--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now his work-mates pitied him, although…" description: "\"“Now his work-mates pitied him, although they tried not to show it, and it was generally arranged that he was given jobs which allowed him to work alon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/peter-ackroyd-2223_mental-illness_now-his-work-mates-pitied-him-although-t_1941984.jpg" --- # Now his work-mates pitied him, although they tried not to… ![“Now his work-mates pitied him, although they tried not to show it, and it was generally arranged that he was given jobs which allowed him to work alone. The smell of ink, and the steady rhythm of the press, then induced in him a kind of peace - it was the peace he felt when he arrived early, at a…” quote by Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/peter-ackroyd-2223_mental-illness_now-his-work-mates-pitied-him-although-t_1941984.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/peter-ackroyd-2223_mental-illness_now-his-work-mates-pitied-him-although-t_1941984.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/peter-ackroyd-2223_mental-illness_now-his-work-mates-pitied-him-although-t_1941984.jpg) > ““Now his work-mates pitied him, although they tried not to show it, and it was generally arranged that he was given jobs which allowed him to work alone. The smell of ink, and the steady rhythm of the press, then induced in him a kind of peace - it was the peace he felt when he arrived early, at a time when he might be the only one to see the morning light as it filtered through the works or to hear the sound of his footsteps echoing through the old stone building. At such moments he was forgetful of himself and thus of others until he heard their voices, raised in argument or in greeting, and he would shrink into himself again. At other times he would stand slightly to one side and try to laugh at their jokes, but when they talked about sex he became uneasy and fell silent for it seemed to him to be a fearful thing. He still remembered how the girls in the schoolyard used to chant, Kiss me, kiss me if you can I will put you in my pan, Kiss me, kiss me as you said I will fry you till you're dead And when he thought of sex, it was as of a process which could tear him limb from limb. He knew from his childhood reading that, if he ran into the forest, there would be a creature lying in wait for him.”” [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man finds fleeting peace in solitary work but is haunted by deep anxieties about intimacy and childhood trauma. **In simple terms:** Solitary work soothes him, yet fear of sex and past trauma linger. Key Takeaway Seek connection while confronting fear. Themes loneliness anxiety intimacy memory trauma Mood melancholic reflective tense Type literary psychological When to use this quote - office routine - creative writing - therapy sessions - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology literary realism inner conflict Questions to Reflect On - How does solitude both heal and isolate? - What childhood memory fuels his fear of intimacy? A Different Perspective His fear may prevent genuine relationships and growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heard Voices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heard-voices-378376/) [Kiss Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kiss-said-371362/) [Mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) [Morning light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning-light/) [Remembered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembered/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Silent Fearful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silent-fearful-3100671/) [Thing Remembered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-remembered-914497/) ## Related quotes > [Say a thing well and it will be remembered-and so too will you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-david-baird-1st-baronet/say-a-thing-well-and-it-will-be-remembered-and-so-too-will-you/) [Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-david-baird-1st-baronet/) > [All my life, my heart has sought a thing I cannot name. Remembered line from a long- forgotten poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/all-my-life-my-heart-has-sought-a-thing-i-cannot-name-remembered-line/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“The first thing to be remembered: the creation and the creator are not two, they are one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/the-first-thing-to-be-remembered-the-creation-and-the-creator-are-not/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [“A memory is not the thing remembered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/a-memory-is-not-the-thing-remembered/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [If you wish to forget anything on the spot, make a note that this thing is to be remembered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/if-you-wish-to-forget-anything-on-the-spot-make-a-note-that-this/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“I lived from day to day with no continuity other than me-me-me. (...) The only thing that I ever remembered was myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-lived-from-day-to-day-with-no-continuity-other-than-me-me-me-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [When any calamity has been suffered the first thing to be remembered is, how much has been escaped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/when-any-calamity-has-been-suffered-the-first-thing-to-be-remembered/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“he..said..in the oratory to which he was prone that they had witnessed a thing against which time would not prevail. He meant a thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/he-said-in-the-oratory-to-which-he-was-prone-that-they-had-witnessed/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The thought of her gave me such a continual anguish that I could no more forget her than an aching tooth. It was involuntary,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-thought-of-her-gave-me-such-a-continual-anguish-that-i-could-no/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [When any calamity is suffered, the first thing to be remembered is, how much has been escaped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/when-any-calamity-is-suffered-the-first-thing-to-be-remembered-is-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“That night I dreamt of the moment I found my mother’s body. My