--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was already intuiting that attachment…" description: "\"“He was already intuiting that attachment - if only to a squirt gun - made him vulnerable.”\" — Lionel Shriver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/lionel-shriver-744_attachment_he-was-already-intuiting-that-attachment_1004029.jpg" --- # He was already intuiting that attachment - if only to a… ![“He was already intuiting that attachment - if only to a squirt gun - made him vulnerable.” quote by Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/lionel-shriver-744_attachment_he-was-already-intuiting-that-attachment_1004029.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/lionel-shriver-744_attachment_he-was-already-intuiting-that-attachment_1004029.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/lionel-shriver-744_attachment_he-was-already-intuiting-that-attachment_1004029.jpg) > ““He was already intuiting that attachment - if only to a squirt gun - made him vulnerable.”” [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The character realizes that even a trivial attachment can expose personal weaknesses and risk. **In simple terms:** Even small attachments can make you vulnerable. Key Takeaway Recognize and limit unnecessary attachments. Themes vulnerability attachment self‑awareness Mood reflective cautious Type literary observational When to use this quote - relationships - personal growth - risk assessment Key Concepts psychology risk management Questions to Reflect On - What attachments in your life feel unnecessary? - How does recognizing vulnerability change your behavior? A Different Perspective Attachment can also provide comfort, making it hard to let go. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attachment/) [Attachment Squirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attachment-squirt-2137884/) [Gun Vulnerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun-vulnerable-2137883/) [Squirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/squirt-548659/) [Squirt Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/squirt-gun-1559981/) [Vulnerable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulnerable/) ## Related quotes > [“I’m not a big goof. I’m a badass, even with a squirt gun. I totally kicked both their asses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/i-m-not-a-big-goof-i-m-a-badass-even-with-a-squirt-gun-i-totally/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [This is unexpected... like squirt from aggressive grapefruit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/this-is-unexpected-like-squirt-from-aggressive-grapefruit/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [“The juvenile sea squirt wanders through the sea searching for a suitable rock or hunk of coral to cling to and make its home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/the-juvenile-sea-squirt-wanders-through-the-sea-searching-for-a-2/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [“squirt hair product into the palm of my hand. All the other questions rush at me now, as I tip my head back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-mason/squirt-hair-product-into-the-palm-of-my-hand-all-the-other-questions/) [Carol Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-mason/) > [No, you dont squirt waffles! - Freddie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/icarly/no-you-dont-squirt-waffles-freddie/) [ICarly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/icarly/) > [When life gives you lemons, squirt someone in the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-life-gives-you-lemons-squirt-someone-in-the-eye/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hey what are you doing later? Wanna come over and play squirt goo out of your wee wee. No, wait I'm sorry I didnt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-marbles/hey-what-are-you-doing-later-wanna-come-over-and-play-squirt-goo-out/) [Jenna Marbles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-marbles/) > [“And your own heart generates enough pressure as it pumps blood throughout your body that it could squirt blood up to 30 feet. (I’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/and-your-own-heart-generates-enough-pressure-as-it-pumps-blood/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [When life gives you lemons… squirt it in someones eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-life-gives-you-lemons-squirt-it-in-someones-eyes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When life gives you lemons, squirt them in someones eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay/when-life-gives-you-lemons-squirt-them-in-someones-eyes/) [Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay/) > [When life gives you a lemon, you squirt it peoples eyes!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-life-gives-you-a-lemon-you-squirt-it-peoples-eyes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I curse the night I let your idiot father squirt you into me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/i-curse-the-night-i-let-your-idiot-father-squirt-you-into-me/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Squirt obey your thirst, fashion lines. Between beauty and beast, I walk the line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z-2/squirt-obey-your-thirst-fashion-lines-between-beauty-and-beast-i-walk/) [Jay Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z-2/) > [Though surely to avoid attachments for fear of loss is to avoid life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/though-surely-to-avoid-attachments-for-fear-of-loss-is-to-avoid-life/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [People seem to get used to anything, and it is a short step from adaptation to attachment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/people-seem-to-get-used-to-anything-and-it-is-a-short-step-from/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## More by Lionel Shriver > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I’m a journalist, and journalists need news. Deprive them of it, and they go a bit barking. Deprive them of news long enough, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-a-journalist-and-journalists-need-news-deprive-them-of-it-and/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“One of the things I learned with Charles," said Gray carefully, "was that finding someone like you does not necessarily mean that either of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/one-of-the-things-i-learned-with-charles-said-gray-carefully-was-that/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“The idea is that you don't only have one destiny. Younger and younger, kids are pressed to decide what they want to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-idea-is-that-you-don-t-only-have-one-destiny-younger-and-younger/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Oddly, for a book to do well merely because people like it is surprisingly rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/oddly-for-a-book-to-do-well-merely-because-people-like-it-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The sign that I don't like the book I'm reading is finding myself watching reruns of 'Come Dine With Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-sign-that-i-don-t-like-the-book-i-m-reading-is-finding-myself/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [We