--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And now I begin to understand why I was…" description: "\"“And now I begin to understand why I was imprisoned so many years in this lonely chamber, and why I could never break through the viewless bolts and ba..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_heart-and-mind_and-now-i-begin-to-understand-why-i-was_842511.jpg" --- # And now I begin to understand why I was imprisoned so many… ![“And now I begin to understand why I was imprisoned so many years in this lonely chamber, and why I could never break through the viewless bolts and bars; for if I had sooner made my escape into the world, I should have grown hard and rough, and been covered with earthly dust, and my heart might…” quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_heart-and-mind_and-now-i-begin-to-understand-why-i-was_842511.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_heart-and-mind_and-now-i-begin-to-understand-why-i-was_842511.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_heart-and-mind_and-now-i-begin-to-understand-why-i-was_842511.jpg) > ““And now I begin to understand why I was imprisoned so many years in this lonely chamber, and why I could never break through the viewless bolts and bars; for if I had sooner made my escape into the world, I should have grown hard and rough, and been covered with earthly dust, and my heart might have become callous by rude encounters with the multi-tude.. ... But living in solitude till the fulness of time was come, I still kept the dew of my youth and the freshness of my heart… I used to think that I could imagine all passions, all feelings and states of the heart and mind; but how little did I know!...Indeed, we are but shadows—we are not endowed with real life, and all that seems most real about us is but the thinnest substance of a dream—till the heart be touched. That touch creates us,—then we begin to be,—thereby we are beings of reality and inheritors of eternity.”” [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage reflects on how prolonged isolation preserves youthful purity, while premature exposure can harden the heart, suggesting that true reality emerges when the heart is touched, granting genuine existence and eternity. **In simple terms:** Solitude keeps the heart fresh; contact makes us real. Key Takeaway Seek genuine emotional connections. Themes solitude purity growth reality eternity Mood contemplative melancholic hopeful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - philosophical essay Key Concepts existentialism human nature psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does solitude shape your inner self? - What moments have awakened your true feeling? A Different Perspective When isolated too long, one may miss life's richness; premature exposure can cause emotional hardening. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dust Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust-heart-657107/) [Heart and mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-and-mind/) [Heart Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-mind-258025/) [Heart Touched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-touched-625186/) [Heart Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-used-253815/) [Living Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-solitude-657106/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) ## Related quotes > [“Allow me to give you some advice from the heart: don’t give up art, and even give yourself over to it even more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/allow-me-to-give-you-some-advice-from-the-heart-don-t-give-up-art-and/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [The ache for anything is a thick dust in the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wright/the-ache-for-anything-is-a-thick-dust-in-the-heart/) [Charles Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wright/) > [An Eye with dust and a Heart with Trust always Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satie/an-eye-with-dust-and-a-heart-with-trust-always-cry/) [Satie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satie/) > [An excellent quote:- An EYE with DUST & A HEART with TRUST always cries...!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-excellent-quote-an-eye-with-dust-a-heart-with-trust-always-cries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An Eye With Dust and Heart With Trust Will Always Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushan-sharma/an-eye-with-dust-and-heart-with-trust-will-always-cry/) [Sushan Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushan-sharma/) > [“In the end, you feel that your much-vaunted, inexhaustible fantasy is growing tired, debilitated, exhausted, because you're bound to grow out of your old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/in-the-end-you-feel-that-your-much-vaunted-inexhaustible-fantasy-is/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Different emotions is like my heart and mind is lien to me. 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Because the heart can feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serenity-karma/the-mind-may-tell-you-one-thing-but-the-heart-can-tell-you-a/) [Serenity Karma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serenity-karma/) > [Is just crush , it's crush you're heart and mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sikhwetha-maanda-stanley/is-just-crush-it-s-crush-you-re-heart-and-mind/) [Sikhwetha Maanda Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sikhwetha-maanda-stanley/) > [“Whatever comes into your heart and mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/whatever-comes-into-your-heart-and-mind-when-you-think-about-god-is/) [A.W. Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-w-tozer/) ## More by Nathaniel Hawthorne > [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The trees reflected in the river - they are unconscious of a spiritual world so near to them. So are we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-trees-reflected-in-the-river-they-are-unconscious-of-a-spiritual/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The dismaying thing about the classic totalitarian mind is that any given gear, though mutilated, will have at its circumference unbroken sequences of teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-dismaying-thing-about-the-classic-totalitarian-mind-is-that-any/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill, and without a household fire, I longed to kindle one!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/my-heart-was-a-habitation-large-enough-for-many-guests-but-lonely-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Wherever there is a heart and an intellect, the diseases of the physical frame are tinged with the peculiarities of these.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/wherever-there-is-a-heart-and-an-intellect-the-diseases-of-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Generosity is the flower of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/generosity-is-the-flower-of-justice/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“he seemed to be in quest for mental food, not heart sustenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/he-seemed-to-be-in-quest-for-mental-food-not-heart-sustenance/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Unfathomable to mere mortals is the lore of fiends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/unfathomable-to-mere-mortals-is-the-lore-of-fiends/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Possibly, he was in a state of second growth and recovery, and was constantly assimilating nutriment for his spirit and intellect from sights, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/possibly-he-was-in-a-state-of-second-growth-and-recovery-and-was/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“What wonder, then, should we be frightened by the aspect of a monster, which, after all,—though we can point to every feature of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-wonder-then-should-we-be-frightened-by-the-aspect-of-a-monster/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [As the architecture of a country always follows the earliest structures, American architecture should be a refinement of the log-house. The Egyptian is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/as-the-architecture-of-a-country-always-follows-the-earliest/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [What we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-we-call-real-estate-the-solid-ground-to-build-a-house-on-is-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The bookworm of great libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-bookworm-of-great-libraries/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [There are many things in this world that a child must not ask about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-are-many-things-in-this-world-that-a-child-must-not-ask-about/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) [Explore all 526 Nathaniel Hawthorne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## More Heart and mind quotes > [“When his mouth was on hers, when he could feel her about to shatter yet again, he plunged into her, knocking her over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-robb/when-his-mouth-was-on-hers-when-he-could-feel-her-about-to-shatter/) [J.D. Robb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-robb/) > [My Chosen Daughter, No one can define you without your permission. I want you to be so secure in who you are in Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/god/my-chosen-daughter-no-one-can-define-you-without-your-permission-i/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/god/) > [“A Christian will find it most beneficial to practice secret worship, corporate worship, and family worship. They are all important for our life in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-helopoulos/a-christian-will-find-it-most-beneficial-to-practice-secret-worship/) [Jason Helopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-helopoulos/) > [Intellectual methods-study and reason-are essential to our progress toward eternal life, but they are not sufficient. They can prepare the way. They can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/intellectual-methods-study-and-reason-are-essential-to-our-progress/) [Dallin H. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/but-what-do-we-mean-by-the-american-revolution-do-we-mean-the/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [All acts suppose certain dispositions, and habits of mind and heart, which may be in themselves states of enjoyment or of wretchedness, and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-acts-suppose-certain-dispositions-and-habits-of-mind-and-heart/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Anything that's expanding the mind and heart is happiness. 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If hatred is to die, you must scotch it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wriston/if-peace-is-to-come-it-must-be-peace-within-your-own-mind-and-heart/) [Henry Wriston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wriston/) [Browse all 756 Heart and mind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-and-mind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And now I begin to understand why I was imprisoned so many years in this lonely chamber, and why I could never break through the viewless bolts and bars; for if I had sooner made my escape into the world, I should have grown hard and rough, and been covered with earthly dust, and my heart might have become callous by rude encounters with the multi-tude.. ... But living in solitude till the fulness of time was come, I still kept the dew of my youth and the freshness of my heart… I used to think that I could imagine all passions, all feelings and states of the heart and mind; but how little did I know!...Indeed, we are but shadows—we are not endowed with real life, and all that seems most real about us is but the thinnest substance of a dream—till the heart be touched. 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