--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Where was the threshold, between the…" description: "\"“Where was the threshold, between the inner world and the outer one? We each move unthinkingly through this gateway every day, we use the passwords of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/margaret-atwood-40_every-day_where-was-the-threshold-between-the-inne_764259.jpg" --- # Where was the threshold, between the inner world and the… ![“Where was the threshold, between the inner world and the outer one? We each move unthinkingly through this gateway every day, we use the passwords of grammar-- I say, you say, he and she, it, on the other hand, does not say --paying for the privilege of sanity with common coin, with meanings we've…” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/margaret-atwood-40_every-day_where-was-the-threshold-between-the-inne_764259.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/margaret-atwood-40_every-day_where-was-the-threshold-between-the-inne_764259.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/margaret-atwood-40_every-day_where-was-the-threshold-between-the-inne_764259.jpg) > ““Where was the threshold, between the inner world and the outer one? We each move unthinkingly through this gateway every day, we use the passwords of grammar-- I say, you say, he and she, it, on the other hand, does not say --paying for the privilege of sanity with common coin, with meanings we've agreed on.”” [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. Language structures shape reality, acting as gateways that both connect and limit human experience. **In simple terms:** Words are keys to reality. Key Takeaway Examine how language frames perception. Themes language reality communication Mood reflective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - education - political discourse - personal relationships - media analysis Key Concepts semiotics grammar social constructs Questions to Reflect On - How do you challenge limiting linguistic norms? - What alternative vocabularies can expand understanding? A Different Perspective Language can also imprison or manipulate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Grammar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/) [Inner world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-world/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [Outer Unthinkingly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outer-unthinkingly-5920309/) [Passwords Grammar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passwords-grammar-5920310/) [Privilege Sanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege-sanity-5920311/) [Sanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanity/) [Unthinkingly Gateway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unthinkingly-gateway-5920312/) ## Related quotes > [I got into trouble a while ago for saying that I thought the internet led to increased literacy - people scolded me about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-got-into-trouble-a-while-ago-for-saying-that-i-thought-the-internet/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there's no free lunch. Writing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/you-most-likely-need-a-thesaurus-a-rudimentary-grammar-book-and-a/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [In high school, in 1956, at the age of sixteen, we were not taught "creative writing." We were taught literature and grammar. So no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/in-high-school-in-1956-at-the-age-of-sixteen-we-were-not-taught/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [ “Men who read a lot have a more sensitive disposition, added Fowler. \[...\] I did not know what to say to this. Maybe reading… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/men-who-read-a-lot-have-a-more-sensitive-disposition-added-fowler-i/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [When you die you pass into inner worlds and continue to perceive. Death is not the dissolution of the self. Death is rather just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/when-you-die-you-pass-into-inner-worlds-and-continue-to-perceive/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“...only the one who knows and practices the iconoclastic fury of destruction can possess the joy born of freedom, of that unique freedom fertilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-novatore/only-the-one-who-knows-and-practices-the-iconoclastic-fury-of/) [Renzo Novatore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-novatore/) > [“The key experiential approach I now use to induce non-ordinary states of consciousness and gain access to the unconscious and superconscious psyche is Holotropic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislav-grof/the-key-experiential-approach-i-now-use-to-induce-non-ordinary-states/) [Stanislav Grof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislav-grof/) > [“If the vibrant and frolicking merry-go-round of our daily living has been ousted by an eerie void of an intractable vacuum, only inspiriting memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/if-the-vibrant-and-frolicking-merry-go-round-of-our-daily-living-has/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“And I don't want to live like a fleeting shadow, a consumptive, no. I want to live genuinely, with the true warmth and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-i-don-t-want-to-live-like-a-fleeting-shadow-a-consumptive-no-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The modern artist... is working and expressing an inner world - in other words - expressing the energy, the motion, and other inner forces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pollock/the-modern-artist-is-working-and-expressing-an-inner-world-in-other/) [Jackson Pollock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pollock/) > [When you dream you are creating the future, your inner world. By the time you finish this book, you will have a deeper understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/when-you-dream-you-are-creating-the-future-your-inner-world-by-the/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [Feelings and thoughts do not define who we are; they are just part of the weather of our inner world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-daishin-buksbazen/feelings-and-thoughts-do-not-define-who-we-are-they-are-just-part-of/) [John Daishin