--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My heart had been touched by him…" description: "\"“My heart had been touched by him, battered by him, cradled by him as the days passed. He was cruel without meaning to be yet he was kind, and I needed..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/mackenzie-herbert-43086_chasing-trains_my-heart-had-been-touched-by-him-battere_2270406.jpg" --- # My heart had been touched by him, battered by him, cradled… ![“My heart had been touched by him, battered by him, cradled by him as the days passed. He was cruel without meaning to be yet he was kind, and I needed him too much to let myself want him” quote by Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/mackenzie-herbert-43086_chasing-trains_my-heart-had-been-touched-by-him-battere_2270406.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/mackenzie-herbert-43086_chasing-trains_my-heart-had-been-touched-by-him-battere_2270406.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b0/mackenzie-herbert-43086_chasing-trains_my-heart-had-been-touched-by-him-battere_2270406.jpg) > ““My heart had been touched by him, battered by him, cradled by him as the days passed. He was cruel without meaning to be yet he was kind, and I needed him too much to let myself want him”” [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) ## 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 feels a conflicted love, both wounded and comforted, recognizing a painful dependence on someone who is both cruel and kind. **In simple terms:** A painful, contradictory love. Key Takeaway Accept the complexity of love. Themes love conflict dependence Mood melancholic introspective Type fiction emotional When to use this quote - romantic relationships - self‑reflection - therapy - creative writing Key Concepts emotional ambivalence psychology relationship dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Why do we cling to harmful partners? - Can cruelty coexist with kindness? A Different Perspective Love can become toxic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chasing-trains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chasing-trains-30448/) [Cruel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel/) [Cruel Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-meaning-5260231/) [Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) [Heart Touched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-touched-625186/) [Heartbroken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartbroken/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Passed Cruel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passed-cruel-5260233/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) [Touched Battered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touched-battered-5260232/) [Unrequited love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unrequited-love/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [We are cruel enough without meaning to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/we-are-cruel-enough-without-meaning-to-be/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Juliet and Romeo die at the end,' I said. 'Do they really, though?' Monroe asked. 'I didn’t know that that matters, when they sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/juliet-and-romeo-die-at-the-end-i-said-do-they-really-though-monroe/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“And his eyes were fluttering shut, and his sinner’s smile- that wickedly wondrous thing- was less than an inch from mine. And soon enough,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/and-his-eyes-were-fluttering-shut-and-his-sinner-s-smile-that/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“And I decided I'd rather love too much than not at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/and-i-decided-i-d-rather-love-too-much-than-not-at-all/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“But that’s life right? It’s just a shitty hand of cards. But then maybe somebody pulls out an Ace, and somebody else gets a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/but-that-s-life-right-it-s-just-a-shitty-hand-of-cards-but-then-maybe/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“Life was a little like that, I guess. We’d spend so long chasing after something already in motion, always out of reach and calling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/life-was-a-little-like-that-i-guess-we-d-spend-so-long-chasing-after/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“Strange, how we often hate the ones who save us and love the ones that are like poison.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/strange-how-we-often-hate-the-ones-who-save-us-and-love-the-ones-that/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“I know you're just trying to be kind. But the world isn't always kind. So sometimes you have to know what you're up against,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/i-know-you-re-just-trying-to-be-kind-but-the-world-isn-t-always-kind/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“I wanted to say something to make her pain go away and make everything better. But, I realized that there was no answer. Bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/i-wanted-to-say-something-to-make-her-pain-go-away-and-make/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“And now I begin to understand why I was imprisoned so many years in this lonely chamber, and why I could never break through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/and-now-i-begin-to-understand-why-i-was-imprisoned-so-many-years-in/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [I was in rare fettle and the heart had touched a new high. I don't know anything that braces one up like finding you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/i-was-in-rare-fettle-and-the-heart-had-touched-a-new-high-i-don-t/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [I think everyone should - can share whatever they wish when their heart is touched and they want to spread more positivity rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farrah-abraham/i-think-everyone-should-can-share-whatever-they-wish-when-their-heart/) [Farrah Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farrah-abraham/) > [I was never really insane, except on occasions where my heart was touched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-never-really-insane-except-on-occasions-where-my-heart-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was never really insane except upon occasions when my heart was touched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/i-was-never-really-insane-except-upon-occasions-when-my-heart-was/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Why is it that my heart is so touched whenever I meet a dog lost in our noisy streets? Why do I feel such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/why-is-it-that-my-heart-is-so-touched-whenever-i-meet-a-dog-lost-in/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) ## More by Mackenzie Herbert > [“I wanted to say something to make her pain go away and make everything better. But, I realized that there was no answer. Bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/i-wanted-to-say-something-to-make-her-pain-go-away-and-make/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“I know you're just trying to be kind. But the world isn't always kind. 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'I didn’t know that that matters, when they sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/juliet-and-romeo-die-at-the-end-i-said-do-they-really-though-monroe/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) [Explore all 9 Mackenzie Herbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) ## More Chasing-trains quotes > [“I wanted to say something to make her pain go away and make everything better. But, I realized that there was no answer. Bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/i-wanted-to-say-something-to-make-her-pain-go-away-and-make/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“I know you're just trying to be kind. But the world isn't always kind. 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But then maybe somebody pulls out an Ace, and somebody else gets a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/but-that-s-life-right-it-s-just-a-shitty-hand-of-cards-but-then-maybe/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“And I decided I'd rather love too much than not at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/and-i-decided-i-d-rather-love-too-much-than-not-at-all/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“And his eyes were fluttering shut, and his sinner’s smile- that wickedly wondrous thing- was less than an inch from mine. And soon enough,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-herbert/and-his-eyes-were-fluttering-shut-and-his-sinner-s-smile-that/) [Mackenzie Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-herbert/) > [“Juliet and Romeo die at the end,' I said. 'Do they really, though?' Monroe asked. 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