--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Harsh words live in the dungeon of the…" description: "\"Harsh words live in the dungeon of the heart\" — Norman Mailer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/norman-mailer-839_dungeon_harsh-words-live-in-the-dungeon-of-the-h_741757.png" --- # Harsh words live in the dungeon of the heart ![“Harsh words live in the dungeon of the heart” quote by Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/norman-mailer-839_dungeon_harsh-words-live-in-the-dungeon-of-the-h_741757.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/norman-mailer-839_dungeon_harsh-words-live-in-the-dungeon-of-the-h_741757.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/norman-mailer-839_dungeon_harsh-words-live-in-the-dungeon-of-the-h_741757.png) > “Harsh words live in the dungeon of the heart” [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Harsh language resides deep within, harming the heart like a dungeon. **In simple terms:** Harsh words imprison the heart. Key Takeaway Choose kinder speech. Themes communication emotions violence Mood somber introspective Type advice reflective When to use this quote - relationships - conflict resolution - personal growth Key Concepts psychology language impact Questions to Reflect On - What words have you let linger? - How can you release them? A Different Perspective Words can be reformed with effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dungeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dungeon/) [Dungeon Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dungeon-heart-5789360/) [Dungeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dungeons/) [Harsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harsh/) [Harsh words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harsh-words/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Live Dungeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-dungeon-5789361/) ## Related quotes > [The biggest trap, the biggest dungeon in life isn't laziness or bad luck, it's comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/the-biggest-trap-the-biggest-dungeon-in-life-isn-t-laziness-or-bad/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Cast me into a dungeon, burn me at the stake, crown me king of kings, I can 'pursue happiness' as long as my brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/cast-me-into-a-dungeon-burn-me-at-the-stake-crown-me-king-of-kings-i/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Most of the time it was probably real bad being stuck down in a dungeon. But some days, when there was a bad storm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/most-of-the-time-it-was-probably-real-bad-being-stuck-down-in-a/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [I had rather be a toad, and live upon the vapor of a dungeon than keep a corner in the thing I love for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-had-rather-be-a-toad-and-live-upon-the-vapor-of-a-dungeon-than-keep/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In one way, I fear all Damascus is a dungeon. Or do you have to live here to appreciate that?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/in-one-way-i-fear-all-damascus-is-a-dungeon-or-do-you-have-to-live/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [Really, I scolded myself, you should have known that you'd end up in a stone dungeon with no facilities. That's how these things always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilith-saintcrow/really-i-scolded-myself-you-should-have-known-that-you-d-end-up-in-a/) [Lilith Saintcrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilith-saintcrow/) > [No, I do my torturing in the dungeon like any other respectable castle owner,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/no-i-do-my-torturing-in-the-dungeon-like-any-other-respectable-castle/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [I don’t know. After the downstairs, I assumed something creepier and dirtier.” I shrugged. “You didn’t have electricity down there.” “It’s for dramatic effect.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/i-don-t-know-after-the-downstairs-i-assumed-something-creepier-and/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [Never build a dungeon you wouldn't be happy to spend the night in yourself. The world would be a happier place if more people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/never-build-a-dungeon-you-wouldn-t-be-happy-to-spend-the-night-in/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Lovely. Imprisoned in a nursery school dungeon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/lovely-imprisoned-in-a-nursery-school-dungeon/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [When a prisoner sees the door of his dungeon open, he dashes for it without stopping to think where he shall get his dinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/when-a-prisoner-sees-the-door-of-his-dungeon-open-he-dashes-for-it/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The dungeon image helped. "You need to let Maximus go," I stated, my voice stronger now. "No. Wine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/the-dungeon-image-helped-you-need-to-let-maximus-go-i-stated-my-voice/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Sin thrives in the dungeon, but slap it on the table for all to see, and it withers rather quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/sin-thrives-in-the-dungeon-but-slap-it-on-the-table-for-all-to-see/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [How clear everything becomes when you look from the darkness of a dungeon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/how-clear-everything-becomes-when-you-look-from-the-darkness-of-a/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [We are all serving a life sentence in the dungeon of the self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/we-are-all-serving-a-life-sentence-in-the-dungeon-of-the-self/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) ## More by Norman Mailer > [Conservatives are people who look at a tree and feel instinctively that it is more beautiful than anything they can name. But when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/conservatives-are-people-who-look-at-a-tree-and-feel-instinctively/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [There's a subterranean impetus towards pornography so powerful that half the business world is juiced by the sort of half sex that one finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/there-s-a-subterranean-impetus-towards-pornography-so-powerful-that/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Writing for a newspaper is like running a revolutionary war. You go to battle not when you are ready, but when action offers itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/writing-for-a-newspaper-is-like-running-a-revolutionary-war-you-go-to/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I would introduce myself if it were not useless. The name I had last night will not be the same as the name I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-would-introduce-myself-if-it-were-not-useless-the-name-i-had-last/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“City Point is so beautiful, she says. In the night they cannot see the garbage that litters the beach, the seaweed and driftwood, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/city-point-is-so-beautiful-she-says-in-the-night-they-cannot-see-the/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“I find it’s more fun to write about something that you don’t know completely and that you will discover on route. A dear friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-find-it-s-more-fun-to-write-about-something-that-you-don-t-know/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Part of the oncoming demise (of New York during its terrible fiscal crisis) is that none of us can simply believe it. