--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a terrible thing to be alone - yes…" description: "\"It's a terrible thing to be alone - yes it is - it is - but don't lower your mask until you have another mask prepared beneath - as terrible as you lik..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/639/katherine-mansfield-1781_mask_it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-alone-yes-it_863561.png" --- # It's a terrible thing to be alone - yes it is - it is… ![“It's a terrible thing to be alone - yes it is - it is - but don't lower your mask until you have another mask prepared beneath - as terrible as you like - but a mask.” quote by Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/639/katherine-mansfield-1781_mask_it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-alone-yes-it_863561.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/639/katherine-mansfield-1781_mask_it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-alone-yes-it_863561.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/639/katherine-mansfield-1781_mask_it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-alone-yes-it_863561.png) > “It's a terrible thing to be alone - yes it is - it is - but don't lower your mask until you have another mask prepared beneath - as terrible as you like - but a mask.” [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We must protect ourselves emotionally until we have a reliable support system ready, otherwise we risk vulnerability. **In simple terms:** Guard your heart until you have support. Key Takeaway Seek reliable support before exposing yourself. Themes vulnerability self‑protection relationships Mood cautious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - starting a new relationship - leaving a toxic job - recovering from loss - building a support network Key Concepts emotional resilience dependency trust Questions to Reflect On - What support do you truly need? - How can you build a safety net before taking emotional risks? A Different Perspective Even with a mask, isolation can persist if the underlying issue isn’t addressed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Like Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-mask-877794/) [Lower Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lower-mask-877793/) [Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask/) [Mask Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask-mask-539469/) [Mask Prepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask-prepared-877792/) [Prepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prepared/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) ## Related quotes > [I'm definitely a lot more reserved without the mask on. And with the mask on, all those inhibitions kinda go out the window. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-root/i-m-definitely-a-lot-more-reserved-without-the-mask-on-and-with-the/) [Jim Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-root/) > [“Under this mask, another mask. I will never be finished removing all these faces.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-cahun/under-this-mask-another-mask-i-will-never-be-finished-removing-all/) [Claude Cahun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-cahun/) > [Ooh I like your mask...ooh wait its your face..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ooh-i-like-your-mask-ooh-wait-its-your-face/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For 'Blue Jasmine,' I made a decision not to wear any make up in the last shot of the film, as I felt like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/for-blue-jasmine-i-made-a-decision-not-to-wear-any-make-up-in-the/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [“A mask has but one expression, frozen and eternal, yet it is always and ever the essential expression, and to hide one’s telltale flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/a-mask-has-but-one-expression-frozen-and-eternal-yet-it-is-always-and/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“as long as we're behind a mask, any mask, we will not be able to receive love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-lynch/as-long-as-we-re-behind-a-mask-any-mask-we-will-not-be-able-to/) [John S. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-lynch/) > [When you wear the mask, the mask becomes you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/qiu-xiaolong/when-you-wear-the-mask-the-mask-becomes-you/) [Qiu Xiaolong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/qiu-xiaolong/) > [“Everyone plays their role and wears a mask. Your mask hides just how brilliant you are, and what emotions and feelings you truly feel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-n-lee/everyone-plays-their-role-and-wears-a-mask-your-mask-hides-just-how/) [K.N. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-n-lee/) > [Am I looking at a mask or am I the mask being looked at?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-eugene-meatyard/am-i-looking-at-a-mask-or-am-i-the-mask-being-looked-at/) [Ralph Eugene Meatyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-eugene-meatyard/) > [The leader of men in warfare can show himself to his followers only through a mask, a mask that he must make for himself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keegan/the-leader-of-men-in-warfare-can-show-himself-to-his-followers-only/) [John Keegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keegan/) > [The angriest and saddest people are hidden behind a mask. A mask of laughter and happiness. It's amazing what you can fake with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-angriest-and-saddest-people-are-hidden-behind-a-mask-a-mask-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The world is like a Mask dancing. If you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/the-world-is-like-a-mask-dancing-if-you-want-to-see-it-well-you-do/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [It was like letting go and falling back into water and seeing yourself grinning up through the water, your face like a mask, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/it-was-like-letting-go-and-falling-back-into-water-and-seeing/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [“Sometimes confidence is worn like a mask to shield people from seeing insecurities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vi-keeland/sometimes-confidence-is-worn-like-a-mask-to-shield-people-from-seeing/) [Vi Keeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vi-keeland/) > [“He felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin, like the stuff of a fantastic candle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/he-felt-his-smile-slide-away-melt-fold-over-and-down-on-itself-like-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) ## More by Katherine Mansfield > [“Shadow children, thin and small, Now the day is left behind, You are dancing on the wall, On the curtains, on the blind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/shadow-children-thin-and-small-now-the-day-is-left-behind-you-are/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [“Oh, with you, I could conquer the world - oh, with you I could catch hold of the moon like a little silver sixpence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/oh-with-you-i-could-conquer-the-world-oh-with-you-i-could-catch-hold/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [“I have made it a rule of my life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/i-have-made-it-a-rule-of-my-life-never-to-regret-and-never-to-look/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [Life never becomes a habit to me. It's always a marvel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/life-never-becomes-a-habit-to-me-it-s-always-a-marvel/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [Children are unaccountable little creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/children-are-unaccountable-little-creatures/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [“Leila was sure ifhe partner didn't come and she had to listen to that marvellous music and to watch the others sliding, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/leila-was-sure-ifhe-partner-didn-t-come-and-she-had-to-listen-to-that/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [Regret is an appalling waste of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/regret-is-an-appalling-waste-of-time/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [I love the rain. I want the feeling of it on my face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/i-love-the-rain-i-want-the-feeling-of-it-on-my-face/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [England is merely an island of beef swimming in a warm gulf stream of gravy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/england-is-merely-an-island-of-beef-swimming-in-a-warm-gulf-stream-of/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [Perhaps it does not matter so very much what it is one loves in this world. But love something one must.