--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the years afterward, I fled whenever…" description: "\"In the years afterward, I fled whenever somebody began to understand me. That has subsided. But one thing remained: I don't want anybody to understand ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/pascal-mercier-4197_blindness_in-the-years-afterward-i-fled-whenever-s_1856021.jpg" --- # In the years afterward, I fled whenever somebody began to… ![“In the years afterward, I fled whenever somebody began to understand me. That has subsided. But one thing remained: I don't want anybody to understand me completely. I want to go through life unknown. The blindness of others is my safety and my freedom.” quote by Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/pascal-mercier-4197_blindness_in-the-years-afterward-i-fled-whenever-s_1856021.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/pascal-mercier-4197_blindness_in-the-years-afterward-i-fled-whenever-s_1856021.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/397/pascal-mercier-4197_blindness_in-the-years-afterward-i-fled-whenever-s_1856021.jpg) > “In the years afterward, I fled whenever somebody began to understand me. That has subsided. But one thing remained: I don't want anybody to understand me completely. I want to go through life unknown. The blindness of others is my safety and my freedom.” [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire to remain unknown protects personal freedom; understanding can feel imprisoning. **In simple terms:** Staying unknown preserves liberty. Key Takeaway Embrace mystery for freedom. Themes freedom identity privacy Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical introspective When to use this quote - travel - new relationships - career changes - social interactions Key Concepts existentialism self‑protection Questions to Reflect On - Can you ever be truly unknown? - Does understanding limit or empower you? A Different Perspective Complete anonymity is impossible in modern society. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blindness/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Unknown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-unknown/) [Safety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safety/) ## Related quotes > [One never discusses anything with anybody who can understand one discusses things with people who cannot understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/one-never-discusses-anything-with-anybody-who-can-understand-one/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [I don't think anybody could understand what its like to be an athlete at Harvard University.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cris-collinsworth/i-don-t-think-anybody-could-understand-what-its-like-to-be-an-athlete/) [Cris Collinsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cris-collinsworth/) > [I don't want anybody to understand what my depression feels like because in order to understand it you have to have been there, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-feherty/i-don-t-want-anybody-to-understand-what-my-depression-feels-like/) [David Feherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-feherty/) > [Is anybody out there? can anybody hear me? can anybody understand me? when will you be out there? when will you be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cutegirl/is-anybody-out-there-can-anybody-hear-me-can-anybody-understand-me/) Cutegirl > [The language of the heart is the only language that anybody can understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bubbly/the-language-of-the-heart-is-the-only-language-that-anybody-can/) Bubbly > [I have always found the times when another person recognizes you to be strangely sad; I suspect the pathos of these moments is their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/i-have-always-found-the-times-when-another-person-recognizes-you-to/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [“If you want something different in your life...You must do something different with your life. unknown author”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-forster/if-you-want-something-different-in-your-life-you-must-do-something/) John E. Forster > [You alone became the outer surface of my life, the side I never see, and you will be that, the unknown part of me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/you-alone-became-the-outer-surface-of-my-life-the-side-i-never-see/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [“Life is the unknown and the unknowable, except that we are put into this world to eat, to stay alive as lone as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/life-is-the-unknown-and-the-unknowable-except-that-we-are-put-into/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [People are afraid of their own lives. Shouldn't your goal be to have a meaningful life? Unknown, mysterious, thrilling?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcafee/people-are-afraid-of-their-own-lives-shouldn-t-your-goal-be-to-have-a/) [John McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcafee/) > [“On getting lost in a book. Set adrift A life unknown Connections form Love is sewn”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-wiseman/on-getting-lost-in-a-book-set-adrift-a-life-unknown-connections-form/) Patty Wiseman > [If we are desperate, though , if we have nothing to lose, or if we are full of enthusiasm for life, then the unknown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/if-we-are-desperate-though-if-we-have-nothing-to-lose-or-if-we-are/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Weeds at the time ofseparation are no longer here / heart and life to the unknown forgot himself to die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/weeds-at-the-time-ofseparation-are-no-longer-here-heart-and-life-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Truth is that you don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a unknown journey, and nothing is guaranteed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/truth-is-that-you-don-t-know-what-is-going-to-happen-tomorrow-life-is/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“A half knowledge of another's life mostly does injustice to the life unknown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/a-half-knowledge-of-another-s-life-mostly-does-injustice-to-the-life/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## More by Pascal Mercier > [To live for the moment: it sounds so right and so beautiful. But the more I want to, the less I understand what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/to-live-for-the-moment-it-sounds-so-right-and-so-beautiful-but-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [What did i know of your fantasies? Why do we know so little about the fantasies of our parents? What do we know