--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If anything might hurt her, silence…" description: "\"If anything might hurt her, silence would; and I wanted to hurt her.\" — John Fowles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/john-fowles-816_hurt_if-anything-might-hurt-her-silence-would_540432.png" --- # If anything might hurt her, silence would; and I wanted to… ![“If anything might hurt her, silence would; and I wanted to hurt her.” quote by John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/john-fowles-816_hurt_if-anything-might-hurt-her-silence-would_540432.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/john-fowles-816_hurt_if-anything-might-hurt-her-silence-would_540432.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/john-fowles-816_hurt_if-anything-might-hurt-her-silence-would_540432.png) > “If anything might hurt her, silence would; and I wanted to hurt her.” [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reveals a conflicted desire to protect and harm, showing how love can coexist with aggression. **In simple terms:** Desire to protect and hurt coexist. Key Takeaway Recognize and resolve inner contradictions. Themes love conflict psychology Mood turbulent reflective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - relationships - personal growth - conflict resolution Key Concepts dual desire emotional tension Questions to Reflect On - What inner conflicts drive your actions? - How can you align love with kindness? A Different Perspective The protective instinct can mask harmful intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [Ever since I can remember, I hated silence. I wanted it filled with guitars and melodies to sing all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffree-star/ever-since-i-can-remember-i-hated-silence-i-wanted-it-filled-with/) [Jeffree Star](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffree-star/) > [“When I turned toward the hurt in the silence, I entered a kind of tenderness that was not sore, not wounded, but rather powerfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zenju-earthlyn-manuel/when-i-turned-toward-the-hurt-in-the-silence-i-entered-a-kind-of/) [Zenju Earthlyn Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zenju-earthlyn-manuel/) > [If I could explain to you how much you hurt me I would, but my silence should be enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-could-explain-to-you-how-much-you-hurt-me-i-would-but-my-silence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If they have hurt you with their words, hurt them back with your silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garima-soni-words-world/if-they-have-hurt-you-with-their-words-hurt-them-back-with-your/) Garima Soni - words world > [I have learned now that while those who speak about ones miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/i-have-learned-now-that-while-those-who-speak-about-ones-miseries/) [CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/) > [I have learned now that while those who speak about one's miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-learned-now-that-while-those-who-speak-about-one-s-miseries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Words can hurt but her silence can be deadly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-hurt-but-her-silence-can-be-deadly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Words can hurt others, but sometimes, silence hurts even more than words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/words-can-hurt-others-but-sometimes-silence-hurts-even-more-than-words/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [In The Time Of Crisis, i was Not Hurt By The Harsh words of My Enemies, But I was Hurt By The Silence Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/in-the-time-of-crisis-i-was-not-hurt-by-the-harsh-words-of-my-enemies-2/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You will always be my Heart no matter what I just never wanted to hurt you but I did anyway rite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-myers-jr/you-will-always-be-my-heart-no-matter-what-i-just-never-wanted-to/) [Michael Myers Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-myers-jr/) > [“She rang me that afternoon on my mobile. 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I mean you are always calling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savannah-j/so-you-get-the-fact-that-i-left-you-for-someone-else-no-i-doesnt-seem/) [Savannah J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savannah-j/) > [“I'm so sorry for everything. I never wanted to hurt you or make you doubt me. I need you to trust me. I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-allison-moulton/i-m-so-sorry-for-everything-i-never-wanted-to-hurt-you-or-make-you/) [Courtney Allison Moulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-allison-moulton/) ## More by John Fowles > [I am infinitely strange to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-am-infinitely-strange-to-myself/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [I do not plan my fiction any more than I normally plan woodland walks; I follow the path that seems most promising at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-do-not-plan-my-fiction-any-more-than-i-normally-plan-woodland-walks/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“The sky is absolutely empty. Beautifully pure and empty. As if the architects and builders would live in all the houses they built! Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-sky-is-absolutely-empty-beautifully-pure-and-empty-as-if-the/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“The evolution of human mentality has put us all in vitro now, behind the glass wall of our own ingenuity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-evolution-of-human-mentality-has-put-us-all-in-vitro-now-behind/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Most marriages recognize this paradox: Passion destroys passion; we want what puts an end to wanting what we want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/most-marriages-recognize-this-paradox-passion-destroys-passion-we/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [That is the great distinction between the sexes. Men see objects, women see the relationships between objects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/that-is-the-great-distinction-between-the-sexes-men-see-objects-women/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [The craving to risk death is our last great perversion. We come from night, we go into night. Why live in night?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-craving-to-risk-death-is-our-last-great-perversion-we-come-from/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [There is only one good definition of God: the freedom that allows other freedoms to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/there-is-only-one-good-definition-of-god-the-freedom-that-allows/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [They looked down on her; and she looked up through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/they-looked-down-on-her-and-she-looked-up-through-them/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Long afterwards I realized why some men, racing drivers and their like, become addicted to speed. 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It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/liking-other-people-is-an-illusion-we-have-to-cherish-in-ourselves-if/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Do you know that every great thing in the history of art and every beautiful thing in life is actually what you call nasty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/do-you-know-that-every-great-thing-in-the-history-of-art-and-every/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Yet this distance, all those abysses unbridged and then unbridgeable by radio, television, cheap travel and the rest, was not wholly bad. People knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/yet-this-distance-all-those-abysses-unbridged-and-then-unbridgeable/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) [Explore all 341 John Fowles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## More Hurt quotes > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/) [Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [It is easier to say you're mad, rather than admitting you're hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-easier-to-say-you-re-mad-rather-than-admitting-you-re-hurt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. 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But what good girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jane-gilman/good-girls-don-t-hurt-other-people-s-feelings-good-girls-are-not/) [Susan Jane Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jane-gilman/) > [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/) Kirsten Gilchrist > [A HURTED HEART IS LIKE SMALL BABY WHICH CAN ONLY CRY BT IT WONT B ABLE 2 EXPRESS ITS FEELINGS.SO DONT HURT ANYBODY IN…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/butterfly-kisses/a-hurted-heart-is-like-small-baby-which-can-only-cry-bt-it-wont-b/) Butterfly\_Kisses > [The greatest gift you can give to those around you is honesty. Sometimes honest words may sting the heart, but dishonesty pierces deep into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-to-those-around-you-is-honesty/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“I will run every mile, i will save every line, i will say i reached the top and i will fall back down standing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mennah-al-refaey/i-will-run-every-mile-i-will-save-every-line-i-will-say-i-reached-the/) Mennah al refaey > [Some things hurt, you know, and there's pain. But we magnify the suffering of it often, I think, by our reactions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/some-things-hurt-you-know-and-there-s-pain-but-we-magnify-the/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [You can't force any one to love you, and fighting it, you just gonna hurt yourself badly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mongotleng/you-can-t-force-any-one-to-love-you-and-fighting-it-you-just-gonna/) Edward Mongotleng > [This goes out to someone that was Once the most important person in my life I didn't realize it at the time I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aviation/this-goes-out-to-someone-that-was-once-the-most-important-person-in/) Aviation > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) Browse all 13,577 Hurt quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If anything might hurt her, silence would; and I wanted to hurt her.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Fowles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/if-anything-might-hurt-her-silence-would-and-i-wanted-to-hurt-her/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hurt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/if-anything-might-hurt-her-silence-would-and-i-wanted-to-hurt-her/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/john-fowles-816_hurt_if-anything-might-hurt-her-silence-would_540432.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/john-fowles-816_hurt_if-anything-might-hurt-her-silence-would_540432.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e47/john-fowles-816_hurt_if-anything-might-hurt-her-silence-would_540432.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If anything might hurt her, silence would; and I wanted to hurt her.” — John Fowles", "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": "John Fowles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If anything might hurt her, silence...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/if-anything-might-hurt-her-silence-would-and-i-wanted-to-hurt-her/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/if-anything-might-hurt-her-silence-would-and-i-wanted-to-hurt-her/#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 } } ] } ```