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/perhaps-it-does-not-matter-so-very-much-what-it-is-one-loves-in-this/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [Ah, what happiness it is to be with people who are all happy, to press hands, press cheeks, smile into eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/ah-what-happiness-it-is-to-be-with-people-who-are-all-happy-to-press/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [To acknowledge the presence of fear is to give birth to failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/to-acknowledge-the-presence-of-fear-is-to-give-birth-to-failure/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [I am poor - obscure - just eighteen years of age - with a rapacious appetite for everything and principles as light as my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/i-am-poor-obscure-just-eighteen-years-of-age-with-a-rapacious/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [“I used to believe I was merely words and I do not know whether I shall start hoping for something more. You planted that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/i-used-to-believe-i-was-merely-words-and-i-do-not-know-whether-i/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [To be alive and to be a ‘writer’ is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/to-be-alive-and-to-be-a-writer-is-enough/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) [Explore all 199 Katherine Mansfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) ## More Mask quotes > [The greatest act of courage is to be and to ownall of who you are—without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-to-be-and-to-ownall-of-who-you-are/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I had to get used to wearing a mask and wearing a prosthetic and performing with those things while singing and expressing myself through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-butler/i-had-to-get-used-to-wearing-a-mask-and-wearing-a-prosthetic-and/) [Gerard Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-butler/) > [“Detective Sonia Alcana: Someday you'll have to tell me how you do it, Batman. How you keep from crossing the line. When I put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-burnett/detective-sonia-alcana-someday-you-ll-have-to-tell-me-how-you-do-it/) [Alan Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-burnett/) > [The terrible immoralities are the cunning ones hiding behind masks of morality, such as exploiting people while pretending to help them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/the-terrible-immoralities-are-the-cunning-ones-hiding-behind-masks-of/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [I feel super happy when I put on a sheet mask after washing my face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nayeon/i-feel-super-happy-when-i-put-on-a-sheet-mask-after-washing-my-face/) [Nayeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nayeon/) > [When the Batman TV series was taken to the silver screen, one of America's favourite sweethearts would don the mask and claws of Catwoman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/when-the-batman-tv-series-was-taken-to-the-silver-screen-one-of/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) > [“I don't want to live my life behind a mask with no one to share who I am with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-winters/i-don-t-want-to-live-my-life-behind-a-mask-with-no-one-to-share-who-i/) [Julian Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-winters/) > [Robert Duvall taught me years ago. He said, "You know theatre is not real. I don't like plays." You know, he doesn't like plays.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bob-thornton/robert-duvall-taught-me-years-ago-he-said-you-know-theatre-is-not/) [Billy Bob Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bob-thornton/) > [Paranoia is just another mask for ignorance. The truth, when you finally chase it down is almost always far worse than your darkest visions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/paranoia-is-just-another-mask-for-ignorance-the-truth-when-you/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“If you wear a mask for too long, there will come a time when you can not remove it without removing your face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/if-you-wear-a-mask-for-too-long-there-will-come-a-time-when-you-can/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [I was born to love - but none of you wanted to believe it, and that misunderstanding was crucial in forming my character. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/i-was-born-to-love-but-none-of-you-wanted-to-believe-it-and-that/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [Her heart was bruised by the kiss, smashed and surprised and unsettled by it. September thought kisses were all nice, sweet things asked for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/her-heart-was-bruised-by-the-kiss-smashed-and-surprised-and-unsettled/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [The late proceedings of those daring invaders to establish a national religion have opened the eyes of all lovers of liberty and religion... I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-royall/the-late-proceedings-of-those-daring-invaders-to-establish-a-national/) [Anne Royall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-royall/) [Browse all 1,413 Mask quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a terrible thing to be alone - yes it is - it is - but don't lower your mask until you have another mask prepared beneath - as terrible as you like - but a mask.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Katherine Mansfield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-alone-yes-it-is-it-is-but-don-t-lower/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mask" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-alone-yes-it-is-it-is-but-don-t-lower/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/639/katherine-mansfield-1781_mask_it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-alone-yes-it_863561.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/639/katherine-mansfield-1781_mask_it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-alone-yes-it_863561.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/639/katherine-mansfield-1781_mask_it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-alone-yes-it_863561.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's a terrible thing to be alone - yes it is - it is - but don't lower your mask until you have another…” — Katherine Mansfield", "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": "Katherine Mansfield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's a terrible thing to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-alone-yes-it-is-it-is-but-don-t-lower/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/it-s-a-terrible-thing-to-be-alone-yes-it-is-it-is-but-don-t-lower/#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 } } ] } ```