--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact of the matter is that, since we…" description: "\"The fact of the matter is that, since we are determined always to keep our feelings to ourselves, we have never given any thought to the manner in whic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/marcel-proust-114_alarms_the-fact-of-the-matter-is-that-since-we_1364347.jpg" --- # The fact of the matter is that, since we are determined… ![“The fact of the matter is that, since we are determined always to keep our feelings to ourselves, we have never given any thought to the manner in which we should express them. And suddenly there is within us a strange and obscene animal making itself heard, whose tones may inspire as much alarm…” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/marcel-proust-114_alarms_the-fact-of-the-matter-is-that-since-we_1364347.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/marcel-proust-114_alarms_the-fact-of-the-matter-is-that-since-we_1364347.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/29b/marcel-proust-114_alarms_the-fact-of-the-matter-is-that-since-we_1364347.jpg) > “The fact of the matter is that, since we are determined always to keep our feelings to ourselves, we have never given any thought to the manner in which we should express them. And suddenly there is within us a strange and obscene animal making itself heard, whose tones may inspire as much alarm in the person who receives the involuntary, elliptical and almost irresistible communication of one's defect or vice as would the sudden avowal indirectly and outlandishly proffered by a criminal who can no longer refrain from confessing to a murder of which one had never imagined him to be guilty.” [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People suppress emotions, leading to sudden, uncontrolled outbursts that reveal deeper flaws, often shocking both speaker and listener. **In simple terms:** Suppressed feelings erupt unexpectedly, exposing hidden defects. Key Takeaway Recognize and express emotions before they explode. Themes self-awareness communication psychology authenticity Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal relationships - public speaking - conflict resolution - mental health counseling Key Concepts repression social masks unconscious expression Questions to Reflect On - What emotions are you holding back? - How might honest expression change a relationship? A Different Perspective Not all eruptions are harmful; they can prompt growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Criminals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminals/) [Defects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defects/) [Determined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determined/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Tone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tone/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) ## Related quotes > [“That’s when I feel like the real me. I want to be a rock for you too, but I often feel inadequate to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-james/that-s-when-i-feel-like-the-real-me-i-want-to-be-a-rock-for-you-too/) Kristen James > [“She stared at him, at his face. Simply stared as the scales fell from her eyes. "Oh, my God," she whispered, the exclamation so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-laurens/she-stared-at-him-at-his-face-simply-stared-as-the-scales-fell-from/) [Stephanie Laurens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-laurens/) > [A leader's responsibility to his team is paramount. It overshadows even his own personal feelings at any given time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-krzyzewski/a-leader-s-responsibility-to-his-team-is-paramount-it-overshadows/) [Mike Krzyzewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-krzyzewski/) > [I treat anger, grief and strife as a sin, so I let all that go and I am no longer living a sinful life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kam-williams/i-treat-anger-grief-and-strife-as-a-sin-so-i-let-all-that-go-and-i-am/) [Kam Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kam-williams/) > [Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/where-the-battle-rages-there-the-loyalty-of-the-soldier-is-proved-and/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [“In a sense, and as in melodrama, killing yourself amounts to confessing. 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In woman this organ is lacking; so she acts without motive, and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/pocket-n-the-cradle-of-motive-and-the-grave-of-conscience-in-woman/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [It is like confessing to a murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-like-confessing-to-a-murder/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Saying that you spend Christmas alone is, to most middle-class Americans, akin to confessing a terminal illness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-dean/saying-that-you-spend-christmas-alone-is-to-most-middle-class/) [Michelle Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-dean/) > [So what do you have to confess now?" I don't know why I'm saying any of this, except that is the truth. "I'm confessing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/so-what-do-you-have-to-confess-now-i-don-t-know-why-i-m-saying-any-of/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [In an age when the fashion is to be in love with yourself, confessing to be in love with somebody else is an admission…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-an-age-when-the-fashion-is-to-be-in-love-with-yourself-confessing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“ so that's what you do you command attention my cheeks flush as i smile shyly confessing i can't help it ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/so-that-s-what-you-do-you-command-attention-my-cheeks-flush-as-i/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [Ultimately, our lives hinge on the ability to make right choices and decisions. By God's grace, I made the most important decision a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-dickey/ultimately-our-lives-hinge-on-the-ability-to-make-right-choices-and/) [R.A. Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-dickey/) > [“One obvious and rather sobering meaning of losing your life by confessing Christ is to lose it, literally, physically, in sustaining and defending your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-todd-christofferson/one-obvious-and-rather-sobering-meaning-of-losing-your-life-by/) [D. Todd Christofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-todd-christofferson/) > [There is a difference between admitting and confessing. Admitting involves softening, making excuses for things that cannot be excused; confessing just names the crimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/there-is-a-difference-between-admitting-and-confessing-admitting/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) ## More by Marcel Proust > [“machinery' of life at Versailles; and was able, too, to persuade herself that her silence, a shade of good humour or of arrogance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/machinery-of-life-at-versailles-and-was-able-too-to-persuade-herself/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [ “For her \[Françoise\], wealth was like a necessary condition without which virtue would lack both merit and charm. She made so little distinction between… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-her-fran-oise-wealth-was-like-a-necessary-condition-without-which/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Death is in truth an illness from which we recover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/death-is-in-truth-an-illness-from-which-we-recover/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The bonds that unite another person to our self exist only in our mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-bonds-that-unite-another-person-to-our-self-exist-only-in-our-mind/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [...a writer's works, like the water in an artesian well, mount to a height which is in proportion to the depth to which suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-writer-s-works-like-the-water-in-an-artesian-well-mount-to-a-height/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Art extracted from the most familiar reality does indeed exist and its domain is perhaps the largest of any.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/art-extracted-from-the-most-familiar-reality-does-indeed-exist-and/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When you heard anyone in the middle of a talk which was being deliberately kept off the Affair announce furtively some piece of political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-you-heard-anyone-in-the-middle-of-a-talk-which-was-being/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“We betroth ourselves by proxy, and then feel obliged to marry the intermediary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-betroth-ourselves-by-proxy-and-then-feel-obliged-to-marry-the/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“But the old lady on the contrary, far from justifying her daughter’s fears, felt every time someone of her own age “disappeared” that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-the-old-lady-on-the-contrary-far-from-justifying-her-daughter-s/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Often it is just lack of imagination that keeps a man from suffering very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/often-it-is-just-lack-of-imagination-that-keeps-a-man-from-suffering/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When we are nice to others, we generally lose all claim to their respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-we-are-nice-to-others-we-generally-lose-all-claim-to-their/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Nobility is often no more than the inner aspect which our egotistical feelings assume when we have not yet named and classified them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/nobility-is-often-no-more-than-the-inner-aspect-which-our-egotistical/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Explore all 1,113 Marcel Proust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More Alarms quotes > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [There's a statement from several members of the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans, including the Democratic leader, Charles Schumer; John McCain, the chair of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stephanopoulos/there-s-a-statement-from-several-members-of-the-senate-both-democrats/) [George Stephanopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stephanopoulos/) > [Here in the UK the audience immediately reacts and they get the fact that: "What would be the most annoying thing in the world?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-jones/here-in-the-uk-the-audience-immediately-reacts-and-they-get-the-fact/) [Duncan Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-jones/) > [It is a hard matter for a man to lie all over, nature having provided king's evidence in almost every member. The hand will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-allston/it-is-a-hard-matter-for-a-man-to-lie-all-over-nature-having-provided/) [Washington Allston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-allston/) > [Who then is free? the wise man who is lord over himself; Whom neither poverty nor death, nor chains alarm; strong to withstand his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/who-then-is-free-the-wise-man-who-is-lord-over-himself-whom-neither/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Modern man threw a brick through his own window in order to sell himself a burglar alarm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-carr/modern-man-threw-a-brick-through-his-own-window-in-order-to-sell/) [Allen Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-carr/) > [I understand the power and the alarm of words - Not those that they applaud from theatre-boxes, but those which make coffins break from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/i-understand-the-power-and-the-alarm-of-words-not-those-that-they/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) > [I don't know who Azazel is," he said. "Isn't he the cat from The Smurfs?" He cast about , but Isabelle just looked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-don-t-know-who-azazel-is-he-said-isn-t-he-the-cat-from-the-smurfs/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The beloved may be treacherous, greasy-headed and given to evil habits, or else it can be a man in his late forties who works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/the-beloved-may-be-treacherous-greasy-headed-and-given-to-evil-habits/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [Those who have past much of their lives in this great city, look upon its opulence and its multitudes, its extent and variety, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/those-who-have-past-much-of-their-lives-in-this-great-city-look-upon/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Unfortunately, I'm one of those idiots who knows everything about health and is in a constant state of alarm, and yet I continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ames/unfortunately-i-m-one-of-those-idiots-who-knows-everything-about/) [Jonathan Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ames/) > [“batteries in the smoke alarms, and since he “just happened”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-lawson-timmer/batteries-in-the-smoke-alarms-and-since-he-just-happened/) [Julie Lawson Timmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-lawson-timmer/) > [When I see a new face, something sets off an alarm bell inside me. 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Even though not one of those cries was ever a false alarm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-am-sick-of-the-girl-who-cries-wolf-all-the-time-even-though-not-one/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) Browse all 360 Alarms quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The fact of the matter is that, since we are determined always to keep our feelings to ourselves, we have never given any thought to the manner in which we should express them. 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