---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ..I need to know that I can still breathe…"
description: "\"“..I need to know that I can still breathe properly when he's not around.”\" — Melina Marchetta"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/melina-marchetta-392_breathe_i-need-to-know-that-i-can-still-breathe_1032926.png"
---

#  ..I need to know that I can still breathe properly when…

![“..I need to know that I can still breathe properly when he's not around.” quote by Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/melina-marchetta-392_breathe_i-need-to-know-that-i-can-still-breathe_1032926.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/melina-marchetta-392_breathe_i-need-to-know-that-i-can-still-breathe_1032926.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/melina-marchetta-392_breathe_i-need-to-know-that-i-can-still-breathe_1032926.png)

> ““..I need to know that I can still breathe properly when he's not around.””

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Desire for personal space and autonomy persists even when a partner is absent.

**In simple terms:** Need for independence despite relationship.

Key Takeaway

Communicate boundaries clearly.

Themes

relationships autonomy emotional health

Mood

intimate thoughtful

Type

advice reflective

When to use this quote

- family life
- long-distance relationships
- cohabitation

Key Concepts

personal space partner dynamics self-care

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance closeness and independence?
- What signals indicate you need personal space?

A Different Perspective

Overreliance on independence can lead to isolation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [Do you think I don't want him to be gone more than you do? I do. Because I need to know that I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/do-you-think-i-don-t-want-him-to-be-gone-more-than-you-do-i-do/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [Breathe properly. Stay curious. And eat your beets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/breathe-properly-stay-curious-and-eat-your-beets/)

[Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/)

> [Yet where is your inner value when you no longer know what it is to breathe freely; when you no longer have freedom over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/yet-where-is-your-inner-value-when-you-no-longer-know-what-it-is-to/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [A day without you is like a day that I can't breathe properly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-day-without-you-is-like-a-day-that-i-can-t-breathe-properly/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I said I'll need to get my nose straightened one day so that I can breathe properly and that was translated by the press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tindall/i-said-i-ll-need-to-get-my-nose-straightened-one-day-so-that-i-can/)

[Mike Tindall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tindall/)

> [To breathe properly is to live properly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-breathe-properly-is-to-live-properly/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [With a corset on, you can't breathe properly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-wasikowska/with-a-corset-on-you-can-t-breathe-properly/)

[Mia Wasikowska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-wasikowska/)

> [People think just because you get slapped on your butt and start to cry when you're born, you know how to breathe and stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rickson-gracie/people-think-just-because-you-get-slapped-on-your-butt-and-start-to/)

[Rickson Gracie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rickson-gracie/)

> [High performance leaders know they have to breathe out when they are coming up for air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-hargreaves/high-performance-leaders-know-they-have-to-breathe-out-when-they-are/)

[Andy Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-hargreaves/)

> [“You do not have to see the air to know you breathe it. You do not have to see the truth to believe it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-smith/you-do-not-have-to-see-the-air-to-know-you-breathe-it-you-do-not-have/)

[Kathryn Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-smith/)

> [Forget about enlightenment. Sit down wherever you are and listen to the wind that is singing in your veins. Feel the love, the longing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-welwood/forget-about-enlightenment-sit-down-wherever-you-are-and-listen-to/)

[John Welwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-welwood/)

> [Stop worrying about your death because you never know when you will take your last breathe and if you will die tomorrow then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shubhanshu-tiwari/stop-worrying-about-your-death-because-you-never-know-when-you-will/)

[Shubhanshu Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shubhanshu-tiwari/)

> [Trust your reader. Not everything needs to be explained. If you really know something, and breathe life into it, they'll know it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-freud/trust-your-reader-not-everything-needs-to-be-explained-if-you-really/)

[Esther Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-freud/)

> [I'm not into, Hey, what's your sign? or any of that. But I don't know how I got here, and I don't know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/i-m-not-into-hey-what-s-your-sign-or-any-of-that-but-i-don-t-know-how/)

[Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/)

> [“Don’t wait until Christmas to show love. You never know those who will breathe their last breath before the sacred season.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/don-t-wait-until-christmas-to-show-love-you-never-know-those-who-will/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