life was a series of befores and afters: before my mother’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-barbetti/that-night-i-dreamt-of-the-moment-i-found-my-mother-s-body-my-life/) [Whitney Barbetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-barbetti/) > [“The last thing I remembered as I headed over that edge was to never let her go. I knew she'd always been the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-lyman/the-last-thing-i-remembered-as-i-headed-over-that-edge-was-to-never/) [Kit Lyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-lyman/) > [There is one thing to be remembered: that the assertion 'I am God' cannot be made with regard to the sense-world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/there-is-one-thing-to-be-remembered-that-the-assertion-i-am-god/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“The last thing I remembered was making eye contact with Emanuel in the rearview mirror before slipping out of consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-allen/the-last-thing-i-remembered-was-making-eye-contact-with-emanuel-in/) [Danielle Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-allen/) > [“It was true that common sense wasn’t her forte. It wasn’t that she was silly or stupid, but she heard so many more voices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-goddard/it-was-true-that-common-sense-wasn-t-her-forte-it-wasn-t-that-she-was/) [Donna Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-goddard/) ## More by Peter Ackroyd > [If I did only one thing at a time I'd think I was wasting my time. If, for example, I only wrote novels I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/if-i-did-only-one-thing-at-a-time-i-d-think-i-was-wasting-my-time-if/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [I believe that the gods themselves are frightened of the world which they have fashioned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/i-believe-that-the-gods-themselves-are-frightened-of-the-world-which/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [“A woman is a deep Ditch, said he, her House inclines to Death and her Paths unto the Devil”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/a-woman-is-a-deep-ditch-said-he-her-house-inclines-to-death-and-her/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [I don't know if I have a voice of my own. I don't see me being an important person with something to say. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/i-don-t-know-if-i-have-a-voice-of-my-own-i-don-t-see-me-being-an/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [The ordinary routines of life are never chronicled by the historian, but they make up almost the whole of experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/the-ordinary-routines-of-life-are-never-chronicled-by-the-historian/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [“I believe now that there can be no real sense of loss or seperation without the recognition of death; we were too young to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/i-believe-now-that-there-can-be-no-real-sense-of-loss-or-seperation/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [I don't find myself interesting as a person and the details I find boring, quite frankly. You could sum it up in a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/i-don-t-find-myself-interesting-as-a-person-and-the-details-i-find/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [Rioting has always been a London tradition. It has been since the early Middle Ages. There's hardly a spate of years that goes by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/rioting-has-always-been-a-london-tradition-it-has-been-since-the/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [“absinthe removes the bitter taste of failure and grants me strange visions which are charming principally because they cannot be written down. Only in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/absinthe-removes-the-bitter-taste-of-failure-and-grants-me-strange/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [“Those in their snug Bed-chambers may call the Fears of Night meer Bugbears, but their Minds have not pierced into the Horror of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/those-in-their-snug-bed-chambers-may-call-the-fears-of-night-meer/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [In so far as I have any beliefs, I suppose I'm like that old Peggy Lee song, 'Is That All There Is?' I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/in-so-far-as-i-have-any-beliefs-i-suppose-i-m-like-that-old-peggy-lee/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [“dyer. (Looking at him scornfully) So that is why Wits swarm like Egypt's Frogs. If I were a Writer now, I would wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/dyer-looking-at-him-scornfully-so-that-is-why-wits-swarm-like-egypt-s/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [The embrace of present and past time, in which English antiquarianism becomes a form of alchemy, engenders a strange timelessness. It is as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/the-embrace-of-present-and-past-time-in-which-english-antiquarianism/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [In London, I've always lived within 10 miles of where I was born. You see, there is something called a spirit of place, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/in-london-i-ve-always-lived-within-10-miles-of-where-i-was-born-you/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [There is no humiliation worse than the consciousness of a wasted life. It stains the spirit, forestalls hope, and destroys any motive for action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/there-is-no-humiliation-worse-than-the-consciousness-of-a-wasted-life/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) [Explore all 178 Peter Ackroyd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) ## More Mental illness quotes > [“I swear that I will never cause trouble for anybody, as long as I live!! So please! Nobody cause any trouble for me, either!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minoru-furuya/i-swear-that-i-will-never-cause-trouble-for-anybody-as-long-as-i-live/) [Minoru Furuya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minoru-furuya/) > [This tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/this-tendency-to-avoid-problems-and-the-emotional-suffering-inherent/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [“Today, our view of genuine reality is increasingly clouded by professionals whose technical expertise often introduces a superficial and soulless model of the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-kleinman/today-our-view-of-genuine-reality-is-increasingly-clouded-by/) [Arthur Kleinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-kleinman/) > [I think we need to talk about mental illness a lot more. People complain about tax dollars and say we don't have the money.