--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And it is through fantasy that children…" description: "\"And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It is the best means they have for taming wild things.\" — Maurice Sendak" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/maurice-sendak-1273_achieve_and-it-is-through-fantasy-that-children_2238878.jpg" --- # And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis… ![“And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It is the best means they have for taming wild things.” quote by Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/maurice-sendak-1273_achieve_and-it-is-through-fantasy-that-children_2238878.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/maurice-sendak-1273_achieve_and-it-is-through-fantasy-that-children_2238878.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/maurice-sendak-1273_achieve_and-it-is-through-fantasy-that-children_2238878.jpg) > “And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It is the best means they have for taming wild things.” [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fantasy allows children to process emotions and control chaotic feelings. **In simple terms:** Stories help kids manage intense emotions. Key Takeaway Use fantasy to explore feelings. Themes emotional growth creativity children Mood empathetic hopeful Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - reading bedtime stories - writing imaginative play - therapy sessions Key Concepts psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - How does imagination aid emotional regulation? - When might reality be more helpful? A Different Perspective Fantasy may not address real-world problems directly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Catharsis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catharsis/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Taming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taming/) [Wild things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-things/) ## Related quotes > [. . .from their earliest years children live on familiar terms with disrupting emotions, fear and anxiety are an intrinsic part of their everyday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/from-their-earliest-years-children-live-on-familiar-terms-with/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [The thing should have plot and character, beginning, middle and end. Arouse pity and then have a catharsis. Those were the best principles I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/the-thing-should-have-plot-and-character-beginning-middle-and-end/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [I believe there is no part of our lives, our adult as well as child life, when we're not fantasizing, but we prefer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-believe-there-is-no-part-of-our-lives-our-adult-as-well-as-child/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [“The qualities that make for excellence in children's literature can be summed up in a single word: imagination. And imagination as it relates to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/the-qualities-that-make-for-excellence-in-children-s-literature-can/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [If we look at the data, and we see that some children are achieving more than other children, it's incumbent upon us to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cardona/if-we-look-at-the-data-and-we-see-that-some-children-are-achieving/) [Miguel Cardona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cardona/) > [Our children can achieve great things when we set high expectations for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/our-children-can-achieve-great-things-when-we-set-high-expectations/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [I guess one of the most magnificent things a novel can do is to change your perspective on the world, and to give it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-rutkoski/i-guess-one-of-the-most-magnificent-things-a-novel-can-do-is-to/) [Marie Rutkoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-rutkoski/) > [This is a way to kill a wife with kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/this-is-a-way-to-kill-a-wife-with-kindness/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Tis the mind that makes the body rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/tis-the-mind-that-makes-the-body-rich/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A woman moved is like a fountain troubled, Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-woman-moved-is-like-a-fountain-troubled-muddy-ill-seeming-thick/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I am asham'd that women are so simple To offer war where they should kneel for peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-am-asham-d-that-women-are-so-simple-to-offer-war-where-they-should/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [It is a thorough process, this war with the wilderness - breaking nature, taming the soil. feeding it on oats. The civilized man regards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-a-thorough-process-this-war-with-the-wilderness-breaking-nature/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All's well that ends well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-s-well-that-ends-well/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are still deep-seated structural problems that threaten the economic balance in the world: Between the United States and China, for example, but also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peer-steinbruck/there-are-still-deep-seated-structural-problems-that-threaten-the/) [Peer Steinbruck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peer-steinbruck/) > [Taming the financial markets and winning back democratic control over them is the central condition for creating a new social balance in Germany and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmar-gabriel/taming-the-financial-markets-and-winning-back-democratic-control-over/) [Sigmar Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmar-gabriel/) ## More by Maurice Sendak > [I never thought of Bumble-Ardy in that way. But I still have that same deep feeling for children who are in dire trouble. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-never-thought-of-bumble-ardy-in-that-way-but-i-still-have-that-same/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I was a very sickly child. My parents were immigrants. They were not decorous. They were not discreet. They always thought I was gonna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-was-a-very-sickly-child-my-parents-were-immigrants-they-were-not/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [The distinctions of fine art bore me to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/the-distinctions-of-fine-art-bore-me-to-death/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [The fan mail I get from kids are asking me questions which they do not ask their mothers and fathers. Because if they had,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/the-fan-mail-i-get-from-kids-are-asking-me-questions-which-they-do/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [“May I ask what you have in your black leather bag with gold buckles?" "Everything." They were climbing a narrow staircase. Rhoda stopped to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/may-i-ask-what-you-have-in-your-black-leather-bag-with-gold-buckles/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I grew up in a house that was in a constant state of mourning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-grew-up-in-a-house-that-was-in-a-constant-state-of-mourning/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [Illustrations have as much to say as the text. The trick is to say the same thing, but in a different way. It's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/illustrations-have-as-much-to-say-as-the-text-the-trick-is-to-say-the/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I'm a lucky buck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-m-a-lucky-buck/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I've convinced myself - I hope I'm right - that children despair of you if you don't tell them the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-ve-convinced-myself-i-hope-i-m-right-that-children-despair-of-you/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [It's no fun being lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/it-s-no-fun-being-lonely/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [It dawned on me that art was the way I could survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/it-dawned-on-me-that-art-was-the-way-i-could-survive/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I cry a lot because I miss people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-cry-a-lot-because-i-miss-people/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [You cannot write for children They're much too complicated. You can only write books that are of interest to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/you-cannot-write-for-children-they-re-much-too-complicated-you-can/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [All I liked to do when I was a kid was draw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/all-i-liked-to-do-when-i-was-a-kid-was-draw/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I'm still as enamored and turned on by work as I was when I was young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/i-m-still-as-enamored-and-turned-on-by-work-as-i-was-when-i-was-young/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) [Explore all 262 Maurice Sendak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) ## More Achieve quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. 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When I read the screenplay, I knew that there would be no HD camera that could achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deon-taylor/i-m-a-film-guy-i-love-it-when-i-read-the-screenplay-i-knew-that-there/) Deon Taylor > [One achieves true human dignity only when one serves. Only he is great who subjects himself to taking part in the achievement of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-antonio-primo-de-rivera/one-achieves-true-human-dignity-only-when-one-serves-only-he-is-great/) Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Governments follow their people. A great deal has to do with the vision of the leadership of governments. They have a vision, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-khurshid/governments-follow-their-people-a-great-deal-has-to-do-with-the/) [Salman Khurshid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-khurshid/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/if-your-only-goal-is-to-become-rich-you-will-never-achieve-it/) [John D. 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