--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He watched it with that strange interest…" description: "\"“He watched it with that strange interest in trivial things that we try to develop when things of high import make us afraid, or when we are stirred by..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/oscar-wilde-16_trivial-things_he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest_1800717.jpg" --- # He watched it with that strange interest in trivial things… ![“He watched it with that strange interest in trivial things that we try to develop when things of high import make us afraid, or when we are stirred by some new emotion for which we cannot find expression, or when some thought that terrifies us lays sudden siege to the brain and calls on us to yield.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/oscar-wilde-16_trivial-things_he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest_1800717.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/oscar-wilde-16_trivial-things_he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest_1800717.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/oscar-wilde-16_trivial-things_he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest_1800717.jpg) > ““He watched it with that strange interest in trivial things that we try to develop when things of high import make us afraid, or when we are stirred by some new emotion for which we cannot find expression, or when some thought that terrifies us lays sudden siege to the brain and calls on us to yield.”” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When faced with fear or intense emotion, we are drawn to trivialities as a coping mechanism, yet these moments can also reveal deeper truths. **In simple terms:** Fear pushes us toward trivial interests. Key Takeaway Observe how anxiety redirects focus. Themes fear emotion distraction Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - stressful work - personal crisis - creative block - grief Key Concepts psychology existentialism literature Questions to Reflect On - What trivial thing do you turn to when scared? - How can you transform distraction into insight? A Different Perspective Might romanticize avoidance rather than confronting fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Trivial things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trivial-things/) ## Related quotes > [He watched it with that strange interest in trivial things that we try to develop when things of high import make us afraid, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest-in-trivial-things-that-we-3/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Dorian Gray listened, open-eyed and wondering. The spray of lilac fell from his hand upon the gravel. A furry bee came and buzzed round…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/dorian-gray-listened-open-eyed-and-wondering-the-spray-of-lilac-fell/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“He watched it with that strange interest in trivial things that we try to develop when things of high import make us afriad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest-in-trivial-things-that-we/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“The way he stares at me—it’s as if he doesn’t even see the outside anymore. His eyes pierce me as if he can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/the-way-he-stares-at-me-it-s-as-if-he-doesn-t-even-see-the-outside/) [Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/) > [“I can already tell he isn't the kind of guy a girl gets a simple crush on. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/i-mean-every-thought-starts-over-so-every-expression-of-a-thought-has/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [Expression and thought are inextricably linked: crude language permits only crude thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-churchwell/expression-and-thought-are-inextricably-linked-crude-language-permits/) [Sarah Churchwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-churchwell/) > [I do not know what arguments mean in reference to any expression of a thought. I delight in telling what I think; but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-do-not-know-what-arguments-mean-in-reference-to-any-expression-of-a/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Democracies do not go to war. War is not our expression of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asif-ali-zardari/democracies-do-not-go-to-war-war-is-not-our-expression-of-thought/) [Asif Ali Zardari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asif-ali-zardari/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Terrifies quotes > [The fact that someone like me can exist terrifies some people. Because: 'What if you had control of your body and you got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/the-fact-that-someone-like-me-can-exist-terrifies-some-people-because/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [I am afraid of death, scared by it. I already don't know whether I exist or not. So dying really terrifies me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-rea/i-am-afraid-of-death-scared-by-it-i-already-don-t-know-whether-i/) [Stephen Rea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-rea/) > [Fame terrifies me. I can say that with honesty. You're terrified that, when people know the real you, they won't like you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-cox/fame-terrifies-me-i-can-say-that-with-honesty-you-re-terrified-that/) [Charlie Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-cox/) > [“Why am I frightened? I've crossed no boundaries, I've given no trust, taken no risk, all is safe. It's the choice that terrifies me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/why-am-i-frightened-i-ve-crossed-no-boundaries-i-ve-given-no-trust/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [In the twentieth century, death terrifies men less than the absence of real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-vaneigem/in-the-twentieth-century-death-terrifies-men-less-than-the-absence-of/) [Raoul Vaneigem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-vaneigem/) > [I hate fashion. I don't have any fun doing it. A show terrifies me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-saint-laurent/i-hate-fashion-i-don-t-have-any-fun-doing-it-a-show-terrifies-me/) [Yves Saint Laurent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-saint-laurent/) > [What terrifies me is that I might somehow endorse that view so people think they don't have to read books anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-coogan/what-terrifies-me-is-that-i-might-somehow-endorse-that-view-so-people/) [Steve Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-coogan/) > [“I think I'm falling for you, too, and it terrifies me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/i-think-i-m-falling-for-you-too-and-it-terrifies-me/) [Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/) > [Change terrifies people. They like new, but they don't like new with change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-albarn/change-terrifies-people-they-like-new-but-they-don-t-like-new-with/) [Damon Albarn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-albarn/) > [Rather than saying 'I hate mess', it might draw more compassion to say, 'mess terrifies me as a harbinger of catastrophe'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/rather-than-saying-i-hate-mess-it-might-draw-more-compassion-to-say/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Being responsible for another human life terrifies me, because I kill plants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-conrad/being-responsible-for-another-human-life-terrifies-me-because-i-kill/) [Lauren Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-conrad/) > [“I will simply die, as you will simply die, when our hearts stop beating. And instead of the fires of Hell or the clouds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-james/i-will-simply-die-as-you-will-simply-die-when-our-hearts-stop-beating/) [Cliff James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-james/) > [“He pulled back to gaze at her, cupping her face in his hands. "Because it's something else, too, isn't it? Something that terrifies you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aria-kane/he-pulled-back-to-gaze-at-her-cupping-her-face-in-his-hands-because/) [Aria Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aria-kane/) > [“The way he stares at me—it’s as if he doesn’t even see the outside anymore. His eyes pierce me as if he can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/the-way-he-stares-at-me-it-s-as-if-he-doesn-t-even-see-the-outside/) [Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/) > [Experience teaches us that silence terrifies people the most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/experience-teaches-us-that-silence-terrifies-people-the-most/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) Browse all 103 Terrifies quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He watched it with that strange interest in trivial things that we try to develop when things of high import make us afraid, or when we are stirred by some new emotion for which we cannot find expression, or when some thought that terrifies us lays sudden siege to the brain and calls on us to yield.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest-in-trivial-things-that-we-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Terrifies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest-in-trivial-things-that-we-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/oscar-wilde-16_trivial-things_he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest_1800717.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/oscar-wilde-16_trivial-things_he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest_1800717.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/oscar-wilde-16_trivial-things_he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest_1800717.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He watched it with that strange interest in trivial things that we try to develop when things of high import…” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He watched it with that strange...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest-in-trivial-things-that-we-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/he-watched-it-with-that-strange-interest-in-trivial-things-that-we-2/#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 } } ] } ```