--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sammy felt, that morning, with his ribs…" description: "\"“Sammy felt, that morning, with his ribs bruised and a wan flavor of chlorine at the back of his mouth, that he would rather not love at all than be pu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7a/michael-chabon-627_bruised_sammy-felt-that-morning-with-his-ribs-br_318106.png" --- # Sammy felt, that morning, with his ribs bruised and a wan… ![“Sammy felt, that morning, with his ribs bruised and a wan flavor of chlorine at the back of his mouth, that he would rather not love at all than be punished for loving.” quote by Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7a/michael-chabon-627_bruised_sammy-felt-that-morning-with-his-ribs-br_318106.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7a/michael-chabon-627_bruised_sammy-felt-that-morning-with-his-ribs-br_318106.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7a/michael-chabon-627_bruised_sammy-felt-that-morning-with-his-ribs-br_318106.png) > ““Sammy felt, that morning, with his ribs bruised and a wan flavor of chlorine at the back of his mouth, that he would rather not love at all than be punished for loving.”” [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator prefers avoiding love to risking pain, highlighting fear of emotional hurt. **In simple terms:** He’d rather avoid love than be hurt by it. Key Takeaway Choose vulnerability over fear. Themes love fear vulnerability Mood melancholic reflective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - relationships - creative work - personal growth Key Concepts emotional risk self‑protection Questions to Reflect On - What fears keep you from loving fully? - How can you protect yourself without shutting down? A Different Perspective Love can also bring joy, not just pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bruised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bruised/) [Bruised Wan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bruised-wan-3004841/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Punished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-punished-2868649/) [Punished Loving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punished-loving-654590/) [Ribs Bruised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ribs-bruised-3004840/) ## Related quotes > [“You are so wet,” you enthuse. “See how much you love to be punished, little one?” “Yes, sir,” I whimper, physically fighting the urge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-brandon/you-are-so-wet-you-enthuse-see-how-much-you-love-to-be-punished/) [Felicity Brandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-brandon/) > [“Because people should not be punished for loving and hoping and holding their hearts open.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-suede/because-people-should-not-be-punished-for-loving-and-hoping-and/) [Damon Suede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-suede/) > [I grew up in a little town in Minnesota, 500 people. I went out to Princeton, and I wasn't very well-accepted out there by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-grew-up-in-a-little-town-in-minnesota-500-people-i-went-out-to/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [Labor is blossoming or dancing where The body is not bruised to pleasure soul, Nor beauty born out of its own despair, Nor blear-eyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/labor-is-blossoming-or-dancing-where-the-body-is-not-bruised-to/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [And loneliness. I should say something of loneliness. The panic, the sweeping hysteria that comes not when you are without others, but when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/and-loneliness-i-should-say-something-of-loneliness-the-panic-the/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [“manhood into smithereens. My ego was bruised. Battered. 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Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [As if goaded by a kind of frantic despair, I sketched these dirty, ragged little victims of the war with their bruised, lacerated minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-keane/as-if-goaded-by-a-kind-of-frantic-despair-i-sketched-these-dirty/) [Walter Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-keane/) > [“I felt my heart skip a beat, just one, but it was enough that I took notice. It was nice to know that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/i-felt-my-heart-skip-a-beat-just-one-but-it-was-enough-that-i-took/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [“Rather than being incensed by the nature of the bruise, maybe we should be inspired by the possibilities in the bruise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/rather-than-being-incensed-by-the-nature-of-the-bruise-maybe-we/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I know I have I have sliced , burned ,bruised wriped at](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slowly-fading/i-know-i-have-i-have-sliced-burned-bruised-wriped-at/) [Slowly\_fading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slowly-fading/) ## More by Michael Chabon > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Anyway, it's a pretty good story," I said. "You have to admit." "Yeah?" He crumpled up the Kleenex, having dispatched the solitary tear. 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He's blind and we figure he just wandered off and maybe got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/we-figure-he-must-have-let-him-out-the-perpetrator-i-mean-he-s-blind/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Then I reminded myself that I was always willing to listen to arguments in favor of avoiding an unpleasant chore, and I shook my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/then-i-reminded-myself-that-i-was-always-willing-to-listen-to/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Love great first lines and paragraphs. From The Yiddish Policemen's Union: Nine months Landsman's been flopping at the Hotel Zamenhof without any of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/love-great-first-lines-and-paragraphs-from-the-yiddish-policemen-s/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Life blew in gusts from the hole in the side of the elephant with a rank smell and a comic flatulence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/life-blew-in-gusts-from-the-hole-in-the-side-of-the-elephant-with-a/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Not only would I never want to belong to any club that would have me for a member--if elected I would wear street shoes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/not-only-would-i-never-want-to-belong-to-any-club-that-would-have-me/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [That's the best thing about writing, when you're in that zone, you're porous, ready to absorb the solution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/that-s-the-best-thing-about-writing-when-you-re-in-that-zone-you-re/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Most science fiction seemed to be written for people who already liked science fiction; I wanted to write stories for anyone, anywhere, living at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/most-science-fiction-seemed-to-be-written-for-people-who-already/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [ “For as long as I could remember, I'd been making vague and confident assurances that any day I would finish the thing \[my book\].… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/for-as-long-as-i-could-remember-i-d-been-making-vague-and-confident/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) [Explore all 436 Michael Chabon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) ## More Bruised quotes > [I know I have I have sliced , burned ,bruised wriped at](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slowly-fading/i-know-i-have-i-have-sliced-burned-bruised-wriped-at/) [Slowly\_fading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slowly-fading/) > [“Rather than being incensed by the nature of the bruise, maybe we should be inspired by the possibilities in the bruise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/rather-than-being-incensed-by-the-nature-of-the-bruise-maybe-we/) [Craig D. 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Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-d-baker/) > [It is better to go bruised to heaven than sound to hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-sibbes/it-is-better-to-go-bruised-to-heaven-than-sound-to-hell/) [Richard Sibbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-sibbes/) > [Sometimes I wish I was a little girl again because bruised knees heels faster then broken hearts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babloo/sometimes-i-wish-i-was-a-little-girl-again-because-bruised-knees/) [Babloo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babloo/) > [“Have an apple. It’s bruised. I beat the hell out of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/have-an-apple-it-s-bruised-i-beat-the-hell-out-of-it/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I had a snowboarding accident. I fell off a horse. I've had a concussion, a fractured rib... I walk into walls. 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