--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Finally, mercifully, the spasms subsided…" description: "\"“Finally, mercifully, the spasms subsided, as the old man’s head lolled back, his mouth hanging open, taking in deep, ragged breaths of stale, recircul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/joe-derouen-38367_fantasy_finally-mercifully-the-spasms-subsided-a_441771.jpg" --- # Finally, mercifully, the spasms subsided, as the old man’s… ![“Finally, mercifully, the spasms subsided, as the old man’s head lolled back, his mouth hanging open, taking in deep, ragged breaths of stale, recirculated air.” quote by Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/joe-derouen-38367_fantasy_finally-mercifully-the-spasms-subsided-a_441771.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/joe-derouen-38367_fantasy_finally-mercifully-the-spasms-subsided-a_441771.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/joe-derouen-38367_fantasy_finally-mercifully-the-spasms-subsided-a_441771.jpg) > ““Finally, mercifully, the spasms subsided, as the old man’s head lolled back, his mouth hanging open, taking in deep, ragged breaths of stale, recirculated air.”” [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) ## 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 experiences relief after a painful episode, highlighting the stark contrast between suffering and calm. **In simple terms:** Pain eases, breathing steadies. Key Takeaway Notice how relief follows intense stress. Themes suffering relief physiology Mood tense relieved Type narrative descriptive When to use this quote - medical recovery - intense work - emergency situations - post-trauma reflection Key Concepts human condition stress response Questions to Reflect On - How does relief change your perception of the prior pain? - What safeguards help maintain calm after a crisis? A Different Perspective Relief may be temporary; underlying issues can persist. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Head Lolled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/head-lolled-3873307/) [Mercifully Spasms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercifully-spasms-3873311/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Ragged Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ragged-breaths-3873309/) [Spasms Subsided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spasms-subsided-3873310/) [Subsided Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subsided-old-3873308/) ## Related quotes > [“Dizzy, my head lolled to the side. It was a … a naked man? 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He stooped down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-jackson/oh-it-s-you-her-head-lolled-back-as-she-stared-up-at-owen-blood-was/) [Emma Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-jackson/) > [“He’d need the woman’s help to set things right; he just didn’t like having to wake the dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/he-d-need-the-woman-s-help-to-set-things-right-he-just-didn-t-like/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) > [I like to play people that are real, a real person, and then something that's interesting with that person. I think it's a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-bostick/i-like-to-play-people-that-are-real-a-real-person-and-then-something/) [Devon Bostick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-bostick/) > [“Perhaps Nesta will take up the blood-drinking habit, too. I certainly believe her threat to rip out my throat. 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Their transgressions are either punished or not punished. That is the only result that matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mchugh/evil-people-do-not-believe-in-forgiveness-their-transgressions-are/) [Daniel McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mchugh/) > [“Metal makes everything magical. Just ask a unicorn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybrina-durant/metal-makes-everything-magical-just-ask-a-unicorn/) [Sybrina Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybrina-durant/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [I avoided nudity unless a film couldn't be told without those scenes. If you look at my films, few of them have that element,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-scacchi/i-avoided-nudity-unless-a-film-couldn-t-be-told-without-those-scenes/) [Greta Scacchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-scacchi/) > [“I am awake. I know what you took. I am coming for you. Vengeance is mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-burks/i-am-awake-i-know-what-you-took-i-am-coming-for-you-vengeance-is-mine/) [Robin Burks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-burks/) ## More by Joe DeRouen > [“He’d need the woman’s help to set things right; he just didn’t like having to wake the dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/he-d-need-the-woman-s-help-to-set-things-right-he-just-didn-t-like/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) > [“She stared at her face in the mirror, feeling everything around her slipping away. The face stared back, and she wondered who was looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/she-stared-at-her-face-in-the-mirror-feeling-everything-around-her/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) > [“Wow," he said after their lips parted. Her taste still haunted his mouth, and the smell of her perfume lingered in his nostrils. "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/wow-he-said-after-their-lips-parted-her-taste-still-haunted-his-mouth/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) > [“Shawn slowly climbed the old wooden stairs, listening to the low creak that sounded from his footsteps. He hoped the wood wouldn’t collapse beneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/shawn-slowly-climbed-the-old-wooden-stairs-listening-to-the-low-creak/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) > [“Thinking about such things soothed the creature as it dug at the base of a tall oak tree, deep into the ground, covering itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/thinking-about-such-things-soothed-the-creature-as-it-dug-at-the-base/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) > [“She stared at the phone, feeling guilty. She finally slid across the overstuffed Pleather couch and away from watching old episodes of The Twilight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/she-stared-at-the-phone-feeling-guilty-she-finally-slid-across-the/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) > [“Fred Ruskin barreled through the rain down Buchanan Street in his battered