--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Marriage! ... Why, it is like living in a…" description: "\"Marriage! ... Why, it is like living in a thimble with a hippopotamus!\" — Phyllis Bottome" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1f/phyllis-bottome-8036_hippopotamus_marriage-why-it-is-like-living-in-a-thim_267440.jpg" --- # Marriage! ... Why, it is like living in a thimble with a… ![“Marriage! ... Why, it is like living in a thimble with a hippopotamus!” quote by Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1f/phyllis-bottome-8036_hippopotamus_marriage-why-it-is-like-living-in-a-thim_267440.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1f/phyllis-bottome-8036_hippopotamus_marriage-why-it-is-like-living-in-a-thim_267440.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1f/phyllis-bottome-8036_hippopotamus_marriage-why-it-is-like-living-in-a-thim_267440.jpg) > “Marriage! ... Why, it is like living in a thimble with a hippopotamus!” [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Marriage can feel confining, like a small space occupied by something massive and unwieldy. **In simple terms:** Marriage may feel cramped and overwhelming. Key Takeaway Find balance within marital constraints. Themes marriage conflict humor Mood lighthearted reflective Type literary humorous When to use this quote - family planning - conflict counseling - shared living - personal boundaries Key Concepts Domestic life relationship dynamics personal space Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of marriage feel restrictive? - How can partners create space for individuality? A Different Perspective Humor may downplay serious marital issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hippopotamus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hippopotamus/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Like Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-living/) [Living Thimble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-thimble-2622598/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Marriage Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage-like/) [Thimble Hippopotamus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thimble-hippopotamus-2622597/) ## Related quotes > [“they knew what we’re doing for them, they’d kiss our feet. But mentally they are closer to the crocodile and the hippopotamus than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/they-knew-what-we-re-doing-for-them-they-d-kiss-our-feet-but-mentally/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The hippopotamus looks monogamous- he looks as if he would have to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/the-hippopotamus-looks-monogamous-he-looks-as-if-he-would-have-to-be/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [I have never been able to entertain a God-idea which was not integrally related to the fact of chipmunks, squirrels, hippopotamuses, galaxies, and light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sittler/i-have-never-been-able-to-entertain-a-god-idea-which-was-not/) [Joseph Sittler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sittler/) > [“Frankly, I couldn't be more astonished that this guy was involved in something like this than if you came riding through my apartment on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/frankly-i-couldn-t-be-more-astonished-that-this-guy-was-involved-in/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [The hippopotamus is a vegetarian and looks like a wall. Lions who eat only red meat are sleek and slim. Are nutritionists on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/the-hippopotamus-is-a-vegetarian-and-looks-like-a-wall-lions-who-eat/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [I found in one of the tombs an inscription saying, 'If you touch my tomb, you will be eaten by a crocodile and hippopotamus.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zahi-hawass/i-found-in-one-of-the-tombs-an-inscription-saying-if-you-touch-my/) [Zahi Hawass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zahi-hawass/) > [There is no need to worry about mere size. We do not necessarily respect a fat man more than a thin man. Sir Isaac…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-no-need-to-worry-about-mere-size-we-do-not-necessarily/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [ \[his healing skills\] ..lay in the ability to comfort, to comfort in the proper sense, to make strong, to fortify from The Hippopotamus ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/his-healing-skills-lay-in-the-ability-to-comfort-to-comfort-in-the-2/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [A hippo sandwich is easy to make. All you do is simply take one slice of bread, one slice of cake, some mayonnaise, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/a-hippo-sandwich-is-easy-to-make-all-you-do-is-simply-take-one-slice/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [A man is born an artist as a hippopotamus is born a hippopotamus; and you can no more make yourself one than you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-is-born-an-artist-as-a-hippopotamus-is-born-a-hippopotamus-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have figured for you the distance between the horns of a dilemma, night and day, and A and Z. I have computed how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/i-have-figured-for-you-the-distance-between-the-horns-of-a-dilemma/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [Is a hippopotamus a hippopotamus, or just a really cool Opotamus?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/is-a-hippopotamus-a-hippopotamus-or-just-a-really-cool-opotamus/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [“Dressing, I chose the second shirt, the one softened in the mouth of a trained and perfumed albino hippopotamus and made entirely of pigeon's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/dressing-i-chose-the-second-shirt-the-one-softened-in-the-mouth-of-a/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [Molecular genetics can show off some surprising relationships like, for example, the close relationship of whales to hippopotamuses, which I think nobody ever guessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/molecular-genetics-can-show-off-some-surprising-relationships-like/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [A man looking at a hippopotamus may sometimes be tempted to regard a hippopotamus as an enormous mistake; but he is also bound to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-man-looking-at-a-hippopotamus-may-sometimes-be-tempted-to-regard-a/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) ## More by Phyllis Bottome > [Jane had that happy disposition which would like to imagine that every one really wishes the well-being of his neighbour and struggles, though sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/jane-had-that-happy-disposition-which-would-like-to-imagine-that/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Neither situations nor people can be altered by the interference of an outsider. If they are to be altered, that alteration must come from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/neither-situations-nor-people-can-be-altered-by-the-interference-of/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Every hen thinks she has laid the best egg! Can we not all believe as we choose? But the choice of others - what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/every-hen-thinks-she-has-laid-the-best-egg-can-we-not-all-believe-as/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [If money had been the way to save the world, Christ himself would have been rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/if-money-had-been-the-way-to-save-the-world-christ-himself-would-have/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [When you know a person particularly well, you cannot escape their ruffled feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/when-you-know-a-person-particularly-well-you-cannot-escape-their/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Poets, when they write of love, give themselves and everyone else away!