only trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-tagg/the-truth-is-i-would-ve-felt-empty-anywhere-i-realize-now-that/) [Melissa Tagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-tagg/) > [“You did that when you started to care a lot-- you worried he was watching your every move to make sure he really wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/you-did-that-when-you-started-to-care-a-lot-you-worried-he-was/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [“I wanted to forget you, too,” Sage said morosely. “Even now, I still do. With you right here in front of me. Even after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sibylla-matilde/i-wanted-to-forget-you-too-sage-said-morosely-even-now-i-still-do/) [Sibylla Matilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sibylla-matilde/) > [“You don't understand. I didn't want to forget what happened, Zander. I wanted to forget you. I wanted to forget how I felt about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-naughton/you-don-t-understand-i-didn-t-want-to-forget-what-happened-zander-i/) [Elisabeth Naughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-naughton/) > [Some stories stayed with you even when you wanted to forget them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/some-stories-stayed-with-you-even-when-you-wanted-to-forget-them/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Wrong to think that I could stay away from the young man who was forever tied to my past…a past I wanted nothing more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-kennedy/wrong-to-think-that-i-could-stay-away-from-the-young-man-who-was/) [Sloane Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-kennedy/) > [“Right," I said, but it didn't feel very right. I didn't want to make it. I wanted to lie down with it and strangle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/right-i-said-but-it-didn-t-feel-very-right-i-didn-t-want-to-make-it-i/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [“Because I wanted you to forget yourself. I wanted to push you to the point where you lost everything and reverted to your instincts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivory-quinn/because-i-wanted-you-to-forget-yourself-i-wanted-to-push-you-to-the/) [Ivory Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivory-quinn/) ## More by Janet Fitch > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I love Derrick Brown for the surprise of one word waking up next to another. One moment tender, funny or romantic, the next, visceral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-love-derrick-brown-for-the-surprise-of-one-word-waking-up-next-to/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“That fucking crow-bodied thing had won. How gleeful it was now. All because he'd wanted to live, forget genius and destiny, and simply be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/that-fucking-crow-bodied-thing-had-won-how-gleeful-it-was-now-all/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [No matter how unappealing, each of them imagines he is somehow worthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/no-matter-how-unappealing-each-of-them-imagines-he-is-somehow-worthy/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [The nearest I'd come to feeling anything like God was the plan blue cloudless sky and a certain silence, but how do you pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/the-nearest-i-d-come-to-feeling-anything-like-god-was-the-plan-blue/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [When most people looked at Josie Tyrell, they only saw a certain collection of bones, a selection of forms filling space. But Michael saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/when-most-people-looked-at-josie-tyrell-they-only-saw-a-certain/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“They can't touch us. We're the Vikings. We go into battle without armor for the flush and the blood of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/they-can-t-touch-us-we-re-the-vikings-we-go-into-battle-without-armor/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“But I knew one more thing. That people who denied who they were or where they had been were in the greatest danger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/but-i-knew-one-more-thing-that-people-who-denied-who-they-were-or/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“To dare to see is to steal fire from the Gods. This is mankind's destiny, the engine which fuels us as a race. Three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/to-dare-to-see-is-to-steal-fire-from-the-gods-this-is-mankind-s/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [This is what happens when you fall in love. You're looking at a natural disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/this-is-what-happens-when-you-fall-in-love-you-re-looking-at-a/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“If I were a poet, that’s what I’d write about. People who worked in the middle of the night. Men who loaded trains, emergency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/if-i-were-a-poet-that-s-what-i-d-write-about-people-who-worked-in-the/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“what was the point in creating something that was so futile and so precious? everything beautiful was like that. a little bit of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/what-was-the-point-in-creating-something-that-was-so-futile-and-so/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [“We received our coloring from Norsemen. Hairy savages who hacked their gods to pieces and hung the flesh from trees. We are the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/we-received-our-coloring-from-norsemen-hairy-savages-who-hacked-their/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [¨Loneliness is the human condition. Cultivate it. The way it tunnels into you allows your soul room to grow. Never expect to outgrow loneliness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/loneliness-is-the-human-condition-cultivate-it-the-way-it-tunnels/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I was tired of men. Hanging in doorways, standing too close, men who made you love them then changed their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-was-tired-of-men-hanging-in-doorways-standing-too-close-men-who/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) [Explore all 388 Janet Fitch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) ## More Bitter quotes > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Troy was a sweet, good man. We just were never destined to be married. We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/) [Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [One may have been a fool, but there's no foolishness like being bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/one-may-have-been-a-fool-but-there-s-no-foolishness-like-being-bitter/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“I doubt taking in a sullen, bitter, teenage girl with more issues than National Geographic is at the center of the vision board for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-doubt-taking-in-a-sullen-bitter-teenage-girl-with-more-issues-than/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-too-bitter-already-without-territories-and-wars-and-noble/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With every interview you feel like you lose a piece of yourself, and with every bad review you become just that little bit more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-march/with-every-interview-you-feel-like-you-lose-a-piece-of-yourself-and/) [Jane March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-march/) > [“Without the bitter, the sweet ain’t as sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-the-bitter-the-sweet-ain-t-as-sweet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I refuse to be one of those artists who, 10 years from now, they're bitter about the rise and the fall of their career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-refuse-to-be-one-of-those-artists-who-10-years-from-now-they-re/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [“In these days in which we live, when existence has become a thing of infinite complexity and fate, if it slips us a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/in-these-days-in-which-we-live-when-existence-has-become-a-thing-of/) [P.G. 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