--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do not think women understand how…" description: "\"I do not think women understand how repelled a man feels when he sees a woman wholly absorbed in what she is thinking, unless it is about her child, or..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e25/rebecca-west-1248_children_i-do-not-think-women-understand-how-repe_665622.jpg" --- # I do not think women understand how repelled a man feels… ![“I do not think women understand how repelled a man feels when he sees a woman wholly absorbed in what she is thinking, unless it is about her child, or her husband, or her lover. It ... gives one gooseflesh.” quote by Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e25/rebecca-west-1248_children_i-do-not-think-women-understand-how-repe_665622.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e25/rebecca-west-1248_children_i-do-not-think-women-understand-how-repe_665622.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e25/rebecca-west-1248_children_i-do-not-think-women-understand-how-repe_665622.jpg) > “I do not think women understand how repelled a man feels when he sees a woman wholly absorbed in what she is thinking, unless it is about her child, or her husband, or her lover. It ... gives one gooseflesh.” [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Men feel discomfort when women are deeply absorbed in thoughts unrelated to traditional roles, evoking a visceral reaction. **In simple terms:** Men uneasy when women think beyond expected topics. Key Takeaway Respect intellectual autonomy regardless of gender. Themes gender dynamics intellectual freedom social expectations psychology Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - workplace meetings - academic discussions - family gatherings - social events Key Concepts male‑female relations thought autonomy cultural norms Questions to Reflect On - How do gender expectations shape communication? - What spaces allow free thought for all? A Different Perspective Not all men react similarly; cultural context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Husband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Repelled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repelled/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“We're bein cut asunder, Lugh an me. Bit By bit. An it makes me think. It makes me wonder. Is this how he feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moira-young/we-re-bein-cut-asunder-lugh-an-me-bit-by-bit-an-it-makes-me-think-it/) [Moira Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moira-young/) > [I've been simultaneously drawn to and repelled from Hollywood for years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-ve-been-simultaneously-drawn-to-and-repelled-from-hollywood-for/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [We have all said things that are offensive when taken out of context. You don't need to tell the public to be repelled. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-mack/we-have-all-said-things-that-are-offensive-when-taken-out-of-context/) [Lee Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-mack/) > [“Was there any more repellent sight, Harriet wondered, than a silly, self-centred, greedy woman clad in the skin of a beast so much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-manning/was-there-any-more-repellent-sight-harriet-wondered-than-a-silly-self/) [Olivia Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-manning/) > [I guess I'm attracted and repelled by isolation. It scares me. And it's why I tend to write about older characters, too, because for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcpherson/i-guess-i-m-attracted-and-repelled-by-isolation-it-scares-me-and-it-s/) [Conor McPherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcpherson/) > [It was only the vulgarly mediocre that repelled her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-only-the-vulgarly-mediocre-that-repelled-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The blatancy of the icy-hearted satire repelled me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-begley/the-blatancy-of-the-icy-hearted-satire-repelled-me/) [Adam Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-begley/) > [I was as repelled by the French as I was attracted by their country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-anderson/i-was-as-repelled-by-the-french-as-i-was-attracted-by-their-country/) [Margaret Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-anderson/) > [The very purpose of the Second Amendment is to stop the government from disallowing people the means to defend themselves against tyranny. Any proposal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-stockman/the-very-purpose-of-the-second-amendment-is-to-stop-the-government/) [Steve Stockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-stockman/) > [I certainly don't follow fashion. I think fashion, as far as the industry and the whole world that surrounds it, is quite vile, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mika/i-certainly-don-t-follow-fashion-i-think-fashion-as-far-as-the/) [Mika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mika/) > [Now they're attracted to one another, but repelled by their ethnic origins, so that there was something to overcome. They had to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-towne/now-they-re-attracted-to-one-another-but-repelled-by-their-ethnic/) [Robert Towne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-towne/) > [I am repelled by those who voice the word 'nature', without having any trace of it in their hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odilon-redon/i-am-repelled-by-those-who-voice-the-word-nature-without-having-any/) [Odilon Redon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odilon-redon/) > [For a long time, I felt instinctively irritated - sometimes repelled - by scientific friends' automatic use of the word 'mechanism' for automatic bodily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/for-a-long-time-i-felt-instinctively-irritated-sometimes-repelled-by/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [“He was repelled by the pettiness that reduced life to mere existence and that turned men into half-men. He wanted to lay his life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/he-was-repelled-by-the-pettiness-that-reduced-life-to-mere-existence/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The moment when you are most repelled by a child's behavior, that is your warning light to draw the very closest to that child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-moment-when-you-are-most-repelled-by-a-child-s-behavior-that-is/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) ## More by Rebecca West > [I see the main problem of my life, and indeed anybody's life, as the balancing of competitive freedoms ... a sense of mutual obligations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/i-see-the-main-problem-of-my-life-and-indeed-anybody-s-life-as-the/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“There is, of course, no reason for the existence of the male sex except that sometimes one needs help with moving the piano.