--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But unshed tears can turn rancid. So can…" description: "\"“But unshed tears can turn rancid. So can memory. So can biting your tongue. My bad nights were beginning. I couldn't sleep.”\" — Margaret Atwood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/190/margaret-atwood-40_secrets_but-unshed-tears-can-turn-rancid-so-can_2855647.jpg" --- # But unshed tears can turn rancid. So can memory. So can… ![“But unshed tears can turn rancid. So can memory. So can biting your tongue. My bad nights were beginning. I couldn't sleep.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/190/margaret-atwood-40_secrets_but-unshed-tears-can-turn-rancid-so-can_2855647.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/190/margaret-atwood-40_secrets_but-unshed-tears-can-turn-rancid-so-can_2855647.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/190/margaret-atwood-40_secrets_but-unshed-tears-can-turn-rancid-so-can_2855647.jpg) > ““But unshed tears can turn rancid. So can memory. So can biting your tongue. My bad nights were beginning. I couldn't sleep.”” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suppressed emotions and memories can become toxic, disrupting peace. **In simple terms:** Unexpressed feelings rot inside. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and process pain early. Themes mental health memory emotions Mood melancholic introspective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - therapy - journaling - nighttime routines Key Concepts psychology trauma self‑care Questions to Reflect On - What are you holding back? - How can you safely release it? A Different Perspective May romanticen emotional expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biting Your Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biting-your-tongue/) [Memory Biting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory-biting-3825332/) [Rancid Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rancid-memory-3825331/) [Secrets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrets/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) [Tears Turn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears-turn-382573/) [Turn Rancid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turn-rancid-3825333/) [Unshed tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unshed-tears/) ## Related quotes > [Every tear you let go down your face has a story to tell...But it is a silent story that nobody can see or feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenchqueen/every-tear-you-let-go-down-your-face-has-a-story-to-tell-but-it-is-a/) [Frenchqueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frenchqueen/) > [Joe Frazier is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/joe-frazier-is-so-ugly-that-when-he-cries-the-tears-turn-around-and/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [I hate it when the tears turn in to anger and the anger turns back into tears :(](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savannah-j/i-hate-it-when-the-tears-turn-in-to-anger-and-the-anger-turns-back/) [Savannah J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savannah-j/) > [“Sometimes you have to decide which will hurt more: biting your tongue or having your say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faydra-d-fields/sometimes-you-have-to-decide-which-will-hurt-more-biting-your-tongue/) [Faydra D. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faydra-d-fields/) > [You've got the words to change a nation but you're biting your tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeli-sande/you-ve-got-the-words-to-change-a-nation-but-you-re-biting-your-tongue-2/) [Emeli Sande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeli-sande/) > [“Forgive and forget is the divine ideal. Grappling with the hurt while biting your tongue and struggling to refuse justifiable vengeance―that's closer to human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/forgive-and-forget-is-the-divine-ideal-grappling-with-the-hurt-while/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [If you're a guy and 1. Your taking a selfie and 2. Your biting your tongue...you need some serious help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-re-a-guy-and-1-your-taking-a-selfie-and-2-your-biting-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You've got the words to change a nation But you're biting your tongue You've spent a life time stuck in silence Afraid you'll say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ve-got-the-words-to-change-a-nation-but-you-re-biting-your-tongue/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Biting your tongue is equivalent to stepping on a Lego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/biting-your-tongue-is-equivalent-to-stepping-on-a-lego/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“you've got the words to change a nation but your biting your tongue, you've spent a lifetime in silence afraid that you'll say something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeli-sande/you-ve-got-the-words-to-change-a-nation-but-your-biting-your-tongue/) [Emeli Sande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeli-sande/) > [You've got the words to change a nation yet your biting your tongue. You spent a lifetime stuck in silence afraid you'll say something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ve-got-the-words-to-change-a-nation-yet-your-biting-your-tongue/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Biting your tongue is def in the top 5 most annoying things ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/biting-your-tongue-is-def-in-the-top-5-most-annoying-things-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Worst pains that don't last very long: Stubbing your toe, hitting your hip on a corner of a table or chair and biting your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/worst-pains-that-don-t-last-very-long-stubbing-your-toe-hitting-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Biting your tongue ain't easy...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/biting-your-tongue-ain-t-easy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That moment when you realize you can't keep biting your tongue just because you have love for someone, but you see the situation will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-moment-when-you-realize-you-can-t-keep-biting-your-tongue-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Secrets quotes > [“Fuck, baby. I can hear it. I hear all your beautiful secrets in my name. I want them. I want you. All of you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-bane/fuck-baby-i-can-hear-it-i-hear-all-your-beautiful-secrets-in-my-name/) [Lucian Bane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-bane/) > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [Every person has at least one secret that will break your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana/every-person-has-at-least-one-secret-that-will-break-your-heart/) [AnA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana/) > [“It hardly needs to be said: sooner or later secrets have a way of making themselves known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-hardly-needs-to-be-said-sooner-or-later-secrets-have-a-way-of/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“People always knew more than you gave them credit for. Perhaps, in the end, no one had any secrets at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-russell/people-always-knew-more-than-you-gave-them-credit-for-perhaps-in-the/) [Paul Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-russell/) > [Some secrets are better left at that -as secrets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/some-secrets-are-better-left-at-that-as-secrets/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [“You can never let your compassion stand in the way of justice because when you do, other people get hurt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/you-can-never-let-your-compassion-stand-in-the-way-of-justice-because/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [“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/) > [“There are plenty of secrets I would like to know about you, Daphne.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-hodnett/there-are-plenty-of-secrets-i-would-like-to-know-about-you-daphne/) [Brenda Hodnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-hodnett/) > [The value of secrets is ever fluctuating although ladies who have been in society for a long time learn that a secret kept can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/the-value-of-secrets-is-ever-fluctuating-although-ladies-who-have/) [Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/) > [I wonder if it's ever really possible to know the truth about someone else, or if the best we can do is just stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-wonder-if-it-s-ever-really-possible-to-know-the-truth-about-someone/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“The secrets eternal neither you know nor I And answers to the riddle neither you know nor I Behind the veil there is much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-khayy-m/the-secrets-eternal-neither-you-know-nor-i-and-answers-to-the-riddle/) [Omar Khayyám](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-khayy-m/) > [“Life, like love, holds many secrets for us to discover. 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