speak often of 'destroying the planet' when what we mean is destroying its habitability for humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/we-speak-often-of-destroying-the-planet-when-what-we-mean-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [My agent had warned that, while a fine film would do my profile a world of good, a bad one wouldn't help me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/my-agent-had-warned-that-while-a-fine-film-would-do-my-profile-a/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I think that's the biggest favor you can grant anyone, don't you? Permission to be dull. I know Henry will sometimes say something so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-think-that-s-the-biggest-favor-you-can-grant-anyone-don-t-you/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“They were determined to find something mechanically wrong with him - because broken machines are easier to fix. p303”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/they-were-determined-to-find-something-mechanically-wrong-with-him/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“Bur Armenians have a talent for sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/bur-armenians-have-a-talent-for-sorrow/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“What is cool changes; that there is such a thing as cool is immutable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-is-cool-changes-that-there-is-such-a-thing-as-cool-is-immutable/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I have theorized that you can locate most people on a spectrum of the crudest sort and that it may be their position on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-have-theorized-that-you-can-locate-most-people-on-a-spectrum-of-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) [Explore all 375 Lionel Shriver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## More Attachment quotes > [Some persons are so inclined to mortify themselves that at every opportunity they have, they do so. What a beautiful practice this is, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonsus-rodriguez/some-persons-are-so-inclined-to-mortify-themselves-that-at-every/) [Alphonsus Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonsus-rodriguez/) > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [When attachment Dies… Formalities are Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemant-vaswani/when-attachment-dies-formalities-are-born/) [Hemant Vaswani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemant-vaswani/) > [“Continue with whatever it is that you have been doing, except for attachment-abhorrence. If ‘we’ stay in our state of Pure Soul, attachment-abhorrence will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/continue-with-whatever-it-is-that-you-have-been-doing-except-for/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“Research on organised abuse emphasises the diversity of organised abuse cases, and the ways in which serious forms of child maltreatment cluster in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/research-on-organised-abuse-emphasises-the-diversity-of-organised/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/love-like-truth-and-beauty-is-concrete-love-is-not-fundamentally-a/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [The real goal of Zen is to find a way of life that's easy and undramatic. Strong attachments lead to upset and drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/the-real-goal-of-zen-is-to-find-a-way-of-life-that-s-easy-and/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [“The past is no good if you can't learn from it; therefore, no sense in dwelling on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arians-karlovi-s/the-past-is-no-good-if-you-can-t-learn-from-it-therefore-no-sense-in/) [Arians Karlovičs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arians-karlovi-s/) > [“Remaining absolutely non-acquisitive (aparigrahi) amidst all possessions is the ultimate ‘test examination’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/remaining-absolutely-non-acquisitive-aparigrahi-amidst-all/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/interwoven-as-is-the-love-of-liberty-with-every-ligament-of-your/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [Money is not a problem, but unintelligent attachment to it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/money-is-not-a-problem-but-unintelligent-attachment-to-it-is/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [“You need to belong to yourself, and let others belong to themselves too. You need to be free and detached from things and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/you-need-to-belong-to-yourself-and-let-others-belong-to-themselves/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [All our attachments are outward oriented and hence this illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-our-attachments-are-outward-oriented-and-hence-this-illusion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is attachment that makes people forget not only their moral duties but even who they really are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amish-tripathi/it-is-attachment-that-makes-people-forget-not-only-their-moral-duties/) [Amish Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amish-tripathi/) > [... professing myself moreover convinced that the general's unjust interference, so far from being really injurious to their felicity, was perhaps rather conducive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/professing-myself-moreover-convinced-that-the-general-s-unjust/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) [Browse all 959 Attachment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attachment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He was already intuiting that attachment - if only to a squirt gun - made him vulnerable.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lionel Shriver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/he-was-already-intuiting-that-attachment-if-only-to-a-squirt-gun-made/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attachment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/he-was-already-intuiting-that-attachment-if-only-to-a-squirt-gun-made/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/lionel-shriver-744_attachment_he-was-already-intuiting-that-attachment_1004029.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/lionel-shriver-744_attachment_he-was-already-intuiting-that-attachment_1004029.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/lionel-shriver-744_attachment_he-was-already-intuiting-that-attachment_1004029.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He was already intuiting that attachment - if only to a squirt gun - made him vulnerable.” — Lionel Shriver", "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": "Lionel Shriver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He was already intuiting that attachment...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/he-was-already-intuiting-that-attachment-if-only-to-a-squirt-gun-made/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/he-was-already-intuiting-that-attachment-if-only-to-a-squirt-gun-made/#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 } } ] } ```