--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Seeing my malevolent face in the mirror…" description: "\"Seeing my malevolent face in the mirror, my benevolent soul shrinks back.\" — Mason Cooley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/mason-cooley-92_benevolent_seeing-my-malevolent-face-in-the-mirror_3083920.png" --- # Seeing my malevolent face in the mirror, my benevolent… ![“Seeing my malevolent face in the mirror, my benevolent soul shrinks back.” quote by Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/mason-cooley-92_benevolent_seeing-my-malevolent-face-in-the-mirror_3083920.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/mason-cooley-92_benevolent_seeing-my-malevolent-face-in-the-mirror_3083920.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/mason-cooley-92_benevolent_seeing-my-malevolent-face-in-the-mirror_3083920.png) > “Seeing my malevolent face in the mirror, my benevolent soul shrinks back.” [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Confronting one's darker self causes the inner goodness to retreat. **In simple terms:** Seeing evil makes kindness withdraw. Key Takeaway Recognize and integrate shadow aspects. Themes self-awareness inner conflict psychology Mood introspective somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - therapy - creative writing Key Concepts shadow self ego compassion Questions to Reflect On - How do you face your own darkness? - What inner qualities retreat when you see negativity? A Different Perspective Only acknowledging the shadow can heal it. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benevolent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolent/) [Benevolent Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benevolent-soul-5272039/) [Face Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-mirror/) [Malevolent Face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malevolent-face-5272038/) [Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) [Mirror Benevolent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror-benevolent-5272037/) [Seeing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeing/) [Shrinks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shrinks/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Soul Shrinks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul-shrinks-2134908/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [“How can I move thee? 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Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The Puritan sours his pleasures by disguising them as duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-puritan-sours-his-pleasures-by-disguising-them-as-duties/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Vacations prove that a life of pleasure is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vacations-prove-that-a-life-of-pleasure-is-overrated/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Outside literature, high-flown sentiments are merely exasperating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/outside-literature-high-flown-sentiments-are-merely-exasperating/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) [Explore all 1,401 Mason Cooley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More Benevolent quotes > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Intelligent Design opens the whole possibility of us being created in the image of a benevolent God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/intelligent-design-opens-the-whole-possibility-of-us-being-created-in/) [William A. 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You can't have both free will and a benevolent higher power who protects you from yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/you-can-t-have-it-both-ways-you-can-t-have-both-free-will-and-a/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [A universal peace, it is to be feared, is in the catalogue of events, which will never exist but in the imaginations of visionary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/a-universal-peace-it-is-to-be-feared-is-in-the-catalogue-of-events/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [I worship nothing. Not a good lie nor a dark one. If nature is proof of God's amazing creation then I have truly seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-numan/i-worship-nothing-not-a-good-lie-nor-a-dark-one-if-nature-is-proof-of/) [Gary Numan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-numan/) > [What am I writing for anyway? Is it like dreaming? Is it a benevolent process? 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-wolf/it-s-okay-buddy-i-shade-my-eyes-and-look-up-at-the-sky-luckily-for/) [Sara Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-wolf/) > [Nature is not benevolent; Nature is just, gives pound for pound, measure for measure, makes no exceptions, never tempers her decrees with mercy, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/nature-is-not-benevolent-nature-is-just-gives-pound-for-pound-measure/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [“My creed on the subject of slavery is short. Slavery per se is not sin. It is a social condition ordained from the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-morse/my-creed-on-the-subject-of-slavery-is-short-slavery-per-se-is-not-sin/) [Samuel Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-morse/) > [The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, non-sacrificial way. 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