--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He wasn't the type for displays of…" description: "\"“He wasn't the type for displays of affection, either verbal or not. He was disgusted by couples that made out in the hallways between classes, and got..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec3/sarah-dessen-110_affection_he-wasn-t-the-type-for-displays-of-affec_2573954.jpg" --- # He wasn't the type for displays of affection, either… ![“He wasn't the type for displays of affection, either verbal or not. He was disgusted by couples that made out in the hallways between classes, and got annoyed at even the slightest sappy moments in movies. But I knew he cared about me: he just conveyed it more subtly, as concise with expressing…” quote by Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec3/sarah-dessen-110_affection_he-wasn-t-the-type-for-displays-of-affec_2573954.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec3/sarah-dessen-110_affection_he-wasn-t-the-type-for-displays-of-affec_2573954.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec3/sarah-dessen-110_affection_he-wasn-t-the-type-for-displays-of-affec_2573954.jpg) > ““He wasn't the type for displays of affection, either verbal or not. He was disgusted by couples that made out in the hallways between classes, and got annoyed at even the slightest sappy moments in movies. But I knew he cared about me: he just conveyed it more subtly, as concise with expressing this emotion as he was with everything else. It was in the way he'd put his hand on the small of my back, for instance, or how he'd smile at me when I said something that surprised him. Once I might have wanted more, but I'd come around to his way of thinking in the time we'd been together. And we were together, all the time. So he didn't have to prove how he felt about me. Like so much else, I should just know.”” [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A reserved person shows love through subtle actions rather than overt displays, teaching that affection can be quiet yet profound. **In simple terms:** Love can be shown subtly. Key Takeaway Notice quiet expressions of love. Themes relationships communication affection Mood thoughtful intimate Type literary emotional When to use this quote - romantic partnership - friendship - family ties Key Concepts emotional intelligence nonverbal cues Questions to Reflect On - How do you interpret quiet affection? - What subtle signs of love do you value? A Different Perspective Subtle love may be misinterpreted as indifference. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Affection Verbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection-verbal-1718039/) [Conveyed Subtly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conveyed-subtly-1718040/) [Displays Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/displays-affection-1075947/) [Knew Cared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-cared-580220/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Way of thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“I’m not an emotional man, and I hate public displays of affection.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-reilly/i-m-not-an-emotional-man-and-i-hate-public-displays-of-affection/) [Cora Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-reilly/) > [I'm not one for big public displays of affection, anyway. Straight, gay, whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-etheridge/i-m-not-one-for-big-public-displays-of-affection-anyway-straight-gay/) [Melissa Etheridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-etheridge/) > [These displays of affection mean a lot to our family and are a reminder of the heart that my people have. In this time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amaury-nolasco/these-displays-of-affection-mean-a-lot-to-our-family-and-are-a/) [Amaury Nolasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amaury-nolasco/) > [“One acronym to live by: PDADP, meaning Personal Displays of Affection Disturb People.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-a-lammers/one-acronym-to-live-by-pdadp-meaning-personal-displays-of-affection/) [Michelle A. Lammers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-a-lammers/) > [I know my parents loved me - they certainly did everything they could for me - but displays of affection were kept on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-graham/i-know-my-parents-loved-me-they-certainly-did-everything-they-could/) [Laurie Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-graham/) > [“Please, Eve, these public displays of affection must stop. I have a reputation.” “Keep it up, ace, and I’ll give you a public display…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-robb/please-eve-these-public-displays-of-affection-must-stop-i-have-a/) [J.D. Robb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-robb/) > [If only you knew how much I cared. If only you cared half as much as I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-only-you-knew-how-much-i-cared-if-only-you-cared-half-as-much-as-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hunting, fishing, drawing, and music occupied my every moment. Cares I knew not, and cared naught about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-james-audubon/hunting-fishing-drawing-and-music-occupied-my-every-moment-cares-i/) [John James Audubon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-james-audubon/) > [I Miss you because I knew you cared and you make me laugh I miss all of it...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-miss-you-because-i-knew-you-cared-and-you-make-me-laugh-i-miss-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I knew I had to be careful. I had to keep my distance. If she knew how much I still cared, it was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/i-knew-i-had-to-be-careful-i-had-to-keep-my-distance-if-she-knew-how/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“There were thousands of households throughout that city and there was something happening in all of them. There was some kind of story in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/there-were-thousands-of-households-throughout-that-city-and-there-was/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [We were always surrounded by people who knew us very well and cared about us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kate-olsen/we-were-always-surrounded-by-people-who-knew-us-very-well-and-cared/) [Mary-Kate Olsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kate-olsen/) > [“The old me knew. The old me cared. Fine, so far so good. Except that the old me cared so much that he actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-old-me-knew-the-old-me-cared-fine-so-far-so-good-except-that-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“I want you to know...that you can trust me." John locked eyes with her and was instantly transported to a different plane of existence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/i-want-you-to-know-that-you-can-trust-me-john-locked-eyes-with-her/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“She realized that the photograph had caused his reaction. It came to her almost as a revelation. Think of it: a photographer presses a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soheir-khashoggi/she-realized-that-the-photograph-had-caused-his-reaction-it-came-to/) [Soheir Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soheir-khashoggi/) ## More by Sarah Dessen > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“if i were a book i would be so open”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/if-i-were-a-book-i-would-be-so-open/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Harder to get in than out, like so little else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/harder-to-get-in-than-out-like-so-little-else/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“At times, I found myself questioning his very existence, even though I knew I had, in fact, spotted him, with my own eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/at-times-i-found-myself-questioning-his-very-existence-even-though-i/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You don't have to say it out loud. I already know why you like me.' 'You do, huh?' 'Yep.' He wrapped his arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-don-t-have-to-say-it-out-loud-i-already-know-why-you-like-me-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/no-relationship-is-perfect-ever-there-are-always-some-ways-you-have/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [When you had to do something, you had to do it. And eventually, if you were lucky, you did it well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/when-you-had-to-do-something-you-had-to-do-it-and-eventually-if-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [the truth about forever is that it is happening right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/the-truth-about-forever-is-that-it-is-happening-right-now/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I jammed my hand in my jacket pocket, bracing myself fo the next hit, and fel something. Something grainy and samll, sticking to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-jammed-my-hand-in-my-jacket-pocket-bracing-myself-fo-the-next-hit/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I had no illusions about love anymore. It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. People weren't meant to be together forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-had-no-illusions-about-love-anymore-it-came-it-went-it-left/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“But maybe that isn't so bad. You can't love anyone that way more than once in a lifetime. It's too hard and it hurts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/but-maybe-that-isn-t-so-bad-you-can-t-love-anyone-that-way-more-than/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [This was just one night, one chance to vary and see where it took me. The fireflies were probably already out: maybe it wasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/this-was-just-one-night-one-chance-to-vary-and-see-where-it-took-me/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [call it chicken salad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/call-it-chicken-salad/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“For me, however, it was a mix of the two, this constant push and pull. I loved it here. But I'd been in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/for-me-however-it-was-a-mix-of-the-two-this-constant-push-and-pull-i/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I think whenever a writer is really enjoying themselves and liking what they are doing, that shows on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-think-whenever-a-writer-is-really-enjoying-themselves-and-liking/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) [Explore all 1,251 Sarah Dessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## 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": "“He wasn't the type for displays of affection, either verbal or not. 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