## More by Melina Marchetta

> [Some of us weren't born for rewards, Froi. We were born for sacrifices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/some-of-us-weren-t-born-for-rewards-froi-we-were-born-for-sacrifices/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [I'm very disturbed to find out that the leader of the Townies has a soul and I'm beginning to develop a bit of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-m-very-disturbed-to-find-out-that-the-leader-of-the-townies-has-a/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [In the games of queens and kings, we leave our dreams at the door and we make do with what we have. Sometimes if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/in-the-games-of-queens-and-kings-we-leave-our-dreams-at-the-door-and/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [And then you came along and you spoke to me and nobody had looked me in the eye for years. (...) But I remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/and-then-you-came-along-and-you-spoke-to-me-and-nobody-had-looked-me/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [Do you want to know something about tyrants? When faced with death, they weep and they beg just like the rest of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/do-you-want-to-know-something-about-tyrants-when-faced-with-death/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [“you do that all the time you know. you ask me questions when you know the answer will piss you off. ask me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/you-do-that-all-the-time-you-know-you-ask-me-questions-when-you-know/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [I need voices of reason and of hysteria and of empathy. I need to have an Alanis moment. I need advice from Elizabeth Bennett.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-need-voices-of-reason-and-of-hysteria-and-of-empathy-i-need-to-have/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [“When I saw "Ulysses" on Georgie's bedside table and Tom Finch's name written on it in a scrawl so like my old man's, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/when-i-saw-ulysses-on-georgie-s-bedside-table-and-tom-finch-s-name/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [“Our bodies aren't strangers,' he said, his voice ragged. 'Our spirits aren't strangers'. He held her face in his hands. 'Tell me what part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/our-bodies-aren-t-strangers-he-said-his-voice-ragged-our-spirits-aren/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [Phaedra of Alonso’s death was a never-ending pain that gnawed at his insides. It made him a prisoner in his own cottage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/phaedra-of-alonso-s-death-was-a-never-ending-pain-that-gnawed-at-his/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [You know what? You didn't do anything wrong. I did. It's this dumb thing I do. I look into things and see more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/you-know-what-you-didn-t-do-anything-wrong-i-did-it-s-this-dumb-thing/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [Everything's going to be fine. She'll be back at work soon. Let's just keep the house clean." Oh yeah, I want to say, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/everything-s-going-to-be-fine-she-ll-be-back-at-work-soon-let-s-just/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [See them together and you will feel a force that will take your breath away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/see-them-together-and-you-will-feel-a-force-that-will-take-your/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [We don't even love each other. I do a bit, you know. You do what a bit? You know. Like you...whatever...love you a bit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/we-don-t-even-love-each-other-i-do-a-bit-you-know-you-do-what-a-bit/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

> [I’m scared I’m going to spend the rest of my life in a state of yearning, regardless of where I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-m-scared-i-m-going-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-in-a-state-of/)

[Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

[Explore all 602 Melina Marchetta quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/)

## More Breathe quotes

> [“Well come and stand a little bit closer, breathe in and get a bit higher. You'll ever know what hit you when I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savage-garden/well-come-and-stand-a-little-bit-closer-breathe-in-and-get-a-bit/)

[Savage Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savage-garden/)

> [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/)

[Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/)

> [“Live your dreams. Breathe your dreams. Never give up on your dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/live-your-dreams-breathe-your-dreams-never-give-up-on-your-dreams/)

[Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/)

> [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/)

[Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/)

> [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/)

[Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/)

> [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/)

[Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/)

> [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/)

[Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/)

> [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. It's like asking: 'Can women breathe in and out?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/there-were-people-asking-can-women-be-funny-people-still-ask-that-it/)

[Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/)

> [We need to be more conversant with it because science is in our lives. It's in everything. It's in the food we eat. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/we-need-to-be-more-conversant-with-it-because-science-is-in-our-lives/)

[Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/)

> [“Before we can make seismic professional, economic, and sociological changes, we have to squeeze out of our Spanx and remember how it feels to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-hays-coomer/before-we-can-make-seismic-professional-economic-and-sociological/)

[Sarah Hays Coomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-hays-coomer/)

> [Manchester United breathe football. When I have to make hard decisions, I always listen to little boy inside me and what he wants. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-van-persie/manchester-united-breathe-football-when-i-have-to-make-hard-decisions/)

[Robin van Persie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-van-persie/)

> [I drink to feel / I smoke to breathe / Just look what love / Has done to me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kacey-musgraves/i-drink-to-feel-i-smoke-to-breathe-just-look-what-love-has-done-to-me/)

[Kacey Musgraves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kacey-musgraves/)

> [Wherever you are is the perfect place to awaken. This moment is the exact place to practice compassion and loving awareness. You have all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/wherever-you-are-is-the-perfect-place-to-awaken-this-moment-is-the/)

[Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/)

> [If I had lost a leg, I would tell them, instead of a boy, no one would ever ask me if I was 'over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/if-i-had-lost-a-leg-i-would-tell-them-instead-of-a-boy-no-one-would/)

[Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/)

> [In some ways, what I learned is that you can take a character and breathe with them, and its up to the audience to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aden-young/in-some-ways-what-i-learned-is-that-you-can-take-a-character-and/)

[Aden Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aden-young/)

Browse all 2,793 Breathe quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“..I need to know that I can still breathe properly when he's not around.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Melina Marchetta"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-need-to-know-that-i-can-still-breathe-properly-when-he-s-not-around/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Breathe"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-need-to-know-that-i-can-still-breathe-properly-when-he-s-not-around/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/melina-marchetta-392_breathe_i-need-to-know-that-i-can-still-breathe_1032926.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/melina-marchetta-392_breathe_i-need-to-know-that-i-can-still-breathe_1032926.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85b/melina-marchetta-392_breathe_i-need-to-know-that-i-can-still-breathe_1032926.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“..I need to know that I can still breathe properly when he's not around.” — Melina Marchetta",
                "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": "Melina Marchetta",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“..I need to know that I...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-need-to-know-that-i-can-still-breathe-properly-when-he-s-not-around/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-need-to-know-that-i-can-still-breathe-properly-when-he-s-not-around/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