Pacer, the jar his dead wife had directed him to retrieve from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/fred-ruskin-barreled-through-the-rain-down-buchanan-street-in-his/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) > [“Where moments before the bright morning sun flickered through the branches of the huge oak trees surrounding the property, every-thing in a ten yard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/where-moments-before-the-bright-morning-sun-flickered-through-the/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) > [“Why didn't you escape?" "Because," she panted, releasing the boy's arm, "no one tells me what to do, not even you. And besides, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/why-didn-t-you-escape-because-she-panted-releasing-the-boy-s-arm-no/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) > [“She suddenly felt herself gasping for air, as if she’d momentarily forgotten how to breathe. She rocked back in her chair and nearly fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/she-suddenly-felt-herself-gasping-for-air-as-if-she-d-momentarily/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) > [“Shawn shrugged. "Who knows? None of us ever knew much about good old great-great uncle Charles. Or should that be great old good-good uncle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/shawn-shrugged-who-knows-none-of-us-ever-knew-much-about-good-old/) [Joe DeRouen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) [Explore all 12 Joe DeRouen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/) ## More Fantasy quotes > [“I am awake. I know what you took. I am coming for you. Vengeance is mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-burks/i-am-awake-i-know-what-you-took-i-am-coming-for-you-vengeance-is-mine/) [Robin Burks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-burks/) > [I avoided nudity unless a film couldn't be told without those scenes. If you look at my films, few of them have that element,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-scacchi/i-avoided-nudity-unless-a-film-couldn-t-be-told-without-those-scenes/) [Greta Scacchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-scacchi/) > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [“Metal makes everything magical. Just ask a unicorn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybrina-durant/metal-makes-everything-magical-just-ask-a-unicorn/) [Sybrina Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybrina-durant/) > [“(Evil people) do not believe in forgiveness. Their transgressions are either punished or not punished. That is the only result that matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mchugh/evil-people-do-not-believe-in-forgiveness-their-transgressions-are/) [Daniel McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mchugh/) > [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [I'm a geek - I read fantasy novels, I play 'World of Warcraft,' I'm a massive gamer, I have 'Star Trek' outfits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kazinsky/i-m-a-geek-i-read-fantasy-novels-i-play-world-of-warcraft-i-m-a/) [Robert Kazinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kazinsky/) > [“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/when-we-let-go-of-our-battles-and-open-our-heart-to-things-as-they/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“Perhaps Nesta will take up the blood-drinking habit, too. I certainly believe her threat to rip out my throat. Maybe she'll enjoy the taste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/perhaps-nesta-will-take-up-the-blood-drinking-habit-too-i-certainly/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [I like to play people that are real, a real person, and then something that's interesting with that person. I think it's a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-bostick/i-like-to-play-people-that-are-real-a-real-person-and-then-something/) [Devon Bostick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-bostick/) > [It's a hindrance in trying to get a serious acting role. The minute a producer has a script and my name comes up, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbi-benton/it-s-a-hindrance-in-trying-to-get-a-serious-acting-role-the-minute-a/) [Barbi Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbi-benton/) > [No one will ever write a fantasy novel better than The Hobbit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-will-ever-write-a-fantasy-novel-better-than-the-hobbit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've always loved sci-fi and fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olly-alexander/i-ve-always-loved-sci-fi-and-fantasy/) [Olly Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olly-alexander/) > [“I will always be within reach if you need me, little one...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-von/i-will-always-be-within-reach-if-you-need-me-little-one/) [A.R. Von](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-von/) [Browse all 5,469 Fantasy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Finally, mercifully, the spasms subsided, as the old man’s head lolled back, his mouth hanging open, taking in deep, ragged breaths of stale, recirculated air.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joe DeRouen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/finally-mercifully-the-spasms-subsided-as-the-old-man-s-head-lolled/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fantasy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/finally-mercifully-the-spasms-subsided-as-the-old-man-s-head-lolled/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/joe-derouen-38367_fantasy_finally-mercifully-the-spasms-subsided-a_441771.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/joe-derouen-38367_fantasy_finally-mercifully-the-spasms-subsided-a_441771.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/joe-derouen-38367_fantasy_finally-mercifully-the-spasms-subsided-a_441771.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Finally, mercifully, the spasms subsided, as the old man’s head lolled back, his mouth hanging open, taking…” — Joe DeRouen", "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": "Joe DeRouen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-derouen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Finally, mercifully, the spasms subsided, as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/finally-mercifully-the-spasms-subsided-as-the-old-man-s-head-lolled/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-derouen/finally-mercifully-the-spasms-subsided-as-the-old-man-s-head-lolled/#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 } } ] } ```