Buksbazen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-daishin-buksbazen/) > [Half of humanity has been accepting the inner world but denying the outer world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/half-of-humanity-has-been-accepting-the-inner-world-but-denying-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [All ballet, all reading, all music. That was my world, my inner world,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/all-ballet-all-reading-all-music-that-was-my-world-my-inner-world/) [Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/) > [“Her silent singing wrapped around the story she was telling herself, which she extended further every night on the deck. (Averill often told herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/her-silent-singing-wrapped-around-the-story-she-was-telling-herself/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) ## 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 Every day quotes > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) [Alison James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-james/) > [OBSESSED, p.p. Vexed by an evil spirit, like the Gadarene swine and other critics. Obsession was once more common than it is now. Arasthus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/obsessed-p-p-vexed-by-an-evil-spirit-like-the-gadarene-swine-and/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [I loved the game so much that even though our playing field was muddy and we had many trees on it, I used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-clemente/i-loved-the-game-so-much-that-even-though-our-playing-field-was-muddy/) [Roberto Clemente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-clemente/) > [On stage, you can bring all those strong emotions that you don't have the opportunity to live. You don't want to die for love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/on-stage-you-can-bring-all-those-strong-emotions-that-you-don-t-have/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [A real Christian in an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-real-christian-in-an-odd-number-anyway-he-feels-supreme-love-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think naturally I've been kind of a lead-by-doing guy. Just showing up to work every day. You never ask teammates something you wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrell-suggs/i-think-naturally-i-ve-been-kind-of-a-lead-by-doing-guy-just-showing/) [Terrell Suggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrell-suggs/) > [Love is the Key started in 1994 with a simple idea: that Love is the Key that would open all the doors in life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/love-is-the-key/love-is-the-key-started-in-1994-with-a-simple-idea-that-love-is-the/) [Love Is The Key®](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/love-is-the-key/) > [Being under-recruited coming out of Highland, I've carried that with me. I keep pushing forward, keep working hard every day, keep my head on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-daniels/being-under-recruited-coming-out-of-highland-i-ve-carried-that-with/) [Mike Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-daniels/) > [“(one would say yes, if not every day, at least fairly regularly), whether only for yourself or also for others (often only for yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/one-would-say-yes-if-not-every-day-at-least-fairly-regularly-whether/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Are you sure?" he asked in a low voice. "Because if I had the chance... I would spend every moment of every day with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-monir/are-you-sure-he-asked-in-a-low-voice-because-if-i-had-the-chance-i/) [Alexandra Monir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-monir/) > [I don't think I've ever bench-pressed anything in my life. Until about two years ago I swam a mile almost every day. Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-antosca/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-bench-pressed-anything-in-my-life-until-about/) [Nick Antosca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-antosca/) > [I have to justify my job every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-silva/i-have-to-justify-my-job-every-day/) [Marco Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-silva/) > [Merlin' was awesome, but the costumes would drive you insane. Every day, you'd get into chain mail and wear 30 pounds of that stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macken/merlin-was-awesome-but-the-costumes-would-drive-you-insane-every-day/) [Eoin Macken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-macken/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Browse all 16,614 Every day quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Where was the threshold, between the inner world and the outer one? We each move unthinkingly through this gateway every day, we use the passwords of grammar-- I say, you say, he and she, it, on the other hand, does not say --paying for the privilege of sanity with common coin, with meanings we've agreed on.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/where-was-the-threshold-between-the-inner-world-and-the-outer-one-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Every day" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/where-was-the-threshold-between-the-inner-world-and-the-outer-one-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/margaret-atwood-40_every-day_where-was-the-threshold-between-the-inne_764259.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/margaret-atwood-40_every-day_where-was-the-threshold-between-the-inne_764259.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba5/margaret-atwood-40_every-day_where-was-the-threshold-between-the-inne_764259.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Where was the threshold, between the inner world and the outer one? We each move unthinkingly through this…” — Margaret Atwood", "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": "Margaret Atwood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Where was the threshold, between the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/where-was-the-threshold-between-the-inner-world-and-the-outer-one-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/where-was-the-threshold-between-the-inner-world-and-the-outer-one-we/#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 } } ] } ```