--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Words can bruise and break hearts, and…" description: "\"Words can bruise and break hearts, and minds as well. There are no black and blue marks, no broken bones to put in plaster casts, and therefore no pris..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/marlene-dietrich-4460_bars_words-can-bruise-and-break-hearts-and-mi_1386119.jpg" --- # Words can bruise and break hearts, and minds as well… ![“Words can bruise and break hearts, and minds as well. There are no black and blue marks, no broken bones to put in plaster casts, and therefore no prison bars for the offender.” quote by Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/marlene-dietrich-4460_bars_words-can-bruise-and-break-hearts-and-mi_1386119.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/marlene-dietrich-4460_bars_words-can-bruise-and-break-hearts-and-mi_1386119.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/323/marlene-dietrich-4460_bars_words-can-bruise-and-break-hearts-and-mi_1386119.jpg) > “Words can bruise and break hearts, and minds as well. There are no black and blue marks, no broken bones to put in plaster casts, and therefore no prison bars for the offender.” [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Harsh words wound invisible scars, causing deep emotional pain without physical signs **In simple terms:** Verbal cruelty inflicts unseen emotional damage Key Takeaway Choose words that heal, not harm Themes empathy communication emotional health Mood somber thoughtful Type cautionary philosophical When to use this quote - bullying - relationship conflict - public speaking - online discourse Key Concepts Psychology social impact language ethics Questions to Reflect On - How might you repair damage after harsh words? - When can silence be more powerful than speech? A Different Perspective Words can also empower and heal, not just harm ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart and mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-and-mind/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Prison bars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison-bars/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [A torn jacket is soon mended; but hard words bruise the heart of a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/a-torn-jacket-is-soon-mended-but-hard-words-bruise-the-heart-of-a/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [It is the missed opportunity that counts, and in a love that vainly yearns from behind prison bars you have perchance the love supreme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/it-is-the-missed-opportunity-that-counts-and-in-a-love-that-vainly/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beck/two-men-look-out-the-same-prison-bars-one-sees-mud-and-the-other-stars/) [Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beck/) > [Two persons look through prison bars... One saw mud, the other saw stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/two-persons-look-through-prison-bars-one-saw-mud-the-other-saw-stars/) Pacifiersucker > [“Unless we press the limits, unless we stretch and expand them, unless we can accept at least the possibility that we may be wrong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-c-vincent/unless-we-press-the-limits-unless-we-stretch-and-expand-them-unless/) S.C. Vincent > [Our society spends a lot of money on prison bars. For the sake of our kids, let's invest in monkey bars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darell-hammond/our-society-spends-a-lot-of-money-on-prison-bars-for-the-sake-of-our/) [Darell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darell-hammond/) > [Thus, seamed with many scars Bursting these prison bars, Up to its native stars My soul ascended! There from the flowing bowl Deep drinks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/thus-seamed-with-many-scars-bursting-these-prison-bars-up-to-its/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“Even a ship can become a prison if all you see around you are bars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-jeffries/even-a-ship-can-become-a-prison-if-all-you-see-around-you-are-bars/) [Sabrina Jeffries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-jeffries/) > [You are in a prison with no bars. I worry about you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/you-are-in-a-prison-with-no-bars-i-worry-about-you/) [J.R. 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The bird…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randolph-sinks-foster/tell-me-why-the-caged-bird-nutters-against-its-prison-bars-and-i-will/) [Randolph Sinks Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randolph-sinks-foster/) > [One's ribs shouldn't be prison bars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/one-s-ribs-shouldn-t-be-prison-bars/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I stared out the window, at the whitecapped mountains in the distance. It was strange, looking at them from the other side. A month…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-martin/i-stared-out-the-window-at-the-whitecapped-mountains-in-the-distance/) [Charles Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-martin/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More by Marlene Dietrich > [What a man notices first about a woman is whether she notices him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/what-a-man-notices-first-about-a-woman-is-whether-she-notices-him/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [ \[The lover says:\] How beautiful you are, now that you love me. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/the-lover-says-how-beautiful-you-are-now-that-you-love-me/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [To lose your prejudices you must travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/to-lose-your-prejudices-you-must-travel/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [“There is a gigantic difference between earning a great deal of money and being rich" Under a picture of a mom holding a baby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/there-is-a-gigantic-difference-between-earning-a-great-deal-of-money/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [one should be afraid of life, not of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/one-should-be-afraid-of-life-not-of-death/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [Tenderness is greater proof of love than the most passionate of vows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/tenderness-is-greater-proof-of-love-than-the-most-passionate-of-vows/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [There's something about an American soldier you can't explain. They're so grateful for anything, even a film actress coming to see them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/there-s-something-about-an-american-soldier-you-can-t-explain-they-re/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [Writers, Composers, Painters, - also artists like directors and actors fall into the same category. They have to be handled with kid gloves, mentally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/writers-composers-painters-also-artists-like-directors-and-actors/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [Lover's words: “How beautiful you are, now that you love me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/lover-s-words-how-beautiful-you-are-now-that-you-love-me/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [Love affairs are the real only education in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/love-affairs-are-the-real-only-education-in-life/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [ \[On Orson Welles:\] When I talk to him, I feel like a plant that's been watered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/on-orson-welles-when-i-talk-to-him-i-feel-like-a-plant-that-s-been/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) > [It is my private life which no one knows anything about, nor ever will. 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A man who buys two of the same morning paper from the doorman of his favorite nightclub when he leaves with his girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-dietrich/gentleman-a-man-who-buys-two-of-the-same-morning-paper-from-the/) [Marlene Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) [Explore all 110 Marlene Dietrich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-dietrich/) ## More Bars quotes > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. 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I also try and start the day with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-rampone/while-traveling-i-love-granola-bars-trail-mix-nuts-dry-cereal-and/) [Christie Rampone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-rampone/) > [3 people get stranded on a remote Island A Banker, a Daily Mail reader & an Asylum seeker All they have to eat is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-brookmyre/3-people-get-stranded-on-a-remote-island-a-banker-a-daily-mail-reader/) [Christopher Brookmyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-brookmyre/) > [Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house unless they have a well-stocked bar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/thou-shalt-not-covet-thy-neighbor-s-house-unless-they-have-a-well/) [W. C. 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