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/i-think-we-need-to-talk-about-mental-illness-a-lot-more-people/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [“Mental illness is not something you misunderstand in this era. Get educated because bias is no different than racism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/mental-illness-is-not-something-you-misunderstand-in-this-era-get/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Having an eating disorder doesn't show ‘strength.’ Strength is when are able to overcome your demons after being sick and tired for so long.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/having-an-eating-disorder-doesn-t-show-strength-strength-is-when-are/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [There are people with much bigger profiles than mine who are talking about mental illness. I am going to try to use whatever platform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mauro-ranallo/there-are-people-with-much-bigger-profiles-than-mine-who-are-talking/) [Mauro Ranallo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mauro-ranallo/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“It goes without saying that all mental illnesses are neurologically instantiated, but this says nothing about their causation. If it is true, for instance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-fisher/it-goes-without-saying-that-all-mental-illnesses-are-neurologically/) [Mark Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-fisher/) > [love is a mental illness, an obsessive-compulsive disorder romanticized!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/love-is-a-mental-illness-an-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-romanticized/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“The word is dissociate. There is no 'a' before the 'ss'. People invariably say dis-a-ssociate, which, if you're suffering Disso-ciative Identity Disorder/Multiple Personality Disorder,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-jamieson/the-word-is-dissociate-there-is-no-a-before-the-ss-people-invariably/) [Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jamieson/) > [Neurosis is an inner cleavage-the state of being at war with oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/neurosis-is-an-inner-cleavage-the-state-of-being-at-war-with-oneself/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“I’ve never had anorexia, but I know it well. I see it on the street, in the gaunt and sunken face, the boney chest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-brown/i-ve-never-had-anorexia-but-i-know-it-well-i-see-it-on-the-street-in/) [Harriet Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-brown/) > [“The cycles of dysfunction and mental illness did not have to carry over from generation to generation. You just had to educate yourself. Erika”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/the-cycles-of-dysfunction-and-mental-illness-did-not-have-to-carry/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [I'm getting less good at faking it. People in my family are noticing and asking what's wrong. My friends give me invitations to talk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-manning/i-m-getting-less-good-at-faking-it-people-in-my-family-are-noticing/) [Martha Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-manning/) [Browse all 1,233 Mental illness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-illness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Now his work-mates pitied him, although they tried not to show it, and it was generally arranged that he was given jobs which allowed him to work alone. The smell of ink, and the steady rhythm of the press, then induced in him a kind of peace - it was the peace he felt when he arrived early, at a time when he might be the only one to see the morning light as it filtered through the works or to hear the sound of his footsteps echoing through the old stone building. At such moments he was forgetful of himself and thus of others until he heard their voices, raised in argument or in greeting, and he would shrink into himself again. At other times he would stand slightly to one side and try to laugh at their jokes, but when they talked about sex he became uneasy and fell silent for it seemed to him to be a fearful thing. He still remembered how the girls in the schoolyard used to chant, Kiss me, kiss me if you can I will put you in my pan, Kiss me, kiss me as you said I will fry you till you're dead And when he thought of sex, it was as of a process which could tear him limb from limb. He knew from his childhood reading that, if he ran into the forest, there would be a creature lying in wait for him.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Ackroyd" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/now-his-work-mates-pitied-him-although-they-tried-not-to-show-it-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mental illness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/now-his-work-mates-pitied-him-although-they-tried-not-to-show-it-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/peter-ackroyd-2223_mental-illness_now-his-work-mates-pitied-him-although-t_1941984.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/peter-ackroyd-2223_mental-illness_now-his-work-mates-pitied-him-although-t_1941984.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb0/peter-ackroyd-2223_mental-illness_now-his-work-mates-pitied-him-although-t_1941984.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Now his work-mates pitied him, although they tried not to show it, and it was generally arranged that he was…” — Peter Ackroyd", "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": "Peter Ackroyd", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Now his work-mates pitied him, although...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/now-his-work-mates-pitied-him-although-they-tried-not-to-show-it-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/now-his-work-mates-pitied-him-although-they-tried-not-to-show-it-and/#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 } } ] } ```