--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know why it is that one kind of…" description: "\"“I don't know why it is that one kind of dark can be so different from another. Real dark is thicker and quieter, it fills up the space between your ja..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/jeanette-winterson-166_dark_i-don-t-know-why-it-is-that-one-kind-of_1319587.jpg" --- # I don't know why it is that one kind of dark can be so… ![“I don't know why it is that one kind of dark can be so different from another. Real dark is thicker and quieter, it fills up the space between your jacket and your heart. It gets in your eyes. When I have to be out late at night, it's not knives and kicks I'm afraid of, though there are plenty of…” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/jeanette-winterson-166_dark_i-don-t-know-why-it-is-that-one-kind-of_1319587.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/jeanette-winterson-166_dark_i-don-t-know-why-it-is-that-one-kind-of_1319587.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94a/jeanette-winterson-166_dark_i-don-t-know-why-it-is-that-one-kind-of_1319587.jpg) > ““I don't know why it is that one kind of dark can be so different from another. Real dark is thicker and quieter, it fills up the space between your jacket and your heart. It gets in your eyes. When I have to be out late at night, it's not knives and kicks I'm afraid of, though there are plenty of those behind walls and hedges. I'm afraid of the Dark. You, who walk so cheerfully, whistling your way, stand still for five minutes. Stand still in the Dark in a field or down a track. It's then you know you're there on sufferance. The Dark only lets you take one step at a time. Step and the Dark closes round your back. In front, there is no space for you until you take it. Darkness is absolute. Walking in the Dark is like swimming underwater except you can't come up for air.”” [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Darkness can be overwhelming, but moving forward step by step creates resilience. **In simple terms:** Darkness feels heavy; progress is incremental. Key Takeaway Take one step at a time in fear. Themes fear darkness resilience Mood introspective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - night walks - writing during anxiety - therapy exposure - mindful breathing Key Concepts existentialism psychology metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What small step can you take when feeling overwhelmed? - How does acknowledging fear change its power? A Different Perspective Fear may persist despite progress; confronting it can be painful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Walking in the dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walking-in-the-dark/) ## Related quotes > [Oh, sweet insanity, You take my hand and walk me out into the dark. We walk this road, for hours and hours. 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Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) > [Snub end of a dismal year, deep in the dwarf orchard, The sky with its undercoat of blackwash and point stars, I stand in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wright/snub-end-of-a-dismal-year-deep-in-the-dwarf-orchard-the-sky-with-its/) [Charles Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wright/) > [You either build up or you tear down. You either keep in the light where you can see, or you stand in the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hodgson-burnett/you-either-build-up-or-you-tear-down-you-either-keep-in-the-light/) [Frances Hodgson Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hodgson-burnett/) > [“The second I left my old life's cowpath, I discovered I didn't need a drink. It became possible to stand still in the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/the-second-i-left-my-old-life-s-cowpath-i-discovered-i-didn-t-need-a/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [“In an ultimate sense I cannot know what I do in this place - yet I do ultimate things. Essentially I cannot know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shaffer/in-an-ultimate-sense-i-cannot-know-what-i-do-in-this-place-yet-i-do/) [Peter Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shaffer/) > [Sometimes at night when were walking in the dark alley stalking the prey. I wonder.. Have I lost all my humanity. There is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/sometimes-at-night-when-were-walking-in-the-dark-alley-stalking-the/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [“Once, in the rain, a van turned a corner suddenly at her and she stumbled over her boots into a ditch and then she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/once-in-the-rain-a-van-turned-a-corner-suddenly-at-her-and-she/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [I would like to stay a secret, walking in the dark, if no one sees me, no one cares and no one will get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coldheart/i-would-like-to-stay-a-secret-walking-in-the-dark-if-no-one-sees-me/) [Coldheart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coldheart/) > [“The light is in my heart between my ribs, so why would I fear walking in the darkness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-al-kasem-ash-shabi/the-light-is-in-my-heart-between-my-ribs-so-why-would-i-fear-walking/) Abu Al-Kasem Ash-shabi > [Faith is walking in the dark until you find the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-vermaak/faith-is-walking-in-the-dark-until-you-find-the-light/) [Geraldine Vermaak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-vermaak/) > [“And in my head, a person who was out walking and walking in the dark comes to a little house with a light on.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/and-in-my-head-a-person-who-was-out-walking-and-walking-in-the-dark/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [God is love. I don't say the heart doesn't feel a taste of it, but what a taste. The smallest glass of love mixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/god-is-love-i-don-t-say-the-heart-doesn-t-feel-a-taste-of-it-but-what/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [I am walking in the dark with bleeding heart, Shrinking in tears of pain and hurt.. Standing on the edge of mountain, with full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-reolope/i-am-walking-in-the-dark-with-bleeding-heart-shrinking-in-tears-of/) [Janet Reolope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-reolope/) ## More by Jeanette Winterson > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. 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The so-called uselessness of art is a clue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-art-does-is-to-coax-us-away-from-the-mechanical-and-towards-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Happy Valentines Day to those who have found love, in whatever shape or form, and to those who are still hunting, don’t give up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/happy-valentines-day-to-those-who-have-found-love-in-whatever-shape/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It took me a long time to realise that there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-realise-that-there-are-two-kinds-of-writing/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [A curse on this game. How can you stick at a game when the rules keep on changing? I shall call myself Alice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/a-curse-on-this-game-how-can-you-stick-at-a-game-when-the-rules-keep/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“He turned away and I turned to him in vivid heat to look on the sun-dried world. The groves and towers were gone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/he-turned-away-and-i-turned-to-him-in-vivid-heat-to-look-on-the-sun/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Explore all 1,016 Jeanette Winterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## More Dark quotes > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [“I could see her will leaving and death seeping through her skin to skewer her soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/i-could-see-her-will-leaving-and-death-seeping-through-her-skin-to/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [The soul wanders in the dark, until it finds love. And so, wherever our love goes, there we find our soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-zimmerman/the-soul-wanders-in-the-dark-until-it-finds-love-and-so-wherever-our/) [Mary Zimmerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-zimmerman/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [All comedy comes from a dark place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katt-williams/all-comedy-comes-from-a-dark-place/) [Katt Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katt-williams/) > [It's a really dark, emotionally wrenching world that we've created on 'The Walking Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-holden/it-s-a-really-dark-emotionally-wrenching-world-that-we-ve-created-on/) [Laurie Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-holden/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. 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Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile > [Even in the dark your shadow is like a guide to me! you are my rising sun that brings forth hope just as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkemjika-linus/even-in-the-dark-your-shadow-is-like-a-guide-to-me-you-are-my-rising/) [Nkemjika Linus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkemjika-linus/) [Browse all 10,198 Dark quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I don't know why it is that one kind of dark can be so different from another. Real dark is thicker and quieter, it fills up the space between your jacket and your heart. It gets in your eyes. When I have to be out late at night, it's not knives and kicks I'm afraid of, though there are plenty of those behind walls and hedges. I'm afraid of the Dark. You, who walk so cheerfully, whistling your way, stand still for five minutes. Stand still in the Dark in a field or down a track. It's then you know you're there on sufferance. The Dark only lets you take one step at a time. Step and the Dark closes round your back. In front, there is no space for you until you take it. Darkness is absolute. 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