--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am constantly astonished by the people…" description: "\"I am constantly astonished by the people, otherwise intelligent, who think that anything so complex and delicate as a marriage can be left to take care..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/robertson-davies-834_affection_i-am-constantly-astonished-by-the-people_933454.png" --- # I am constantly astonished by the people, otherwise… ![“I am constantly astonished by the people, otherwise intelligent, who think that anything so complex and delicate as a marriage can be left to take care of itself. One sees them fussing about all sorts of lesser concerns, apparently unaware that side by side with them often in the same bed a human…” quote by Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/robertson-davies-834_affection_i-am-constantly-astonished-by-the-people_933454.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/robertson-davies-834_affection_i-am-constantly-astonished-by-the-people_933454.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/robertson-davies-834_affection_i-am-constantly-astonished-by-the-people_933454.png) > “I am constantly astonished by the people, otherwise intelligent, who think that anything so complex and delicate as a marriage can be left to take care of itself. One sees them fussing about all sorts of lesser concerns, apparently unaware that side by side with them often in the same bed a human creature is perishing from lack of affection, of emotional malnutrition.” [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Marriage requires active nurturing; neglect leads to emotional starvation despite other concerns. **In simple terms:** Relationships need care, not neglect. Key Takeaway Invest in emotional connection. Themes relationships emotional health marriage Mood thoughtful intimate Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - marital counseling - daily check‑ins - expressing appreciation - conflict resolution Key Concepts attachment theory communication Questions to Reflect On - What small act can you do today to show affection? - How do you recognize emotional needs in partners? A Different Perspective Assuming love sustains itself can cause neglect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Fussing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fussing/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Malnutrition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malnutrition/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Side by side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/side-by-side/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Although my marriage left me with three beautiful children, it also left me with a healthy dose of self-doubt, low self-esteem, and an extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niecy-nash/although-my-marriage-left-me-with-three-beautiful-children-it-also/) [Niecy Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niecy-nash/) > [While 45 of the 50 States have either a State constitutional amendment or a statute that preserves the current definition of marriage, left-wing activist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boehner/while-45-of-the-50-states-have-either-a-state-constitutional/) [John Boehner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boehner/) > [The spirit of the marriage left the bedroom and took to living in the parlor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/the-spirit-of-the-marriage-left-the-bedroom-and-took-to-living-in-the/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [“I told, you he doesn’t feel anything.” She was a warrior. Good at the game. I had no doubt she’d been the one who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurelin-paige/i-told-you-he-doesn-t-feel-anything-she-was-a-warrior-good-at-the/) [Laurelin Paige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurelin-paige/) > [“you can’t punish someone for a lack of affection, can you? You can’t force a child to love you just because he’s your child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/you-can-t-punish-someone-for-a-lack-of-affection-can-you-you-can-t/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Love is the missing factor; there is a lack of affection, of warmth in relationship; and because we lack that love, that tenderness, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/love-is-the-missing-factor-there-is-a-lack-of-affection-of-warmth-in/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“went to her workshop three times a week to paint with Kirsten. She rarely frequented the Lark House dining room, preferring to eat out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/went-to-her-workshop-three-times-a-week-to-paint-with-kirsten-she/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [My goal was not to have huge luxuries. As a child, I wanted a house with a garden, which I have today. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/my-goal-was-not-to-have-huge-luxuries-as-a-child-i-wanted-a-house/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [When I understand myself, I understand you, and out of that understanding comes love. Love is the missing factor; there is a lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-understand-myself-i-understand-you-and-out-of-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Philip himself asked desperately what was the use of living at all. It all seemed inane. It was the same with Cronshaw: it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/philip-himself-asked-desperately-what-was-the-use-of-living-at-all-it/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Money does not corrupt people. What corrupts people is lack of affection ... Money is simply the bandage which wounded people put over their wounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/money-does-not-corrupt-people-what-corrupts-people-is-lack-of/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [I feel shy when people are fussing on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lively/i-feel-shy-when-people-are-fussing-on-me/) [Blake Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lively/) > [Fussing over children who cry only encourages them. That's positive reinforcement for negative behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/fussing-over-children-who-cry-only-encourages-them-that-s-positive/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [I was growing tired of all the fussing and prevaricating, of the stolen hours and the secret rendez-vous; of the small indignities and broad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-baum/i-was-growing-tired-of-all-the-fussing-and-prevaricating-of-the/) [Vicki Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-baum/) > [...We can work it out. Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting, my friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/we-can-work-it-out-life-is-very-short-and-there-s-no-time-for-fussing/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) ## More by Robertson Davies > [“...the irrational will have its say, perhaps because 'irrational' is the wrong word for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/the-irrational-will-have-its-say-perhaps-because-irrational-is-the/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [If you're going to do something that looks evil, don't smear it with icing and pretend it's good; just bloody well do it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/if-you-re-going-to-do-something-that-looks-evil-don-t-smear-it-with/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/extraordinary-people-survive-under-the-most-terrible-circumstances/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Although there may be nothing new under the sun, what is old is new to us and so rich and astonishing that we never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/although-there-may-be-nothing-new-under-the-sun-what-is-old-is-new-to/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [If I had to describe my remarks this evening frankly as if I were in police court and on oath, so to speak I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/if-i-had-to-describe-my-remarks-this-evening-frankly-as-if-i-were-in/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The people of the United States, perhaps more than any other nation in history, love to abase themselves and proclaim their unworthiness, and seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/the-people-of-the-united-states-perhaps-more-than-any-other-nation-in/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [I don't suppose God laughs at the people who think He doesn't exist. He's above jokes. But the devil isn't. That's one of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/i-don-t-suppose-god-laughs-at-the-people-who-think-he-doesn-t-exist/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Inactivity and deprivation of all accustomed stimulus is not rest; it is a preparation for the tomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/inactivity-and-deprivation-of-all-accustomed-stimulus-is-not-rest-it/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [“My lifelong involvement with Mrs Dempster began at 5:58 o'clock p.m. on 27 December 1908, at which time I was ten years and seven months old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/my-lifelong-involvement-with-mrs-dempster-began-at-5-58-o-clock-p-m/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [In a government like ours, the Crown is the abiding and unshakable element in government; politicians may come and go, but the Crown remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/in-a-government-like-ours-the-crown-is-the-abiding-and-unshakable/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The art of the quoter is to know when to stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/the-art-of-the-quoter-is-to-know-when-to-stop/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [There can be no doubt that Samuel Marchbanks is one of the choice and master spirits of this age. If there were such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/there-can-be-no-doubt-that-samuel-marchbanks-is-one-of-the-choice-and/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Nobody who looks as though he enjoyed life is ever called distinguished, though he is a man in a million.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/nobody-who-looks-as-though-he-enjoyed-life-is-ever-called/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [They're all so highly educated, you know. Education is a great shield against experience. It offers so much, ready-made and all from the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/they-re-all-so-highly-educated-you-know-education-is-a-great-shield/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Students today are a pretty solemn lot. One of the really notable achievements of the twentieth century has been to make the young old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/students-today-are-a-pretty-solemn-lot-one-of-the-really-notable/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) [Explore all 357 Robertson Davies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am constantly astonished by the people, otherwise intelligent, who think that anything so complex and delicate as a marriage can be left to take care of itself. 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