of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/what-did-i-know-of-your-fantasies-why-do-we-know-so-little-about-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“One who would really like to know himself would have to be a restless, fanatical collector of disappointments, and seeking disappointing experiences must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/one-who-would-really-like-to-know-himself-would-have-to-be-a-restless/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [SOLIDAO, LONELINESS. What is it that we call loneliness. It can't simply be the absence of others, you can be alone and not lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/solidao-loneliness-what-is-it-that-we-call-loneliness-it-can-t-simply/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Then there was a silence he had never before experienced: in it, you could hear the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/then-there-was-a-silence-he-had-never-before-experienced-in-it-you/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“For that is the meaning of a farewell in the full, important sense of the word: that the two people, because they part, come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/for-that-is-the-meaning-of-a-farewell-in-the-full-important-sense-of/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Gregorius was never to forget this scene. They were his first Portuguese words in the real world and they worked. 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It is a mistake to believe that the crucial moments of a life when its habitual direction changes forever must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/nobreza-silenciosa-silent-nobility-it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“Because the one who wishes it – isn’t the one who, still untouched by the future, stands at the crossroads. Instead, it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/because-the-one-who-wishes-it-isn-t-the-one-who-still-untouched-by/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [It is not the pain and the wounds that are the worst. The worst is the humiliation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/it-is-not-the-pain-and-the-wounds-that-are-the-worst-the-worst-is-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Isn't it true that it's not people who meet, but rather the shadows cast by their imaginations?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/isn-t-it-true-that-it-s-not-people-who-meet-but-rather-the-shadows/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Loyalty... A will, a decision, a resolution of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/loyalty-a-will-a-decision-a-resolution-of-the-soul/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“It is a mistake to believe that the decisive moments of a life when its direction changes for ever must be marked by sentimental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that-the-decisive-moments-of-a-life-when/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) [Explore all 69 Pascal Mercier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) ## More Blindness quotes > [I guess I was so blinded by who I wanted you to be, that I didn't see who you really were.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-copeland/i-guess-i-was-so-blinded-by-who-i-wanted-you-to-be-that-i-didn-t-see/) [Rachel Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-copeland/) > [I will love you till a mute women tells his deaf friend about a blind women that saw a girl with no legs walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-love-you-till-a-mute-women-tells-his-deaf-friend-about-a-blind/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [These eyes, tho' clear To outward view of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot, Nor to their idle orbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/these-eyes-tho-clear-to-outward-view-of-blemish-or-of-spot-bereft-of/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“And the blind man said to the deaf man, "Do you see what I hear?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/and-the-blind-man-said-to-the-deaf-man-do-you-see-what-i-hear/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) > [With every rising of the sun Think of your life as just begun. The past has shrived and buried deep All yesterdays— there let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/with-every-rising-of-the-sun-think-of-your-life-as-just-begun-the/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [The observation of human blindness and weakness is the result of all philosophy, and meets us at every turn, in spite of our endeavours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-observation-of-human-blindness-and-weakness-is-the-result-of-all/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Some men make money not for the sake of living, but ache In the blindness of greed and live just for their fortune's sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/some-men-make-money-not-for-the-sake-of-living-but-ache-in-the/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Blindness separates us from things but deafness separates us from people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/blindness-separates-us-from-things-but-deafness-separates-us-from/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I give money to Unicef because I like the 'bang for your buck' aspect. Here's $10, go and save 1,000 kids from blindness!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/i-give-money-to-unicef-because-i-like-the-bang-for-your-buck-aspect/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [The recovery of spiritual sight and the healing of physical blindness have much in common. Some of those whose bodily eyes were blind received…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-palamas/the-recovery-of-spiritual-sight-and-the-healing-of-physical-blindness/) [Gregory Palamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-palamas/) > [The simplest things to see are the things we are most blind to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milliton-munney/the-simplest-things-to-see-are-the-things-we-are-most-blind-to/) [Milliton MUNNEY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milliton-munney/) > [Blackout is the way we feel how the blind people feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blackout-is-the-way-we-feel-how-the-blind-people-feel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The blindness of the eye in darkness is as life in the absence of true love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brain-emrys/the-blindness-of-the-eye-in-darkness-is-as-life-in-the-absence-of/) [Brain Emrys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brain-emrys/) > [It was a huge deal, a huge musical discovery that became life lessons learned. 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