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/there-is-of-course-no-reason-for-the-existence-of-the-male-sex-except/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“At the top of a hill our automobile stuck in a snowdrift. Peasants ran out of a cottage near by, shouting with laughter because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/at-the-top-of-a-hill-our-automobile-stuck-in-a-snowdrift-peasants-ran/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [We all drew on the comfort which is given out by the major works of Mozart, which is as real and material as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/we-all-drew-on-the-comfort-which-is-given-out-by-the-major-works-of/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Christianity must be regarded not as a final revelation but as a phase of revelation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-final-revelation-but-as-a/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Art and propaganda have this much connection, that if a propaganda makes art impossible, it is clearly damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/art-and-propaganda-have-this-much-connection-that-if-a-propaganda/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [The American struggle for the vote was much more difficult than the English for the simple reason that it was much more easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-american-struggle-for-the-vote-was-much-more-difficult-than-the/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [ Like all bad drivers, he \[Henry Andrews\] thought he was the best driver in the world... ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/like-all-bad-drivers-he-henry-andrews-thought-he-was-the-best-driver/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [The childhood of the individual and the race is full of fears, and panic-stricken attempts to avert what is feared by placating the gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-childhood-of-the-individual-and-the-race-is-full-of-fears-and/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Humanity is never more sphinxlike than when it is expressing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/humanity-is-never-more-sphinxlike-than-when-it-is-expressing-itself/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [ \[On Jane Austen:\] To believe her limited in range because she was harmonious in method is as sensible as to imagine that when the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/on-jane-austen-to-believe-her-limited-in-range-because-she-was/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [a good oyster cannot please the palate as acutely as a bad one can revolt it, and a good oyster cannot make him who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/a-good-oyster-cannot-please-the-palate-as-acutely-as-a-bad-one-can/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [If there is a God, I don't think He would demand that anyone bow down or stand up to Him. I often have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/if-there-is-a-god-i-don-t-think-he-would-demand-that-anyone-bow-down/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Any authentic work of art must start an argument between the artist and his audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/any-authentic-work-of-art-must-start-an-argument-between-the-artist/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [... there has never been a period in history when there have been necessary killings which has not been instantly followed by a period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/there-has-never-been-a-period-in-history-when-there-have-been/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) [Explore all 264 Rebecca West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I do not think women understand how repelled a man feels when he sees a woman wholly absorbed in what she is thinking, unless it is about her child, or her husband, or her lover. It ... gives one gooseflesh.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rebecca West" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/i-do-not-think-women-understand-how-repelled-a-man-feels-when-he-sees/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/i-do-not-think-women-understand-how-repelled-a-man-feels-when-he-sees/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e25/rebecca-west-1248_children_i-do-not-think-women-understand-how-repe_665622.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e25/rebecca-west-1248_children_i-do-not-think-women-understand-how-repe_665622.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e25/rebecca-west-1248_children_i-do-not-think-women-understand-how-repe_665622.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I do not think women understand how repelled a man feels when he sees a woman wholly absorbed in what she is…” — Rebecca West", "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": "Rebecca West", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I do not think women understand...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/i-do-not-think-women-understand-how-repelled-a-man-feels-when-he-sees/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/i-do-not-think-women-understand-how-repelled-a-man-feels-when-he-sees/#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 } } ] } ```