--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the name was in the room, it came to…" description: "\"“When the name was in the room, it came to pass that the murderer, abashed, opened up, and there sprang forth, like a Glory, from his pitiable fragment..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/jean-genet-3865_quote_when-the-name-was-in-the-room-it-came-to_1718660.jpg" --- # When the name was in the room, it came to pass that the… ![“When the name was in the room, it came to pass that the murderer, abashed, opened up, and there sprang forth, like a Glory, from his pitiable fragments, an altar on which there lay, in the roses, a woman of light and flesh. The alter undulated on a foul mud into which it sank: the murderer.” quote by Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/jean-genet-3865_quote_when-the-name-was-in-the-room-it-came-to_1718660.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/jean-genet-3865_quote_when-the-name-was-in-the-room-it-came-to_1718660.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8e/jean-genet-3865_quote_when-the-name-was-in-the-room-it-came-to_1718660.jpg) > ““When the name was in the room, it came to pass that the murderer, abashed, opened up, and there sprang forth, like a Glory, from his pitiable fragments, an altar on which there lay, in the roses, a woman of light and flesh. The alter undulated on a foul mud into which it sank: the murderer.”” [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A murderer’s confession transforms into a symbolic, fragmented altar of light and darkness, illustrating inner turmoil and redemption. **In simple terms:** Confession becomes a vivid, symbolic image of struggle. Key Takeaway Use vivid imagery to explore inner conflict. Themes conflict redemption symbolism Mood thoughtful poetic Type literary dramatic When to use this quote - theatre analysis - creative writing - psychotherapy - art criticism Key Concepts psychological breakdown literary metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does metaphor shape audience perception? - What emotions does the altar evoke? A Different Perspective Symbolic language can be obscure to audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fragments Altar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragments-altar-1316466/) [Murderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murderer/) [Murderer Abashed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murderer-abashed-1316465/) [Room Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/room-came-870650/) [Sank Murderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sank-murderer-1316464/) ## Related quotes > [Of everything with 'The Room' that came out of it, I feel like being able to write, and tap back into that passion, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-sestero/of-everything-with-the-room-that-came-out-of-it-i-feel-like-being/) [Greg Sestero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-sestero/) > [He is coming! He is coming! Like a bridegroom from his room, Came the hero from his prison To the scaffold and the doom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-edmondstoune-aytoun/he-is-coming-he-is-coming-like-a-bridegroom-from-his-room-came-the/) [William Edmondstoune Aytoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-edmondstoune-aytoun/) > [“Hullo,” he said sleepily, rubbing a hand along his jaw. He’s here in my room, right in the middle of the afternoon. Great God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shana-abe/hullo-he-said-sleepily-rubbing-a-hand-along-his-jaw-he-s-here-in-my/) [Shana Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-abe/) > ['The Room' came out in 2003, really to crickets. Nobody showed up to see it. It made $1800 at the box office. Everyone assumed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-sestero/the-room-came-out-in-2003-really-to-crickets-nobody-showed-up-to-see/) [Greg Sestero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-sestero/) > [I was sitting in the back room by myself when someone came in and said, "Mr. Zimmer, I have to take you down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-zimmer/i-was-sitting-in-the-back-room-by-myself-when-someone-came-in-and/) [Don Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-zimmer/) > [“Pop's leg was across the room when I came downstairs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-miller-haines/pop-s-leg-was-across-the-room-when-i-came-downstairs/) [Kathryn Miller Haines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-miller-haines/) > [“Laura had warned him not to expect much. It was a good thing. "Have you and Kate been smoking grass in here?" "That's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/laura-had-warned-him-not-to-expect-much-it-was-a-good-thing-have-you/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Added to the moral solitude of the murderer comes the solitude of the artist, which can acknowledge no authority, save that of another artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/added-to-the-moral-solitude-of-the-murderer-comes-the-solitude-of-the/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [Every premeditated murder is always governed by a preparatory ceremonial and is always followed by a propitiatory ceremonial. The meaning of both eludes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/every-premeditated-murder-is-always-governed-by-a-preparatory/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [The terrorists who committed the 2003 Istanbul attacks were locals, that is, Turks. And when filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered in the Netherlands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-schily/the-terrorists-who-committed-the-2003-istanbul-attacks-were-locals/) [Otto Schily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-schily/) > [Even