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/part-of-the-oncoming-demise-of-new-york-during-its-terrible-fiscal/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I have always had this very strong, call it a feeling, call it a prejudice, call it a conviction ... that the mysteries are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-have-always-had-this-very-strong-call-it-a-feeling-call-it-a/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I do believe that America's deepest political sickness is that it is a self-righteous nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-do-believe-that-america-s-deepest-political-sickness-is-that-it-is/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [America is a hurricane, and the only people who do not hear the sound are those fortunate if incredibly stupid and smug White Protestants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/america-is-a-hurricane-and-the-only-people-who-do-not-hear-the-sound/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Armstrong, sitting in the commander's seat, spacesuit on, helmet on, plugged into electrical and environmental umbilical's, is a man who is not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/armstrong-sitting-in-the-commander-s-seat-spacesuit-on-helmet-on/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I was thinking that surgeons had to be the happiest people on earth. To cut people up and get paid for it-that's happiness, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-was-thinking-that-surgeons-had-to-be-the-happiest-people-on-earth/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Movies are more likely than literature to reach deep feelings in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/movies-are-more-likely-than-literature-to-reach-deep-feelings-in/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) [Explore all 355 Norman Mailer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## More Dungeon quotes > [The biggest trap, the biggest dungeon in life isn't laziness or bad luck, it's comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/the-biggest-trap-the-biggest-dungeon-in-life-isn-t-laziness-or-bad/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [How clear everything becomes when you look from the darkness of a dungeon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/how-clear-everything-becomes-when-you-look-from-the-darkness-of-a/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Sin thrives in the dungeon, but slap it on the table for all to see, and it withers rather quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/sin-thrives-in-the-dungeon-but-slap-it-on-the-table-for-all-to-see/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“All men needed to hear their stories told. He was a man, but if he died without telling the story he would be something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/all-men-needed-to-hear-their-stories-told-he-was-a-man-but-if-he-died/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“doubt they had ever heard anyone sing in that dungeon before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-laurie/doubt-they-had-ever-heard-anyone-sing-in-that-dungeon-before/) [Greg Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-laurie/) > [The dungeon image helped. "You need to let Maximus go," I stated, my voice stronger now. "No. Wine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/the-dungeon-image-helped-you-need-to-let-maximus-go-i-stated-my-voice/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [When a prisoner sees the door of his dungeon open, he dashes for it without stopping to think where he shall get his dinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/when-a-prisoner-sees-the-door-of-his-dungeon-open-he-dashes-for-it/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > ['A Valley Without Wind' takes the idea of dungeon crawls and throws it on its head by casting you as a magic user in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/a-valley-without-wind-takes-the-idea-of-dungeon-crawls-and-throws-it/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [Lovely. Imprisoned in a nursery school dungeon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/lovely-imprisoned-in-a-nursery-school-dungeon/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Thanks guys! Now that was one hell of a dungeon crawl!” We found the stairs that led us up and out of the dungeon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-w-nelson/thanks-guys-now-that-was-one-hell-of-a-dungeon-crawl-we-found-the/) [Joshua W. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-w-nelson/) > [“Soma sèma estin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/soma-s-ma-estin/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“I come to dungeon for good time—which maybe is problem, I admit—but I get bad time instead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/i-come-to-dungeon-for-good-time-which-maybe-is-problem-i-admit-but-i/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [Never build a dungeon you wouldn't be happy to spend the night in yourself. The world would be a happier place if more people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/never-build-a-dungeon-you-wouldn-t-be-happy-to-spend-the-night-in/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I don’t know. After the downstairs, I assumed something creepier and dirtier.” I shrugged. “You didn’t have electricity down there.” “It’s for dramatic effect.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/i-don-t-know-after-the-downstairs-i-assumed-something-creepier-and/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [No, I do my torturing in the dungeon like any other respectable castle owner,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/no-i-do-my-torturing-in-the-dungeon-like-any-other-respectable-castle/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) [Browse all 45 Dungeon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dungeon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Harsh words live in the dungeon of the heart", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Mailer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/harsh-words-live-in-the-dungeon-of-the-heart/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dungeon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/harsh-words-live-in-the-dungeon-of-the-heart/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/norman-mailer-839_dungeon_harsh-words-live-in-the-dungeon-of-the-h_741757.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/norman-mailer-839_dungeon_harsh-words-live-in-the-dungeon-of-the-h_741757.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/norman-mailer-839_dungeon_harsh-words-live-in-the-dungeon-of-the-h_741757.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Harsh words live in the dungeon of the heart” — Norman Mailer", "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": "Norman Mailer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Harsh words live in the dungeon...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/harsh-words-live-in-the-dungeon-of-the-heart/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/harsh-words-live-in-the-dungeon-of-the-heart/#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 } } ] } ```