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/poets-when-they-write-of-love-give-themselves-and-everyone-else-away/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [death ... is not a great affair! Think - it happens once only - to each of us - as birth does. What do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/death-is-not-a-great-affair-think-it-happens-once-only-to-each-of-us/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Taboos on the human heart are more dangerous than any risk we run by using our emotions. Sensation is the life of man; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/taboos-on-the-human-heart-are-more-dangerous-than-any-risk-we-run-by/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [... one pets what one degrades; and one has to support what one has enfeebled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/one-pets-what-one-degrades-and-one-has-to-support-what-one-has/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Truth is no man's slave - but lies - what magnificent servants they make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/truth-is-no-man-s-slave-but-lies-what-magnificent-servants-they-make/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Anger is like mild, it should not be kept too long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/anger-is-like-mild-it-should-not-be-kept-too-long/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [People who talk of new lives believe there will be no new troubles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/people-who-talk-of-new-lives-believe-there-will-be-no-new-troubles/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [All persecution is a sign of fear; for if we did not fear the power of an opinion different from our own, we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/all-persecution-is-a-sign-of-fear-for-if-we-did-not-fear-the-power-of/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Love comes into your being like a tidal wave ... sometimes it withdraws like a wave, till there isn't such a thing as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/love-comes-into-your-being-like-a-tidal-wave-sometimes-it-withdraws/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [Things that happen, however painful they are at the time, do not matter very much for long. Only how we behave to them matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/things-that-happen-however-painful-they-are-at-the-time-do-not-matter/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) [Explore all 85 Phyllis Bottome quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) ## More Hippopotamus quotes > [“they knew what we’re doing for them, they’d kiss our feet. But mentally they are closer to the crocodile and the hippopotamus than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/they-knew-what-we-re-doing-for-them-they-d-kiss-our-feet-but-mentally/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Molecular genetics can show off some surprising relationships like, for example, the close relationship of whales to hippopotamuses, which I think nobody ever guessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/molecular-genetics-can-show-off-some-surprising-relationships-like/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Dressing, I chose the second shirt, the one softened in the mouth of a trained and perfumed albino hippopotamus and made entirely of pigeon's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/dressing-i-chose-the-second-shirt-the-one-softened-in-the-mouth-of-a/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [Is a hippopotamus a hippopotamus, or just a really cool Opotamus?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/is-a-hippopotamus-a-hippopotamus-or-just-a-really-cool-opotamus/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [I have figured for you the distance between the horns of a dilemma, night and day, and A and Z. I have computed how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/i-have-figured-for-you-the-distance-between-the-horns-of-a-dilemma/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [A man is born an artist as a hippopotamus is born a hippopotamus; and you can no more make yourself one than you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-is-born-an-artist-as-a-hippopotamus-is-born-a-hippopotamus-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A hippo sandwich is easy to make. All you do is simply take one slice of bread, one slice of cake, some mayonnaise, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/a-hippo-sandwich-is-easy-to-make-all-you-do-is-simply-take-one-slice/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [ \[his healing skills\] ..lay in the ability to comfort, to comfort in the proper sense, to make strong, to fortify from The Hippopotamus ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/his-healing-skills-lay-in-the-ability-to-comfort-to-comfort-in-the-2/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [There is no need to worry about mere size. We do not necessarily respect a fat man more than a thin man. Sir Isaac…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-is-no-need-to-worry-about-mere-size-we-do-not-necessarily/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [I found in one of the tombs an inscription saying, 'If you touch my tomb, you will be eaten by a crocodile and hippopotamus.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zahi-hawass/i-found-in-one-of-the-tombs-an-inscription-saying-if-you-touch-my/) [Zahi Hawass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zahi-hawass/) > [The hippopotamus is a vegetarian and looks like a wall. Lions who eat only red meat are sleek and slim. Are nutritionists on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/the-hippopotamus-is-a-vegetarian-and-looks-like-a-wall-lions-who-eat/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [“Frankly, I couldn't be more astonished that this guy was involved in something like this than if you came riding through my apartment on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/frankly-i-couldn-t-be-more-astonished-that-this-guy-was-involved-in/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [I have never been able to entertain a God-idea which was not integrally related to the fact of chipmunks, squirrels, hippopotamuses, galaxies, and light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sittler/i-have-never-been-able-to-entertain-a-god-idea-which-was-not/) [Joseph Sittler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sittler/) > [The hippopotamus looks monogamous- he looks as if he would have to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/the-hippopotamus-looks-monogamous-he-looks-as-if-he-would-have-to-be/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [A man looking at a hippopotamus may sometimes be tempted to regard a hippopotamus as an enormous mistake; but he is also bound to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-man-looking-at-a-hippopotamus-may-sometimes-be-tempted-to-regard-a/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) [Browse all 32 Hippopotamus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hippopotamus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Marriage! ... 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