--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most terrible thing about it is not…" description: "\"The most terrible thing about it is not that it breaks one’s heart—hearts are made to be broken—but that it turns one’s heart to stone.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/oscar-wilde-16_break_the-most-terrible-thing-about-it-is-not_1095572.jpg" --- # The most terrible thing about it is not that it breaks… ![“The most terrible thing about it is not that it breaks one’s heart—hearts are made to be broken—but that it turns one’s heart to stone.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/oscar-wilde-16_break_the-most-terrible-thing-about-it-is-not_1095572.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/oscar-wilde-16_break_the-most-terrible-thing-about-it-is-not_1095572.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/oscar-wilde-16_break_the-most-terrible-thing-about-it-is-not_1095572.jpg) > “The most terrible thing about it is not that it breaks one’s heart—hearts are made to be broken—but that it turns one’s heart to stone.” [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. Heartbreak can harden a person, turning emotional sensitivity into emotional numbness. **In simple terms:** Heartbreak can make you cold. Key Takeaway Guard against letting pain harden you. Themes love pain emotional resilience Mood sad reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationship loss - personal trauma - grief processing - emotional growth Key Concepts psychology human nature Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep empathy after loss? - Can pain be a teacher? A Different Perspective Hardening may protect but also isolates. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Breaks Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaks-heart/) [Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-stone-1130689/) [Hearts Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearts-broken/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-thing/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Turns Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns-heart-2854724/) ## Related quotes > [-\*As my world turns, the heart beats.. Not only in my chest, but the heart of the streets\*-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-my-world-turns-the-heart-beats-not-only-in-my-chest-but-the-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love turns a heart to crystal...Much more valuable, but much more fragile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/love-turns-a-heart-to-crystal-much-more-valuable-but-much-more-fragile/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [“At least, I have not made my heart a heart of stone, Nor starved my boyhood of is goodly feast, Nor walked where beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/at-least-i-have-not-made-my-heart-a-heart-of-stone-nor-starved-my/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [God's eternal laws are kind-and break the heart of stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/god-s-eternal-laws-are-kind-and-break-the-heart-of-stone/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Hearts are made to be broken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/hearts-are-made-to-be-broken/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [My desire to live is as intense as ever, and though my heart is broken, hearts are made to be broken: that is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/my-desire-to-live-is-as-intense-as-ever-and-though-my-heart-is-broken/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [She might have melted a heart of stone, but nothing can melt a heart of wood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/she-might-have-melted-a-heart-of-stone-but-nothing-can-melt-a-heart/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Chisel my heart out of stone, I give in every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silverstein/chisel-my-heart-out-of-stone-i-give-in-every-time/) [Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silverstein/) > [If only my heart were stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/if-only-my-heart-were-stone/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, - a mere heart of stone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/a-scientific-man-ought-to-have-no-wishes-no-affections-a-mere-heart/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Seriousness is too boring to the playful human condition. 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But it could feel fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-jordan/a-heart-of-stone-could-never-break-but-it-could-feel-fear/) [Sophie Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-jordan/) > [Try not to cry little one Youre not alone Ill stand by you Try not to cry little one My heart is your stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose/try-not-to-cry-little-one-youre-not-alone-ill-stand-by-you-try-not-to/) [Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose/) > [“Heart of stone will be shattered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/heart-of-stone-will-be-shattered/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) ## 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. 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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 Break quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Things are going well in Germany because the economy is booming and as an export-driven nation, we are profiting from the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/things-are-going-well-in-germany-because-the-economy-is-booming-and/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I hadn't worked for a year when I had my Prison Break audition and it was the easiest audition I've ever had. I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-hadn-t-worked-for-a-year-when-i-had-my-prison-break-audition-and-it/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [If you strike upon a thought that baffles you, break off from that entanglement and try another, so shall your wits be fresh to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/if-you-strike-upon-a-thought-that-baffles-you-break-off-from-that/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“A hole ain’t nothing either, but you can still break your neck in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-donati/a-hole-ain-t-nothing-either-but-you-can-still-break-your-neck-in-it/) [Sara Donati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-donati/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Motor racing's less of a sport these days than a commercial break doing 150 mph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dunne/motor-racing-s-less-of-a-sport-these-days-than-a-commercial-break/) [Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dunne/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [The purpose is to be in gratitude forever. 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You do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/the-purpose-is-to-be-in-gratitude-forever-live-with-applied/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) [Browse all 8,188 Break quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most terrible thing about it is not that it breaks one’s heart—hearts are made to be broken—but that it turns one’s heart to stone.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-most-terrible-thing-about-it-is-not-that-it-breaks-one-s-heart/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Break" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-most-terrible-thing-about-it-is-not-that-it-breaks-one-s-heart/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/oscar-wilde-16_break_the-most-terrible-thing-about-it-is-not_1095572.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/oscar-wilde-16_break_the-most-terrible-thing-about-it-is-not_1095572.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a2/oscar-wilde-16_break_the-most-terrible-thing-about-it-is-not_1095572.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most terrible thing about it is not that it breaks one’s heart—hearts are made to be broken—but that it…” — 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": "The most terrible thing about it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-most-terrible-thing-about-it-is-not-that-it-breaks-one-s-heart/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-most-terrible-thing-about-it-is-not-that-it-breaks-one-s-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 } } ] } ```