if a civil society were to be dissolved by the consent of all its members (e.g., if a people inhabiting an island decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/even-if-a-civil-society-were-to-be-dissolved-by-the-consent-of-all/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Highwaymen?" she asked, and couldn't hide the hopeful note from her tone. "In the middle of the day?" "So they're desperate." Being robbed wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/highwaymen-she-asked-and-couldn-t-hide-the-hopeful-note-from-her-tone/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [A man who kills on his own is a murderer. A man who kills at his government's request is a national hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramman-kenoun/a-man-who-kills-on-his-own-is-a-murderer-a-man-who-kills-at-his/) [Ramman Kenoun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramman-kenoun/) ## More by Jean Genet > [I'm homosexual. How and why are idle questions. It's a little like wanting to know why my eyes are green.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/i-m-homosexual-how-and-why-are-idle-questions-it-s-a-little-like/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [Worse than not realizing the dreams of your youth, would be to have been young and never dreamed at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/worse-than-not-realizing-the-dreams-of-your-youth-would-be-to-have/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [The most reasonable man always manages, when he pulls the trigger, to become a dispenser of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/the-most-reasonable-man-always-manages-when-he-pulls-the-trigger-to/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [I could not take lightly the idea that people made love without me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/i-could-not-take-lightly-the-idea-that-people-made-love-without-me/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [Repudiating the virtues of your world, criminals hopelessly agree to organize a forbidden universe. 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Since their emotion was not torn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/they-made-comments-about-the-women-s-legs-but-as-they-were-not-witty/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [“Thereafter, he ennobled shame. He bore it in my presence like a burden, like a tiger clinging to his shoulders, the threat of which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/thereafter-he-ennobled-shame-he-bore-it-in-my-presence-like-a-burden/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [I decided to be what crime made of me,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/i-decided-to-be-what-crime-made-of-me/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [Prison, dungeons, blessed places where evil is impossible because they are the crossroads of all the evil in the world. One cannot commit evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/prison-dungeons-blessed-places-where-evil-is-impossible-because-they/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [A great wind swept over the ghetto, carrying away shame, invisibility and four centuries of humiliation. But when the wind dropped people saw it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/a-great-wind-swept-over-the-ghetto-carrying-away-shame-invisibility/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [In reviewing my life, in tracing its course, I fill my cell with the pleasure of being what for want of a trifle I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/in-reviewing-my-life-in-tracing-its-course-i-fill-my-cell-with-the/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [“The rims of his eyelids were burning. A blow received straightens a man up and makes the body move forward, to return that blow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/the-rims-of-his-eyelids-were-burning-a-blow-received-straightens-a/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [“My love is always sad.”' “That's right. As soon as I kiss you, you get sad. I've noticed it.” “Does it bother you?” “No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/my-love-is-always-sad-that-s-right-as-soon-as-i-kiss-you-you-get-sad/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) [Explore all 115 Jean Genet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) ## More Murderer quotes > [A man who kills on his own is a murderer. 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And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Even if a civil society were to be dissolved by the consent of all its members (e.g., if a people inhabiting an island decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/even-if-a-civil-society-were-to-be-dissolved-by-the-consent-of-all/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [The terrorists who committed the 2003 Istanbul attacks were locals, that is, Turks. 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If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/the-beanball-is-one-of-the-meanest-things-on-earth-and-no-decent/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [As soon as I find myself in the presence of a rich man, I cannot help looking upon him as an exceptional and beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octave-mirbeau/as-soon-as-i-find-myself-in-the-presence-of-a-rich-man-i-cannot-help/) [Octave Mirbeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octave-mirbeau/) > [He is a great enough magician to tap our most common nightmares, daydreams and twilight fancies, but he never invented them either: he found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-beagle/he-is-a-great-enough-magician-to-tap-our-most-common-nightmares/) [Peter S. 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