--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The human heart: its expansions and…" description: "\"The human heart: its expansions and contractions its electrics and hydraulics the warm tides that move and fill it. For years Art had studied it from a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/jennifer-haigh-23534_art_the-human-heart-its-expansions-and-contr_876012.png" --- # The human heart: its expansions and contractions its… ![“The human heart: its expansions and contractions its electrics and hydraulics the warm tides that move and fill it. For years Art had studied it from a safe distance from many perspectives...he listened in fascination and revulsion, in envy and pity. He dispensed canned wisdom, a little scripture…” quote by Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/jennifer-haigh-23534_art_the-human-heart-its-expansions-and-contr_876012.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/jennifer-haigh-23534_art_the-human-heart-its-expansions-and-contr_876012.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/jennifer-haigh-23534_art_the-human-heart-its-expansions-and-contr_876012.png) > “The human heart: its expansions and contractions its electrics and hydraulics the warm tides that move and fill it. For years Art had studied it from a safe distance from many perspectives...he listened in fascination and revulsion, in envy and pity. He dispensed canned wisdom, a little scripture. He sent them on their way with a prayer.” [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote explores how the heart, both literal and metaphorical, is a complex system of emotions and physiology, observed with both awe and discomfort, and how the narrator offers shallow advice and prayers. **In simple terms:** The heart is a complex mix of feelings and biology, observed with fascination and revulsion. Key Takeaway Recognize the depth of human emotion beyond surface advice. Themes emotions biology compassion reflection Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary reflective When to use this quote - medical study - personal counseling - creative writing - therapy - spiritual guidance Key Concepts physiology psychology human experience Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance emotional insight with scientific accuracy? - When does offering prayer become insufficient? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize scientific understanding, overlooking practical medical nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Fascination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fascination/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Human heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-heart/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Revulsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revulsion/) [Scripture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scripture/) [Tides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tides/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Love-making is an art which must be studied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivor-novello/love-making-is-an-art-which-must-be-studied/) [Ivor Novello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivor-novello/) > [I went to Maryland Institute College of Art, and I studied illustration there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noelle-stevenson/i-went-to-maryland-institute-college-of-art-and-i-studied/) [Noelle Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noelle-stevenson/) > [Given that a few days ago we had a terrible accident, a tragic terrorist attack in Barajas, in Madrid, I would like to propose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-luis-rodriguez-zapatero/given-that-a-few-days-ago-we-had-a-terrible-accident-a-tragic/) [Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-luis-rodriguez-zapatero/) > [I'm not alone in having obese people in my circle and in my family. I have loved morbidly obese people, and I don't approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lansens/i-m-not-alone-in-having-obese-people-in-my-circle-and-in-my-family-i/) [Lori Lansens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lansens/) > [I wanted to make the violence beautiful in order to heighten our revulsion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hall/i-wanted-to-make-the-violence-beautiful-in-order-to-heighten-our/) [Edward Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hall/) > [“Sudden revulsion seized Amory, disgust, loathing for the whole incident. He desired frantically to be away, never to see Myra again, never to kiss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/sudden-revulsion-seized-amory-disgust-loathing-for-the-whole-incident/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“But the roots of their hate and fear were too deep, and Lazlo saw hints of revulsion as their confusion smeared one feeling into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/but-the-roots-of-their-hate-and-fear-were-too-deep-and-lazlo-saw/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [My feelings of revulsion and foreboding about nuclear weapons had not changed an iota since 1945, and they have never left me. Since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/my-feelings-of-revulsion-and-foreboding-about-nuclear-weapons-had-not/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [You must learn to overcome your very natural and appropriate revulsion for your own work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/you-must-learn-to-overcome-your-very-natural-and-appropriate/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [Many times, I have been shocked and frightened by human beings. I have experienced delight and revulsion. I have sometimes wanted to forget what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/many-times-i-have-been-shocked-and-frightened-by-human-beings-i-have/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [Boxing is an American sport - a 'so-called sport' to many - in which images of incalculable beauty and violence, desperation and ingenuity, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/boxing-is-an-american-sport-a-so-called-sport-to-many-in-which-images/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Consider the wave of revulsion that floods the average person when he or she hears of the practice of human sacrifice by the Aztecs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-allen/consider-the-wave-of-revulsion-that-floods-the-average-person-when-he/) [Steve Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-allen/) > [To the extent that we honor all aspects of ourselves, we remove revulsion, self-hate, horror, and terror from our lives. As whole human beings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-isaac-rubin/to-the-extent-that-we-honor-all-aspects-of-ourselves-we-remove/) [Theodore Isaac Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-isaac-rubin/) > [“What is believed in one man's time, is despised in another man's day. To be sure, there will even be revulsion in some future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-o-shea/what-is-believed-in-one-man-s-time-is-despised-in-another-man-s-day/) Pat O'Shea > [Melancholy and utopia are heads and tails of the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/melancholy-and-utopia-are-heads-and-tails-of-the-same-coin/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) ## More by Jennifer Haigh > [“I open my heart to her and lay it on the table.