--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I found English to be a sort of Thomas…" description: "\"I found English to be a sort of Thomas Hardy aversion therapy.\" — Neil Gaiman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/neil-gaiman-29_aversion_i-found-english-to-be-a-sort-of-thomas-h_2290069.jpg" --- # I found English to be a sort of Thomas Hardy aversion… ![“I found English to be a sort of Thomas Hardy aversion therapy.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/neil-gaiman-29_aversion_i-found-english-to-be-a-sort-of-thomas-h_2290069.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/neil-gaiman-29_aversion_i-found-english-to-be-a-sort-of-thomas-h_2290069.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/neil-gaiman-29_aversion_i-found-english-to-be-a-sort-of-thomas-h_2290069.jpg) > “I found English to be a sort of Thomas Hardy aversion therapy.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. English can feel like a therapeutic challenge, similar to confronting deep emotions through literature. **In simple terms:** English can be a therapeutic challenge. Key Takeaway Use language to explore and heal. Themes language therapy literature Mood introspective creative Type inspirational therapeutic When to use this quote - writing workshops - language learning - personal therapy Key Concepts self‑expression emotional processing Questions to Reflect On - What emotional barriers does language help you confront? - How does writing aid your healing? A Different Perspective Not everyone finds language therapeutic; some may feel overwhelmed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) [Aversion Therapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion-therapy-2742674/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardy/) [Hardy Aversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hardy-aversion-5377817/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Therapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapy/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thomas-hardy/) ## Related quotes > [All too often education actually acts as a form of aversion therapy, that what we're really teaching our children is to associate learning with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/all-too-often-education-actually-acts-as-a-form-of-aversion-therapy/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [It's like aversion therapy. You keep doing scenes over and over again with three women in the bed with you, and we had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-coogan/it-s-like-aversion-therapy-you-keep-doing-scenes-over-and-over-again/) [Steve Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-coogan/) > [ one of Mr. \[Thomas\] Hardy's ancestors must have married a weeping willow. There are pages and pages in his collected poems which are simply… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/one-of-mr-thomas-hardy-s-ancestors-must-have-married-a-weeping-willow/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [I sort of half read Thomas Hardy's 'The Mayor of Casterbridge.' It was assigned in 10th grade, and I just couldn't get into it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-sort-of-half-read-thomas-hardy-s-the-mayor-of-casterbridge-it-was/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [England opened up the world of literature for me. Not really having a world of my own, I made up for my disinheritance by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-prawer-jhabvala/england-opened-up-the-world-of-literature-for-me-not-really-having-a/) [Ruth Prawer Jhabvala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-prawer-jhabvala/) > [I suppose you could say my father's world was Thomas Hardy and my mother's D.H. Lawrence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/i-suppose-you-could-say-my-father-s-world-was-thomas-hardy-and-my/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [I think it was W.H. Auden who said he was lucky that his first favorite poet was Thomas Hardy, who was a good but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duchovny/i-think-it-was-w-h-auden-who-said-he-was-lucky-that-his-first/) [David Duchovny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duchovny/) > [I really, really wanted to write. I loved language. I loved literature. I loved reading. I never read a foreign language, I'm afraid, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/i-really-really-wanted-to-write-i-loved-language-i-loved-literature-i/) [Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/) > [“I would not have majored in English and gone on to teach literature had I not been able to construct a counterargument about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-rose-o-reilley/i-would-not-have-majored-in-english-and-gone-on-to-teach-literature/) [Mary Rose O'Reilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-rose-o-reilley/) > [Bitter criticism caused the sensitive Thomas Hardy, one of the finest novelists ever to enrich English literature, to give up forever the writing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/bitter-criticism-caused-the-sensitive-thomas-hardy-one-of-the-finest/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Thomas Hardy once advised us to record impressions more and to express ideas less. Now and then I would remember this advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mu-xin/thomas-hardy-once-advised-us-to-record-impressions-more-and-to/) [Mu Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mu-xin/) > [English country life is more like Chekhov than 'The Archers' or Thomas Hardy or even the Updike ethic with which it is sometimes compared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/english-country-life-is-more-like-chekhov-than-the-archers-or-thomas/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles is a novel that I have read over and over and over again. Tess is a pure child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laetitia-casta/thomas-hardy-s-tess-of-the-d-urbervilles-is-a-novel-that-i-have-read/) [Laetitia Casta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laetitia-casta/) > [I mainly read histories and biographies, but I'm also a big fan of Graham Swift and Thomas Hardy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elliot/i-mainly-read-histories-and-biographies-but-i-m-also-a-big-fan-of/) [Ben Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elliot/) > [“... vampire ruler Hin Kahur implemented howler aversion therapy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/vampire-ruler-hin-kahur-implemented-howler-aversion-therapy/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Aversion quotes > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The scorn men express for a male who does housework is exceeded only by their aversion to a woman who doesn't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-kome/the-scorn-men-express-for-a-male-who-does-housework-is-exceeded-only/) [Penny Kome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-kome/) > [One of the greatest inhibitions to the development of human potential is the aversion to effective practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-b-reeves/one-of-the-greatest-inhibitions-to-the-development-of-human-potential/) [Douglas B. Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-b-reeves/) > [Value investing is risk aversion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investing-is-risk-aversion/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [We must each learn to feel comfortable in our own uniqueness by rising above the fear of being wrong and the aversion to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/we-must-each-learn-to-feel-comfortable-in-our-own-uniqueness-by/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [The unattractive thing about chauvinism is not so much the aversion to other nations as the love of one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-unattractive-thing-about-chauvinism-is-not-so-much-the-aversion/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Most people have an aversion to risk, my college economics professor told me. Which means they have to be rewarded to take on that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/most-people-have-an-aversion-to-risk-my-college-economics-professor/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Some people have a very strange idea that material success does not coincide harmoniously with self-realization, which is absurd. The aversion to material success,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/some-people-have-a-very-strange-idea-that-material-success-does-not/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Usually I just let my songs do the talking. As a matter of fact I have long had an aversion to celebrities endorsing politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fogerty/usually-i-just-let-my-songs-do-the-talking-as-a-matter-of-fact-i-have/) [John Fogerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fogerty/) > [Once we're willing to confront our emotional suffering, we begin making choices based on attraction instead of aversion, love instead of fear. Where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/once-we-re-willing-to-confront-our-emotional-suffering-we-begin/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [It is a happy thing that time quells the longings of vengeance and hushes the promptings of rage and aversion. I had left this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/it-is-a-happy-thing-that-time-quells-the-longings-of-vengeance-and/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“For a long time now a hint of aversion had lain on everything he did and experienced, a shadow of impotence and loneliness, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/for-a-long-time-now-a-hint-of-aversion-had-lain-on-everything-he-did/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [In Tantric Buddhism our feeling is that there is no problem with the sensual world unless you have a tremendous attraction or aversion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-tantric-buddhism-our-feeling-is-that-there-is-no-problem-with-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Browse all 266 Aversion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I found English to be a sort of Thomas Hardy aversion therapy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Gaiman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-found-english-to-be-a-sort-of-thomas-hardy-aversion-therapy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aversion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-found-english-to-be-a-sort-of-thomas-hardy-aversion-therapy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/neil-gaiman-29_aversion_i-found-english-to-be-a-sort-of-thomas-h_2290069.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/neil-gaiman-29_aversion_i-found-english-to-be-a-sort-of-thomas-h_2290069.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/neil-gaiman-29_aversion_i-found-english-to-be-a-sort-of-thomas-h_2290069.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I found English to be a sort of Thomas Hardy aversion therapy.” — Neil Gaiman", "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": "Neil Gaiman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I found English to be a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-found-english-to-be-a-sort-of-thomas-hardy-aversion-therapy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-found-english-to-be-a-sort-of-thomas-hardy-aversion-therapy/#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 } } ] } ```