--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men who have not been violated don’t…" description: "\"“Men who have not been violated don’t understand what it is like to have the edges of your body blurred—to feel that every inch of your skin is a place..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/rene-denfeld-14765_nameless-narrator_men-who-have-not-been-violated-don-t-und_1697195.jpg" --- # Men who have not been violated don’t understand what it is… ![“Men who have not been violated don’t understand what it is like to have the edges of your body blurred—to feel that every inch of your skin is a place where fingers can press, that every hole and orifice is a place where others can put parts of their bodies. When your body stops being corporeal…” quote by Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/rene-denfeld-14765_nameless-narrator_men-who-have-not-been-violated-don-t-und_1697195.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/rene-denfeld-14765_nameless-narrator_men-who-have-not-been-violated-don-t-und_1697195.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f0/rene-denfeld-14765_nameless-narrator_men-who-have-not-been-violated-don-t-und_1697195.jpg) > ““Men who have not been violated don’t understand what it is like to have the edges of your body blurred—to feel that every inch of your skin is a place where fingers can press, that every hole and orifice is a place where others can put parts of their bodies. When your body stops being corporeal, your soul has no place to go, so it finds the next window to escape. My soul left me when I was six. It flew away past a flapping curtain over a window. I ran after it, but it never came back. It left me alone on wet stinking mattresses. It left me alone in the choking dark. It took my tongue, my heart, and my mind. When you don’t have a soul, the ideas inside you become terrible things. They grow unchecked, like malignant monsters. You cry in the night because you know the ideas are wrong—you know because people have told you that—and yet none of it does any good. The ideas are free to grow. There is no soul inside you to stop them.”” [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes how loss of a soul leads to unchecked, harmful thoughts and a feeling of bodily disconnection. **In simple terms:** Losing a soul causes chaotic, harmful thoughts. Key Takeaway Recognize and seek help for destructive mental patterns. Themes identity trauma mental health existential crisis Mood conflicted somber introspective Type narrative philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - support groups - mindfulness practice - creative expression - spiritual counseling Key Concepts psychology spirituality psychosis body‑mind dualism Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate metaphor from literal experience? - What steps can restore a sense of inner control? A Different Perspective The metaphorical language may obscure practical mental‑health interventions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not listening for song ideas; I'm listening for soul ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-cannon/i-m-not-listening-for-song-ideas-i-m-listening-for-soul-ideas/) Chuck Cannon > [“The Non-Corporeal Soul increases tolerance and acceptance of the pain sensation, which paradoxically automatically reduces pain’s noxiousness and intolerableness. The more room for pain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-kaptchuk/the-non-corporeal-soul-increases-tolerance-and-acceptance-of-the-pain/) Ted Kaptchuk > [For knowledge to become wisdom, and for the soul to grow, the soul must be rooted in God: and it is through prayer that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mountford/for-knowledge-to-become-wisdom-and-for-the-soul-to-grow-the-soul-must/) [William Mountford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mountford/) > [The purpose of life is not to maintain personal comfort; it's to grow the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-baldwin/the-purpose-of-life-is-not-to-maintain-personal-comfort-it-s-to-grow/) [Christina Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-baldwin/) > [“Life is my guru, constantly teaching me what I need to know. Placing exactly who and what I need in my life to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-koulouris/life-is-my-guru-constantly-teaching-me-what-i-need-to-know-placing/) Melanie Koulouris > [“Books should grow the soul - while the reader has a little fun along the way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-frailey/books-should-grow-the-soul-while-the-reader-has-a-little-fun-along/) A.K. Frailey > [Life is a opportunity to grow one's soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jreyes/life-is-a-opportunity-to-grow-one-s-soul/) JREYES > [From our ugliness will grow the soul of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-platonov/from-our-ugliness-will-grow-the-soul-of-the-world/) [Andrei Platonov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-platonov/) > [Christianity is not a religion for the masses, let alone for all. Cultivated by few and translated into deeds, it is one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/christianity-is-not-a-religion-for-the-masses-let-alone-for-all/) [Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/) > [Life is just a chance to grow a soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-powell-davies/life-is-just-a-chance-to-grow-a-soul/) [A. Powell Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-powell-davies/) > [“To tell a tale so great as to tear the soul inside out" Sara Niles, Torn From the Inside Out”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-niles/to-tell-a-tale-so-great-as-to-tear-the-soul-inside-out-sara-niles/) [Sara Niles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-niles/) > [“Our heart is closest to our soul, in fact, the only way to our soul; it knows everything that our soul wants and life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-katyal/our-heart-is-closest-to-our-soul-in-fact-the-only-way-to-our-soul-it/) [Neha Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-katyal/) > [\*\*Every message u sent, I kept inside my heart. Every word u said touched upon my soul, we may not c each other but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uknown/every-message-u-sent-i-kept-inside-my-heart-every-word-u-said-touched/) UKNOWN > [The soul is neither inside nor outside the body; neither proximate to nor separate from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/the-soul-is-neither-inside-nor-outside-the-body-neither-proximate-to/) [Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/) > [“Let me inside your soul. Inside that abandoned paradise. And let me walk on that road to your heart. Let me see through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-vasu/let-me-inside-your-soul-inside-that-abandoned-paradise-and-let-me/) [Akshay Vasu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-vasu/) ## More by Rene Denfeld > [“I hear them, the fallen priest and the lady. Their footsteps sound like the soft hush of rain over the stone floors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/i-hear-them-the-fallen-priest-and-the-lady-their-footsteps-sound-like/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“He knows that when she passes, a grief will rip through him unlike anything he has ever known. Preparing for it doesn't help. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/he-knows-that-when-she-passes-a-grief-will-rip-through-him-unlike/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“The land beyond rose into dizzying mountains. Far across the way a frozen waterfall resembled a charging lion. The trees were shrouded in white,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/the-land-beyond-rose-into-dizzying-mountains-far-across-the-way-a/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“I sit on my narrow bunk and caress my long yellow toenails and stare at my walls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/i-sit-on-my-narrow-bunk-and-caress-my-long-yellow-toenails-and-stare/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [ “\[...\] and every time she says the word, it breaks her heart into pieces that she has to pick up in her hands and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/and-every-time-she-says-the-word-it-breaks-her-heart-into-pieces-that/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“Outside a pale dawn threaded the sky with silver.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/outside-a-pale-dawn-threaded-the-sky-with-silver/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“She stopped by an empty field, the soil abandoned, gone to mustard weed and grass. Lush bundles of crimson clover lined the fence. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/she-stopped-by-an-empty-field-the-soil-abandoned-gone-to-mustard-weed/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“In the years since, she had discovered the sacrament of life did not demand memory. Like a leaf that drank from the morning dew,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/in-the-years-since-she-had-discovered-the-sacrament-of-life-did-not/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“Inside, the lies you tell become the person you become. On the outside, sun and reality shrink people back to their actual size. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/inside-the-lies-you-tell-become-the-person-you-become-on-the-outside/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“she winds her way through gorgeous blue conifer forests, past glistening rivers and curves that give glimpses of heaven.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/she-winds-her-way-through-gorgeous-blue-conifer-forests-past/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“She said we are all part of a secret club. Someday, she said, we will take over the earth. It will be people like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/she-said-we-are-all-part-of-a-secret-club-someday-she-said-we-will/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“She thinks how sad it is that we remember the killers and not their victims. What if the world forgot Hitler and remembered all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/she-thinks-how-sad-it-is-that-we-remember-the-killers-and-not-their/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“The walls that might make others feel like they are suffocating have become my lungs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/the-walls-that-might-make-others-feel-like-they-are-suffocating-have/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“But he saw Naomi as the wind traveling over the field, always searching, never stopping, and never knowing that true peace is when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/but-he-saw-naomi-as-the-wind-traveling-over-the-field-always/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“(She) didn't believe in resilience. She believed in imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/she-didn-t-believe-in-resilience-she-believed-in-imagination/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) [Explore all 45 Rene Denfeld quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) ## More Soul quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I don't drink much anymore, but when I traveled with Frank Sinatra, God rest his soul, I used to drink like I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-don-t-drink-much-anymore-but-when-i-traveled-with-frank-sinatra-god/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [She smiled, if he could see that, and waited for him to ask the real question. But he was silent. He wanted her to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/she-smiled-if-he-could-see-that-and-waited-for-him-to-ask-the-real/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [ “i believe \[images\] are the soul's immune system and transit system.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/i-believe-images-are-the-soul-s-immune-system-and-transit-system/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [And you can't complain about kissing Emma Watson. Isn't that what everyone in the world wants to do? I've known Emma for a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/and-you-can-t-complain-about-kissing-emma-watson-isn-t-that-what/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) > [“You're never alone if you're with your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-armond-powell/you-re-never-alone-if-you-re-with-your-soul/) [Gerard Armond Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-armond-powell/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [“A question for Christians who accept evolution: When did we gain a "soul"? Did Homo habilis have a soul? Homo ergaster? Did God only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/a-question-for-christians-who-accept-evolution-when-did-we-gain-a/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Suffering did different things to different people...Some souls became tempered, unshakable in their faith, while others became twisted and mis-shapen, throwing off all connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ragen/suffering-did-different-things-to-different-people-some-souls-became/) [Naomi Ragen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ragen/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) [Browse all 21,981 Soul quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Men who have not been violated don’t understand what it is like to have the edges of your body blurred—to feel that every inch of your skin is a place where fingers can press, that every hole and orifice is a place where others can put parts of their bodies. When your body stops being corporeal, your soul has no place to go, so it finds the next window to escape. My soul left me when I was six. It flew away past a flapping curtain over a window. I ran after it, but it never came back. It left me alone on wet stinking mattresses. It left me alone in the choking dark. It took my tongue, my heart, and my mind. When you don’t have a soul, the ideas inside you become terrible things. They grow unchecked, like malignant monsters. You cry in the night because you know the ideas are wrong—you know because people have told you that—and yet none of it does any good. The ideas are free to grow. 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