--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Madness is locked beneath. It goes into…" description: "\"Madness is locked beneath. It goes into tissues, is swallowed by the cells. The cells go mad. Cancer is their flag. Cancer is thegrowth of madness deni..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/norman-mailer-839_cancer_madness-is-locked-beneath-it-goes-into-t_1375283.png" --- # Madness is locked beneath. It goes into tissues, is… ![“Madness is locked beneath. It goes into tissues, is swallowed by the cells. The cells go mad. Cancer is their flag. Cancer is thegrowth of madness denied.” quote by Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/norman-mailer-839_cancer_madness-is-locked-beneath-it-goes-into-t_1375283.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/norman-mailer-839_cancer_madness-is-locked-beneath-it-goes-into-t_1375283.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/norman-mailer-839_cancer_madness-is-locked-beneath-it-goes-into-t_1375283.png) > “Madness is locked beneath. It goes into tissues, is swallowed by the cells. The cells go mad. Cancer is their flag. Cancer is thegrowth of madness denied.” [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. Cancer represents uncontrolled madness within cells, a manifestation of suppressed chaos that overtakes the body. **In simple terms:** Cancer is madness in cells, a flag of denied chaos. Key Takeaway Address underlying cellular stress. Themes health biology psychology metaphor disease Mood serious somber analytical Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - medical research - public health campaigns - personal health monitoring - stress management Key Concepts cellular mutation psychosomatic societal neglect Questions to Reflect On - What societal factors contribute to disease prevalence? - How can we reduce cellular stress? A Different Perspective Cancer is multifactorial, not just cellular madness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Flags](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flags/) [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) ## Related quotes > [Cancer is the growth of madness denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/cancer-is-the-growth-of-madness-denied/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [If you use Hollywood as the test tissue for mankind, what could the prognosis be?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/if-you-use-hollywood-as-the-test-tissue-for-mankind-what-could-the/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [The enzyme beta-glucoronidase is necessary to ...'trigger off'.. laetrile…after the laetrile injection, we injected directly into the tumor...beta-glucoronidase. The result was white slough which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-arthur-harris-1st-baronet/the-enzyme-beta-glucoronidase-is-necessary-to-trigger-off-laetrile/) [Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-arthur-harris-1st-baronet/) > [“Issues are like tissues. You pull one out and another appears!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-goldstein/issues-are-like-tissues-you-pull-one-out-and-another-appears/) Gary Goldstein > [What I had mastered was fly-fishing Rule # 1: Remove all hooks from soft tissue under water, where near-freezing temperatures anesthetize exposed nerve endings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-maxwell/what-i-had-mastered-was-fly-fishing-rule-1-remove-all-hooks-from-soft/) [Jessica Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-maxwell/) > [Making coffee has become the great compromise of the decade. It's the only thing "real" men do that doesn't seem to threaten their masculinity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/making-coffee-has-become-the-great-compromise-of-the-decade-it-s-the/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [The brain is a tissue. It is a complicated, intricately woven tissue, like nothing else we know of in the universe, but it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-hubel/the-brain-is-a-tissue-it-is-a-complicated-intricately-woven-tissue/) David H. Hubel > [Acting is like painting pictures on bathroom tissues. Ten minutes later you throw them away and they are gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelley-winters/acting-is-like-painting-pictures-on-bathroom-tissues-ten-minutes/) [Shelley Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelley-winters/) > [Whenever the tissue of life is woven of legalistic relationships, this creates an atmosphere of spiritual mediocrity that paralyzes a person's noblest impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/whenever-the-tissue-of-life-is-woven-of-legalistic-relationships-this/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [It was almost as incredible as if you fired a 15-inch shell at a piece of tissue paper and it came back to hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-rutherford/it-was-almost-as-incredible-as-if-you-fired-a-15-inch-shell-at-a/) [Ernest Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-rutherford/) > [We should be sensitive to the thread of silence from which the tissue of speech is woven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-should-be-sensitive-to-the-thread-of-silence-from-which-the-tissue/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [What is wrong with looking muscular? Muscles are beautiful. Strength is beautiful. Muscle tissue is beautiful. It is metabolically, medically, and philosophically beautiful. Muscles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-angier/what-is-wrong-with-looking-muscular-muscles-are-beautiful-strength-is/) [Natalie Angier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-angier/) > [Every cell in our body is primarily water. But the water doesn't just sit in the cell, it moves through it in a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-agre/every-cell-in-our-body-is-primarily-water-but-the-water-doesn-t-just/) [Peter Agre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-agre/) > [It is something like the way dame Nature gathers round a foreign body an envelope of some insensitive tissue which can protect from evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/it-is-something-like-the-way-dame-nature-gathers-round-a-foreign-body/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) > [He seemed to be made of sunshine and blood-red tissue and clear weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-henry/he-seemed-to-be-made-of-sunshine-and-blood-red-tissue-and-clear/) [O. Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-henry/) ## 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 Cancer quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Historically, more people have died of religion than cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-francis/historically-more-people-have-died-of-religion-than-cancer/) [Dick Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-francis/) > [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [Bollywood is a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-banerjee/bollywood-is-a-cancer/) [Victor Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-banerjee/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [When people go get chemo, they're not injecting themselves with will - I have lost various loved ones to cancer, and I certainly don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-hall/when-people-go-get-chemo-they-re-not-injecting-themselves-with-will-i/) [Michael C. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-hall/) > [“the doctor hesitated before breaking the news to her. "those aren't stars. it's cancer." - forty years a smoker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lovelace/the-doctor-hesitated-before-breaking-the-news-to-her-those-aren-t/) [Amanda Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lovelace/) > [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) Richard Doll > [I would do away with super PACs. I think it's a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-conrad/i-would-do-away-with-super-pacs-i-think-it-s-a-cancer/) [Kent Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-conrad/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [If you are a white male, you don't deserve to live. You are a cancer, you're a disease, white males have never contributed anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-ignatiev/if-you-are-a-white-male-you-don-t-deserve-to-live-you-are-a-cancer/) [Noel Ignatiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-ignatiev/) > [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. Cancer is very democratic in the sense that it attacks people regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-koch/the-way-i-look-at-it-is-cancer-research-is-absolutely-nonpartisan/) [David H. Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/) [Browse all 3,177 Cancer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Madness is locked beneath. It goes into tissues, is swallowed by the cells. The cells go mad. Cancer is their flag. Cancer is thegrowth of madness denied.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Mailer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/madness-is-locked-beneath-it-goes-into-tissues-is-swallowed-by-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cancer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/madness-is-locked-beneath-it-goes-into-tissues-is-swallowed-by-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/norman-mailer-839_cancer_madness-is-locked-beneath-it-goes-into-t_1375283.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/norman-mailer-839_cancer_madness-is-locked-beneath-it-goes-into-t_1375283.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c8/norman-mailer-839_cancer_madness-is-locked-beneath-it-goes-into-t_1375283.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Madness is locked beneath. It goes into tissues, is swallowed by the cells. The cells go mad. Cancer is…” — 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": "Madness is locked beneath. It goes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/madness-is-locked-beneath-it-goes-into-tissues-is-swallowed-by-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/madness-is-locked-beneath-it-goes-into-tissues-is-swallowed-by-the/#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 } } ] } ```