--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Yet even without saying, each knew what…" description: "\"“Yet even without saying, each knew what the other was thinking, and, more acutely, what the other was feeling -- this is a further effect of our share..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/john-banville-2532_empathy_yet-even-without-saying-each-knew-what-t_90324.png" --- # Yet even without saying, each knew what the other was… ![“Yet even without saying, each knew what the other was thinking, and, more acutely, what the other was feeling -- this is a further effect of our shared sorrow, this empathy, this mournful telepathy.” quote by John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/john-banville-2532_empathy_yet-even-without-saying-each-knew-what-t_90324.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/john-banville-2532_empathy_yet-even-without-saying-each-knew-what-t_90324.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/john-banville-2532_empathy_yet-even-without-saying-each-knew-what-t_90324.png) > ““Yet even without saying, each knew what the other was thinking, and, more acutely, what the other was feeling -- this is a further effect of our shared sorrow, this empathy, this mournful telepathy.”” [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shared grief creates an unspoken bond that transmits thoughts and emotions without words. **In simple terms:** Sorrow deepens mutual understanding. Key Takeaway Grief aligns minds and hearts. Themes empathy loss communication psychology Mood somber reflective intimate Type literary quote philosophical observation When to use this quote - grief counseling - family bereavement - war veterans groups Key Concepts nonverbal connection Practical Applications - therapeutic group sessions - memorial events Questions to Reflect On - Can empathy arise without shared suffering? - What limits does shared sorrow impose on objectivity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Empathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathy/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Telepathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telepathy/) ## Related quotes > [Empathy is forgetting oneself in the joys and sorrows of another, so much so that you actually feel that the joy or sorrow experienced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-vaswani/empathy-is-forgetting-oneself-in-the-joys-and-sorrows-of-another-so/) [Dada Vaswani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-vaswani/) > [“And so we sat there in the sickening sillage of the truth, neither of us angry, or upset, just muddling through this shared sorrow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-schneider/and-so-we-sat-there-in-the-sickening-sillage-of-the-truth-neither-of/) [Robyn Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-schneider/) > [Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow. ~Swedish Proverb Lust is easy. Love is hard. Like is most important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-reiner/shared-joy-is-a-double-joy-shared-sorrow-is-half-a-sorrow-swedish/) [Carl Reiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-reiner/) > [“It was the answer to the wrong mystery--the mystery I didn't ever want to solve. 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But we created a new central nervous system made of two brains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-nicolelis/it-s-not-telepathy-it-s-not-the-borg-but-we-created-a-new-central/) [Miguel Nicolelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-nicolelis/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More by John Banville > [I've always been fascinated by physics and cosmology. It gets more and more scary the older you get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-physics-and-cosmology-it-gets-more-and/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“What did I brood on, sitting there in the classic pose with my elbows on my knees and my chin on my hands? We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/what-did-i-brood-on-sitting-there-in-the-classic-pose-with-my-elbows/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“Her own mother had died when Anna was twelve and since then father and daughter had faced the world like a pair of nineteenth-century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/her-own-mother-had-died-when-anna-was-twelve-and-since-then-father/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [The effect of prizes on one's career - if that is what to call it - is considerable, since they give one more clout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/the-effect-of-prizes-on-one-s-career-if-that-is-what-to-call-it-is/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“Of all the things we fashioned for them that they might be comforted, dawn is the one that works. 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I find them more exciting than human behavior for the most part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/i-like-ideas-i-find-them-more-exciting-than-human-behavior-for-the/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“And incredulity, that too was a large part of being happy. I mean that euphoric inability fully to believe in one’s own simple luck.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/and-incredulity-that-too-was-a-large-part-of-being-happy-i-mean-that/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) [Explore all 158 John Banville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) ## More Empathy quotes > [I have a lot of empathy, and I think that's where mothering starts. You are there to empathise and facilitate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/i-have-a-lot-of-empathy-and-i-think-that-s-where-mothering-starts-you/) [Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [Cinematography speaks to everything that women do inherently well: It's multitasking, it's empathy, and it's channeling visuals into human emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-morrison/cinematography-speaks-to-everything-that-women-do-inherently-well-it/) [Rachel Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-morrison/) > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“Understanding breeds empathy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/understanding-breeds-empathy/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [ That is another theme in the book \[Dreams from My Father\]. 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If you don't enter that world, hold your breath with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/a-novel-is-not-an-allegory-it-is-a-sensual-experience-of-another/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [Empathic listening takes time, but it doesn't take anywhere near as much time as it takes to back up and correct misunderstandings when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/empathic-listening-takes-time-but-it-doesn-t-take-anywhere-near-as/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [I try to treat every job with the exact same level of respect. 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