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/i-open-my-heart-to-her-and-lay-it-on-the-table/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [“His explanation takes two minutes exactly. The shale lies a mile underground, has lain there since before there was a Pennsylvania, before a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/his-explanation-takes-two-minutes-exactly-the-shale-lies-a-mile/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [“Destiny, she’d learned, was written in the heavens; a person couldn’t take what the universe didn’t wish to give.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/destiny-she-d-learned-was-written-in-the-heavens-a-person-couldn-t/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [The story of my family. . .changes with the teller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/the-story-of-my-family-changes-with-the-teller/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [“Stomach issues aren’t typical. But let me do some research.” Trexler scribbles on a notepad. “What about breathing problems? That’s usually what we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/stomach-issues-aren-t-typical-but-let-me-do-some-research-trexler/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [“But his singing was unconscious and irrepressible - an expression of his native exuberance, the dreamy, buoyant soundtrack running through his head.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/but-his-singing-was-unconscious-and-irrepressible-an-expression-of/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [“When they touched it was like touching her own body. From childhood they had been the same height; their arms and legs and hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/when-they-touched-it-was-like-touching-her-own-body-from-childhood/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [“More than anything in life, she wishes she'd let him. That she'd smiled for the camera. That she'd said yes. Life was gone before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/more-than-anything-in-life-she-wishes-she-d-let-him-that-she-d-smiled/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [“He looks out over his back yard, what’s left of it. With the forest gone, the property looks smaller than sixty acres, stripped and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/he-looks-out-over-his-back-yard-what-s-left-of-it-with-the-forest/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [Writing fiction, like reading fiction, is a practice in empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/writing-fiction-like-reading-fiction-is-a-practice-in-empathy/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [I wanted only a familiar voice, someone who knew me. Not some earlier, larval version of myself. . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/i-wanted-only-a-familiar-voice-someone-who-knew-me-not-some-earlier/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [“But once you start taking money out of my pocket, I got to say something.” He spits deliberately. “Your land sets right in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/but-once-you-start-taking-money-out-of-my-pocket-i-got-to-say/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [That renunciation of human closeness, of our deepest instincts: is it, in the end, simply too much to ask? Good men-sound, healthy men-can't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/that-renunciation-of-human-closeness-of-our-deepest-instincts-is-it/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [“They say the eyes are the first thing to go”—he glances meaningfully at the reading glasses—“but I say it’s curiosity. People hit middle age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/they-say-the-eyes-are-the-first-thing-to-go-he-glances-meaningfully/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [“Her skin was as pale as milk. She must live on vanilla ice cream, Dinah thought; rounds of Camembert, crème anglaise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/her-skin-was-as-pale-as-milk-she-must-live-on-vanilla-ice-cream-dinah/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) [Explore all 25 Jennifer Haigh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The human heart: its expansions and contractions its electrics and hydraulics the warm tides that move and fill it. For years Art had studied it from a safe distance from many perspectives...he listened in fascination and revulsion, in envy and pity. He dispensed canned wisdom, a little scripture. He sent them on their way with a prayer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jennifer Haigh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/the-human-heart-its-expansions-and-contractions-its-electrics-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/the-human-heart-its-expansions-and-contractions-its-electrics-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/jennifer-haigh-23534_art_the-human-heart-its-expansions-and-contr_876012.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/jennifer-haigh-23534_art_the-human-heart-its-expansions-and-contr_876012.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e70/jennifer-haigh-23534_art_the-human-heart-its-expansions-and-contr_876012.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The human heart: its expansions and contractions its electrics and hydraulics the warm tides that move and…” — Jennifer Haigh", "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": "Jennifer Haigh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The human heart: its expansions and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/the-human-heart-its-expansions-and-contractions-its-electrics-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/the-human-heart-its-expansions-and-contractions-its-electrics-and/#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 } } ] } ```