--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I found that I had become so spinsterish…" description: "\"I found that I had become so spinsterish that I was made neurotic not only by my life of domesticity but by the slightest derangement of my room. I wou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/quentin-crisp-1163_domesticity_i-found-that-i-had-become-so-spinsterish_2971629.jpg" --- # I found that I had become so spinsterish that I was made… ![“I found that I had become so spinsterish that I was made neurotic not only by my life of domesticity but by the slightest derangement of my room. I would burst into a fit of weeping if the kettle was not facing due east.” quote by Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/quentin-crisp-1163_domesticity_i-found-that-i-had-become-so-spinsterish_2971629.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/quentin-crisp-1163_domesticity_i-found-that-i-had-become-so-spinsterish_2971629.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/quentin-crisp-1163_domesticity_i-found-that-i-had-become-so-spinsterish_2971629.jpg) > “I found that I had become so spinsterish that I was made neurotic not only by my life of domesticity but by the slightest derangement of my room. I would burst into a fit of weeping if the kettle was not facing due east.” [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes his obsessive, neurotic reaction to minor domestic disturbances, reflecting deep sensitivity and isolation. **In simple terms:** Extreme sensitivity to small disruptions. Key Takeaway Recognize when perfectionism becomes harmful. Themes mental health domestic life neuroticism Mood reflective somber Type personal psychological When to use this quote - living alone - personal space - room organization - mental health therapy Key Concepts obsessive behavior anxiety self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your own anxieties? - Can you find balance between order and flexibility? A Different Perspective His extreme reaction may be exaggerated for literary effect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Domesticity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domesticity/) [Dues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dues/) [East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east/) [Fit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fit/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Kettles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kettles/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Neurotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurotic/) [Neurotic Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurotic-life-4005359/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Spinsterish Neurotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spinsterish-neurotic-4577959/) [Weeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weeping/) [Weeping Kettle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weeping-kettle-4577960/) ## Related quotes > [I think a reason why actors get reputations for being crazy and neurotic is because your life task is constantly in flux.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-graynor/i-think-a-reason-why-actors-get-reputations-for-being-crazy-and/) [Ari Graynor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-graynor/) > [I've been neurotic in my life; I've had neurotic relationships with men. What else is new? But you really have to learn to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-moreno/i-ve-been-neurotic-in-my-life-i-ve-had-neurotic-relationships-with/) [Rita Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-moreno/) > [I'm passionately opposed to the nuclear family, with its mom and dad and their 2.4 children. I think it's the most neurotic life-style ever developed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/i-m-passionately-opposed-to-the-nuclear-family-with-its-mom-and-dad/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [God's patience is infinite. Men, like small kettles, boil quickly with wrath at the least wrong. Not so God. If God were as wrathful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhu-sundar-singh/god-s-patience-is-infinite-men-like-small-kettles-boil-quickly-with/) [Sadhu Sundar Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadhu-sundar-singh/) > [Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg apparently called President Obama directly to complain about NSA and how it spies on ordinary Americans. That's right, the guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/facebook-founder-mark-zuckerberg-apparently-called-president-obama/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [The world is full of pots jeering at kettles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-world-is-full-of-pots-jeering-at-kettles/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [There are two strains, I think, in American playwriting, of importance. One is traditional narrative realism, which is definitely my strain, and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/there-are-two-strains-i-think-in-american-playwriting-of-importance/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [Television doomed us to the Family, whose household instrument it has become-what the hearth used to be, flanked by the communal kettle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/television-doomed-us-to-the-family-whose-household-instrument-it-has/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [I once got a postcard from a French poet who wrote - "you don't know me but I'm always very grumpy when I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-graves/i-once-got-a-postcard-from-a-french-poet-who-wrote-you-don-t-know-me/) [Michael Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-graves/) > [While there are many varieties of grills, each with their own virtues to be sure, I prefer the standard Weber kettle grill. Don't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-seaver/while-there-are-many-varieties-of-grills-each-with-their-own-virtues/) [Barton Seaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-seaver/) > [Free yourself from the slavery of tea and coffee and other slop kettles!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cobbett/free-yourself-from-the-slavery-of-tea-and-coffee-and-other-slop/) [William Cobbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cobbett/) > [ He \[the cat\] wound himself around her legs, purring the purr of ardent desire like a kettle coming to a boil and then bubbling… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/he-the-cat-wound-himself-around-her-legs-purring-the-purr-of-ardent/) [May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/) > [ \[Wladimir\] Klitschko is a different kettle of fish to Haye. He is a genuine man with an excellent team behind him and they are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyson-fury/wladimir-klitschko-is-a-different-kettle-of-fish-to-haye-he-is-a/) [Tyson Fury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyson-fury/) > [Polly put the kettle on, we'll all have tea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/polly-put-the-kettle-on-we-ll-all-have-tea/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-magic-in-that-country-was-so-thick-and-tenacious-that-it-settled/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) ## More by Quentin Crisp > [You can behave as badly as you like in America. Nobody notices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/you-can-behave-as-badly-as-you-like-in-america-nobody-notices/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/never-keep-up-with-the-joneses-drag-them-down-to-your-level/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [“Masturbation is not only an expression of self-regard: it is also the natural emotional outlet of those who, before anything has reared its ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/masturbation-is-not-only-an-expression-of-self-regard-it-is-also-the/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [I am the last of Britain's stately homos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-am-the-last-of-britain-s-stately-homos/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [My mother protected me from the world and my father threatened me with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/my-mother-protected-me-from-the-world-and-my-father-threatened-me/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Nothing more rapidly inclines a person to go into a monastery than reading a book on etiquette. There are so many trivial ways in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/nothing-more-rapidly-inclines-a-person-to-go-into-a-monastery-than/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/vice-is-its-own-reward-it-is-virtue-which-if-it-is-to-be-marketed/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Most men when they make up their faces, the makeup stands forward, and their faces are behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/most-men-when-they-make-up-their-faces-the-makeup-stands-forward-and/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Development of character consists solely in moving toward self-sufficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/development-of-character-consists-solely-in-moving-toward-self/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Women have decided to be people, which is a great mistake. Women were nicer than people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/women-have-decided-to-be-people-which-is-a-great-mistake-women-were/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [Sex is the last refuge of the misreable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/sex-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-misreable/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [I was amazed to receive later a substantial sum for sitting in my room and talking about myself. If only I could get some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-was-amazed-to-receive-later-a-substantial-sum-for-sitting-in-my/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [If you live in America, you don't have to work. You can just drift along in the smiling and nodding racket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/if-you-live-in-america-you-don-t-have-to-work-you-can-just-drift/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [“I was from birth an object of mild ridicule because of my movements - especially the perpetual flutter of my hands - and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-was-from-birth-an-object-of-mild-ridicule-because-of-my-movements/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [If a man were to look over the fence on one side of his garden and observe that the neighbor on his left had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/if-a-man-were-to-look-over-the-fence-on-one-side-of-his-garden-and/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) [Explore all 279 Quentin Crisp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) ## More Domesticity quotes > [Domesticity has to mean nesting. Otherwise, six months go by, and you don't know where your underwear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-mastrantonio/domesticity-has-to-mean-nesting-otherwise-six-months-go-by-and-you/) [Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-mastrantonio/) > [I feel domesticity just slipping off me. It is a choice. Either one can let it go or one can intensify it. The people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/i-feel-domesticity-just-slipping-off-me-it-is-a-choice-either-one-can/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [I never mind the accusations of domesticity, as long as people recognise that all of us, even the luckiest, will live lives in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-never-mind-the-accusations-of-domesticity-as-long-as-people/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [Domesticity is the enemy of art. I don't know if that's true. You can write good happy songs. So, I don't think it's necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/domesticity-is-the-enemy-of-art-i-don-t-know-if-that-s-true-you-can/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [Some men are born husbands; they have a passion for domesticity, for a fireside, for a home. Yet, curiously, these men very rarely stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-leverson/some-men-are-born-husbands-they-have-a-passion-for-domesticity-for-a/) [Ada Leverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-leverson/) > [If a woman is not fit to manage the internal matters of a house, she is fit for nothing, and should never be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-elizabeth-prescott-spofford/if-a-woman-is-not-fit-to-manage-the-internal-matters-of-a-house-she/) [Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-elizabeth-prescott-spofford/) > [There was a danger whenever I was on home ground. It was the danger of seeing my life through other eyes than my own.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/there-was-a-danger-whenever-i-was-on-home-ground-it-was-the-danger-of/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [Cooking is the showy side of domesticity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/cooking-is-the-showy-side-of-domesticity/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Housekeepers, homemakers, wives, and mothers are fundamental social relations, which rest upon woman's characteristics, physical, mental, and moral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-heber-newton/housekeepers-homemakers-wives-and-mothers-are-fundamental-social/) [R. Heber Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-heber-newton/) > [“Domesticity. Times when one wonders if Medea is a tragedy or a goddamn wish fulfillment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mcgreevy/domesticity-times-when-one-wonders-if-medea-is-a-tragedy-or-a-goddamn/) [Brian McGreevy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mcgreevy/) > [“There is, in the Army, a little known but very important activity appropriately called Fatigue. Fatigue, in the Army, is the very necessary cleaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jones/there-is-in-the-army-a-little-known-but-very-important-activity/) [James Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jones/) > [Home should be the center of joy, equatorial and tropical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/home-should-be-the-center-of-joy-equatorial-and-tropical/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [ “Nowhere is the English genius of domesticity more notably evident than in the festival of afternoon tea. The \[...\] chink of cups and the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nowhere-is-the-english-genius-of-domesticity-more-notably-evident/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No money is better spent than what is laid out for domestic satisfaction. A man is pleased that his wife is dressed as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-money-is-better-spent-than-what-is-laid-out-for-domestic-2/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [I lead a life of blameless domesticity and always have done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-johnson/i-lead-a-life-of-blameless-domesticity-and-always-have-done/) [Boris Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-johnson/) [Browse all 80 Domesticity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domesticity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I found that I had become so spinsterish that I was made neurotic not only by my life of domesticity but by the slightest derangement of my room. 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