--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But heart's desires? My dear, I see by…" description: "\"“But heart's desires? My dear, I see by your misery - by this very request you are making - that you know more of true men's and women's hearts than on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/margo-lanagan-22297_broken-things_but-heart-s-desires-my-dear-i-see-by-you_2320816.jpg" --- # But heart's desires? My dear, I see by your misery - by… ![“But heart's desires? My dear, I see by your misery - by this very request you are making - that you know more of true men's and women's hearts than once you did, than your mother's world permitted you to see. Such chipped and cracked and outright broken things they are, are they not? They have…” quote by Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/margo-lanagan-22297_broken-things_but-heart-s-desires-my-dear-i-see-by-you_2320816.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/margo-lanagan-22297_broken-things_but-heart-s-desires-my-dear-i-see-by-you_2320816.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/margo-lanagan-22297_broken-things_but-heart-s-desires-my-dear-i-see-by-you_2320816.jpg) > ““But heart's desires? My dear, I see by your misery - by this very request you are making - that you know more of true men's and women's hearts than once you did, than your mother's world permitted you to see. Such chipped and cracked and outright broken things they are, are they not? They have their illnesses too, and their impulses. And hearts are not always connected well to minds, and even if they are, minds are not always clear and commonsensical. A heart may desire a thing powerfully indeed, but that heart's desire might be what a person least needs, for her health, for her continuing happiness.”” [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desires can be powerful yet harmful; hearts often want what harms health and happiness. **In simple terms:** Desires may hurt more than help. Key Takeaway Check if a desire truly benefits you. Themes desire health happiness mind-body self-awareness Mood reflective cautious Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - personal decisions - relationships - mental health - self-care Key Concepts psychology emotional intelligence conflict Questions to Reflect On - Do your cravings serve your wellbeing? - How can you align heart and mind? A Different Perspective Desires may ignore long‑term wellbeing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broken things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-things/) [Desires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desires/) [Heart Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-desire/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“The Heart Desires to Be Free”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-belmer/the-heart-desires-to-be-free/) [Cynthia Belmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-belmer/) > [Whatever it is your heart desires, please go for it, it's yours to have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-estefan/whatever-it-is-your-heart-desires-please-go-for-it-it-s-yours-to-have/) [Gloria Estefan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-estefan/) > [“God didn't put you on this earth to do only one thing. You can do all the many things your heart desires." I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-c-hilton/god-didn-t-put-you-on-this-earth-to-do-only-one-thing-you-can-do-all/) K.C. Hilton > [Memory is not what the heart desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/memory-is-not-what-the-heart-desires/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Dreams are manifestation of your deepest heart desires.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/dreams-are-manifestation-of-your-deepest-heart-desires/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Anything the heart desires shall be obliged, for the heart is what keeps us alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anything-the-heart-desires-shall-be-obliged-for-the-heart-is-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Are you doing what your heart desires, or living up to society's expectations, what friends and family think? Because the moment you start doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-smart/are-you-doing-what-your-heart-desires-or-living-up-to-society-s/) [Ralph Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-smart/) > [I trust in God because I know he will never fail me. No matter how long it takes he shall let your heart desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine/i-trust-in-god-because-i-know-he-will-never-fail-me-no-matter-how/) [Josephine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine/) > [“Some say they don’t really know what they are looking for in life. This might be because, instead of getting in touch with how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haemin-sunim/some-say-they-don-t-really-know-what-they-are-looking-for-in-life/) [Haemin Sunim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haemin-sunim/) > [You know you are truly blessed when your heart desires nothing more than what you already have and especially who you share it with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/you-know-you-are-truly-blessed-when-your-heart-desires-nothing-more/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [Fairyland is the loveliest word because it means everything the human heart desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fairyland-is-the-loveliest-word-because-it-means-everything-the-human/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've ever truly loved just one girl. She alone my heart desires and she alone seems so far from my reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/i-ve-ever-truly-loved-just-one-girl-she-alone-my-heart-desires-and/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [“Should we not invariably act in this life as though the God whom our heart desires with its highest desire were watching our every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-maeterlinck/should-we-not-invariably-act-in-this-life-as-though-the-god-whom-our/) [Maurice Maeterlinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-maeterlinck/) > [Do what your heart desires, never hold back a thing, and dont worry so much about what the others think, because at the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-what-your-heart-desires-never-hold-back-a-thing-and-dont-worry-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do what your heart desires, never hold back a thing, & don't worry so much about what others think because what makes you happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-what-your-heart-desires-never-hold-back-a-thing-don-t-worry-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Margo Lanagan > [I felt freed to please myself, to find my way as I would, in a world that was much vaster than I had realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/i-felt-freed-to-please-myself-to-find-my-way-as-i-would-in-a-world/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [Now you are in the true world, and a great deal more is required of you. Here you must befriend real wolves, and lure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/now-you-are-in-the-true-world-and-a-great-deal-more-is-required-of/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [“You are pure-hearted, Branza, and lovely, and you have never done a moment's wrong. But you are a living creature, born to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/you-are-pure-hearted-branza-and-lovely-and-you-have-never-done-a/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [“A good heart is when a girl that you loved, a girl who has pained you and chosen another instead, places in your hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/a-good-heart-is-when-a-girl-that-you-loved-a-girl-who-has-pained-you/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [“You must watch and wait, Branza, to see what powers you have and don't have. It is not like home. We ruled there. Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/you-must-watch-and-wait-branza-to-see-what-powers-you-have-and-don-t/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [“She hardly knew what to do, it had been so long since such strong feelings had borne down on her. It was like carrying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/she-hardly-knew-what-to-do-it-had-been-so-long-since-such-strong/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [“I had know it and never known it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/i-had-know-it-and-never-known-it/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [“And then she fell, from standing, foot-fins together, straight into the wavelets, where she was now seal, and she flung herself down toward the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/and-then-she-fell-from-standing-foot-fins-together-straight-into-the/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [“What about the world do you most love? The fact that I'm not here by myself. -from interview by Jeff Vandermeer in Clarkesworld magazine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/what-about-the-world-do-you-most-love-the-fact-that-i-m-not-here-by/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [“The earth’s lungs, coated in green ooze and thaw, breathed out blossom-scent and sour rot and fungus-must, wet and warm and aware, where before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/the-earth-s-lungs-coated-in-green-ooze-and-thaw-breathed-out-blossom/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [OTHERBOUND is a web of spells and counterspells, but Corinne Duyvis never loses sight of the bodies, minds and all-too-human emotions that absorb the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/otherbound-is-a-web-of-spells-and-counterspells-but-corinne-duyvis/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [“...the night is suddenly vaster, colder, clearer. All the stars zing; the mountains glitter; towns and villages gather like bright mould in the valley-seams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/the-night-is-suddenly-vaster-colder-clearer-all-the-stars-zing-the/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [“I knew that place should be my home, but after my night in Noer's mind it seemed a peculiar pile, its streets a maze,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/i-knew-that-place-should-be-my-home-but-after-my-night-in-noer-s-mind/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [“The scents of these three, for instance, were so distinct, though they were clearly a family: the dark girl more savory and the golden-haired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/the-scents-of-these-three-for-instance-were-so-distinct-though-they/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) > [“He was fine, and foreign, and he did not belong here. I held him close, not crushing, not waking him, letting him sleep, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-lanagan/he-was-fine-and-foreign-and-he-did-not-belong-here-i-held-him-close/) [Margo Lanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) [Explore all 27 Margo Lanagan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-lanagan/) ## More Broken things quotes > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [“But this is what ... people are so often and disastrously wrong in doing: they (who by their very nature are impatient) fling themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/but-this-is-what-people-are-so-often-and-disastrously-wrong-in-doing/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Shes got broken things where her heart should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayday-parade/shes-got-broken-things-where-her-heart-should-be/) Mayday Parade > [“Some broken things stay broken”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/some-broken-things-stay-broken/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [I don’t know why I ever helped you.” “Because you like broken things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-don-t-know-why-i-ever-helped-you-because-you-like-broken-things/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I see a broken shell and I remind myself that something might have needed setting free. See, broken things always have a story, don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-pennypacker/i-see-a-broken-shell-and-i-remind-myself-that-something-might-have/) [Sara Pennypacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-pennypacker/) > [The same sun that rises over castles and welcomes the day Spills over buildings into the streets where orphans play And only You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-dillon/the-same-sun-that-rises-over-castles-and-welcomes-the-day-spills-over/) Bethany Dillon > [“So endgames are naturally messy. They may not be very dynamic, but when an active war is shutting down, there is still a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venkatesh-g-rao/so-endgames-are-naturally-messy-they-may-not-be-very-dynamic-but-when/) [Venkatesh G. Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venkatesh-g-rao/) > [Broken things are powerful."Things about to break are stronger still.The last shot from the brittle bow is truest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-mccarthy/broken-things-are-powerful-things-about-to-break-are-stronger-still/) [Eugene McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-mccarthy/) > [“God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/god-uses-broken-things-it-takes-broken-soil-to-produce-a-crop-broken/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [“I know all about broken things. I came from a broken house, and a broken land full of broken people. I have a broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-thalassa/i-know-all-about-broken-things-i-came-from-a-broken-house-and-a/) [Laura Thalassa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-thalassa/) > [“A street turned off at right angles, descending, and became a dirt road. On either hand the land dropped more sharply; a broad flat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/a-street-turned-off-at-right-angles-descending-and-became-a-dirt-road/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [She has broken things where her heart should be, she has tears where her eyes should be, its tough but she still goes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teady/she-has-broken-things-where-her-heart-should-be-she-has-tears-where/) $Teady > [“The analytical mind, made from shattered pieces. The illogical soul, found in a junk drawer. The optimistic heart, a stray taken in. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/the-analytical-mind-made-from-shattered-pieces-the-illogical-soul/) [Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/) > [All things uncomely and broken, all things worn out and old, The cry of a child by the roadway, the creak of a lumbering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-things-uncomely-and-broken-all-things-worn-out-and-old-the-cry-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 71 Broken things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But heart's desires? My dear, I see by your misery - by this very request you are making - that you know more of true men's and women's hearts than once you did, than your mother's world permitted you to see. Such chipped and cracked and outright broken things they are, are they not? 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