--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wonder if I can write this history, or…" description: "\"I wonder if I can write this history, or if on every page there will be some sneaking show of a bitterness I thought long dead. I think myself cured of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3e/robin-hobb-489_ancient_i-wonder-if-i-can-write-this-history-or_966318.jpg" --- # I wonder if I can write this history, or if on every page… ![“I wonder if I can write this history, or if on every page there will be some sneaking show of a bitterness I thought long dead. I think myself cured of all spite, but when I touch pen to paper, the hurt of a boy bleeds out with the sea-spawned ink, until I suspect each carefully formed black…” quote by Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3e/robin-hobb-489_ancient_i-wonder-if-i-can-write-this-history-or_966318.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3e/robin-hobb-489_ancient_i-wonder-if-i-can-write-this-history-or_966318.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b3e/robin-hobb-489_ancient_i-wonder-if-i-can-write-this-history-or_966318.jpg) > “I wonder if I can write this history, or if on every page there will be some sneaking show of a bitterness I thought long dead. I think myself cured of all spite, but when I touch pen to paper, the hurt of a boy bleeds out with the sea-spawned ink, until I suspect each carefully formed black letter scabs over some ancient scarlet wound.” [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes the struggle of writing painful personal history, where each word revives old wounds despite attempts at healing. **In simple terms:** Writing can reopen old hurts even when trying to move on. Key Takeaway Approach writing with self‑compassion and boundaries. Themes writing healing memory pain creativity Mood introspective somber hopeful Type literary therapeutic When to use this quote - journaling - creative writing workshops - therapy sessions Key Concepts trauma narrative self‑expression literary catharsis Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries help protect the writer? - How can painful memories be transformed? A Different Perspective May trigger emotional distress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) [Bitterness Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness-thought-1824426/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Ink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ink/) [Letter Scabs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letter-scabs-963029/) [Letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letters/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [Paper Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper-hurt-963027/) [Pens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pens/) [Scabs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scabs/) [Scarlet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scarlet/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Sneaking Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sneaking-bitterness-1824427/) [Spite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spite/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I think myself cured of all spite, but when I touch pen to paper, the hurt of a boy bleeds out with sea-spawned ink,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-think-myself-cured-of-all-spite-but-when-i-touch-pen-to-paper-the/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [Look at this, scabs and cuts all over me, I get these every night, every game. They can't tell you that you're not at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-malone/look-at-this-scabs-and-cuts-all-over-me-i-get-these-every-night-every/) [Karl Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-malone/) > [Pride is a wound and vanity is the scab on it. One's life picks at the scab to open that wound again and again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ayrton/pride-is-a-wound-and-vanity-is-the-scab-on-it-one-s-life-picks-at-the/) [Michael Ayrton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ayrton/) > [Beneath this mask of selfish tranquility nothing exists except bitterness and boredom. I am one of those whom suffering has made empty and frivilous:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/beneath-this-mask-of-selfish-tranquility-nothing-exists-except/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [Old or new, the only sign I always try to rid my books of (usually with little success) is the price-sticker that malignant booksellers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/old-or-new-the-only-sign-i-always-try-to-rid-my-books-of-usually-with/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [A scab'd horse cannot abide the comb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/a-scab-d-horse-cannot-abide-the-comb/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [I think we're all wounded, but some of us, when we experience the healing of those wounds, that they scar and scab over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-think-we-re-all-wounded-but-some-of-us-when-we-experience-the/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [I tried on 250 bathing suits in one afternoon and ended up havinglittle scabs up and down my thighs, probably from some of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-crawford/i-tried-on-250-bathing-suits-in-one-afternoon-and-ended-up/) [Cindy Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-crawford/) > [Reagan was extreme. Beginning of his administration, one of the first things was to call in scabs - hadn't been done for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/reagan-was-extreme-beginning-of-his-administration-one-of-the-first/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you keep picking a scab it will bleed and never heal. If you keep dragging the pain of the past up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-keep-picking-a-scab-it-will-bleed-and-never-heal-if-you-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The whole world is a scab. The point is to pick it constructively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-beard/the-whole-world-is-a-scab-the-point-is-to-pick-it-constructively/) [Peter Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-beard/) > [“Rubbing the poor itch of your opinion, you make yourselves scabs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/rubbing-the-poor-itch-of-your-opinion-you-make-yourselves-scabs/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Your art is most alive and dangerous when you use it against yourself. That's why I pick at my scabs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/your-art-is-most-alive-and-dangerous-when-you-use-it-against-yourself/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Pulled the scabs off of regrets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-brock/pulled-the-scabs-off-of-regrets/) [Isaac Brock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-brock/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) ## More by Robin Hobb > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“But that is not true for all folk. Some folk are meant to argue with fate. And win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/but-that-is-not-true-for-all-folk-some-folk-are-meant-to-argue-with/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I tried to leave you alone, Fitz. To find what peace you could, even if it excluded me from your life.” Ten years ago,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-tried-to-leave-you-alone-fitz-to-find-what-peace-you-could-even-if/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Do you think you're taking Etta out of here?" "Yes," Kennit called over his shoulder up the sairs. "What about all these dead men?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/do-you-think-you-re-taking-etta-out-of-here-yes-kennit-called-over/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“A way out is a way in. Then,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/a-way-out-is-a-way-in-then/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Die in your dreams, wake up insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/die-in-your-dreams-wake-up-insane/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I felt a familiar squeezing in what I thought must be my heart. I had heard of being "heartbroken" or "heavy-hearted" but I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-felt-a-familiar-squeezing-in-what-i-thought-must-be-my-heart-i-had/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“They spoke of a dream of a child who bore the heart of a wolf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/they-spoke-of-a-dream-of-a-child-who-bore-the-heart-of-a-wolf/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“We all perish in our last attempt to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/we-all-perish-in-our-last-attempt-to-live/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“There is always power in holding a secret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/there-is-always-power-in-holding-a-secret/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“... finally realizing that life was to be lived, rather than hoarded against an unseen tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/finally-realizing-that-life-was-to-be-lived-rather-than-hoarded/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Why, I suddenly wondered, had I wasted all those hours I could have spent with her? 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And I fear it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-don-t-think-i-can-stand-it-much-longer-he-warned-her-something-will/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) [Explore all 500 Robin Hobb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## More Ancient quotes > [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. 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It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. 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If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/) [Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/) > [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) [Browse all 2,415 Ancient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wonder if I can write this history, or if on every page there will be some sneaking show of a bitterness I thought long dead. 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