--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am learning the pathways of the heart…" description: "\"“I am learning the pathways of the heart, Eleanor thought quite seriously, and then wondered what she could have meant by thinking any such thing.”\" — ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/shirley-jackson-1526_demoralization_i-am-learning-the-pathways-of-the-heart_314352.jpg" --- # I am learning the pathways of the heart, Eleanor thought… ![“I am learning the pathways of the heart, Eleanor thought quite seriously, and then wondered what she could have meant by thinking any such thing.” quote by Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/shirley-jackson-1526_demoralization_i-am-learning-the-pathways-of-the-heart_314352.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/shirley-jackson-1526_demoralization_i-am-learning-the-pathways-of-the-heart_314352.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/shirley-jackson-1526_demoralization_i-am-learning-the-pathways-of-the-heart_314352.jpg) > ““I am learning the pathways of the heart, Eleanor thought quite seriously, and then wondered what she could have meant by thinking any such thing.”” [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Eleanor reflects on understanding emotional patterns, questioning their meaning and significance. **In simple terms:** She ponders how to interpret emotional insights. Key Takeaway Explore your feelings deeply. Themes self‑awareness introspection emotional intelligence Mood thoughtful curious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - therapy - creative writing - relationship counseling Key Concepts psychology literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - What does “learning the pathways of the heart” mean to you? - How can you apply this curiosity to real relationships? 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The pounding had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/now-we-are-going-to-have-a-new-noise-eleanor-thought-listening-to-the/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“And love seemed now such a tortuous path, such an unknown territory. Navigating the arterial pathways of the heart. And even how it sounded.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-ellory/and-love-seemed-now-such-a-tortuous-path-such-an-unknown-territory/) [R.J. 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I had lots of honors, so I thought I was quite smart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-did-well-in-school-i-had-lots-of-honors-so-i-thought-i-was-quite/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Bert and Dehlia had planted the seed of thought in her mind, and it was growing away busily putting out new shoots of thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/bert-and-dehlia-had-planted-the-seed-of-thought-in-her-mind-and-it/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [I have often thought I would have been quite happy as a spider.Even a spider has the right to a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/i-have-often-thought-i-would-have-been-quite-happy-as-a-spider-even-a/) [Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/) > [“Who would look at him and guess what he was? A sodomite. Or almost a sodomite. Certainly in thought, if not quite yet in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-chambers/who-would-look-at-him-and-guess-what-he-was-a-sodomite-or-almost-a/) [Joanna Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-chambers/) ## More by Shirley Jackson > [I can't help it when people are frightened," says Merricat. "I always want to frighten them more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/i-can-t-help-it-when-people-are-frightened-says-merricat-i-always/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“She could not remember ever being truly happy in her adult life; her years with her mother had been built up devotedly around small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/she-could-not-remember-ever-being-truly-happy-in-her-adult-life-her/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Upstairs Margaret said abruptly, 'I suppose it starts to happen first in the suburbs,' and when Brad said, 'What starts to happen?' she said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/upstairs-margaret-said-abruptly-i-suppose-it-starts-to-happen-first/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“The beautiful clarity of all marked outlines occurred to her--there would be a deep satisfaction in strengthening fences, for instance, going along on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/the-beautiful-clarity-of-all-marked-outlines-occurred-to-her-there/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“And we held each other in the dark hall and laughed, with the tears running down our cheeks and echoes of our laughter going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/and-we-held-each-other-in-the-dark-hall-and-laughed-with-the-tears/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Why do people want to talk to each other? I mean, what are the things people always want to find out about other people?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/why-do-people-want-to-talk-to-each-other-i-mean-what-are-the-things/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/within-walls-continued-upright-bricks-met-neatly-floors-were-firm-and/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“It was as though the people needed the ugliness of the village, and fed on it. The houses and the stores seemed to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/it-was-as-though-the-people-needed-the-ugliness-of-the-village-and/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Eleanor—“I plan to stay up and read for a while.” “Are you still reading Pamela?” Eleanor asked the doctor. “Volume two. I have three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/eleanor-i-plan-to-stay-up-and-read-for-a-while-are-you-still-reading/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Is everyone really crazy but me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/is-everyone-really-crazy-but-me/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [February, when the days of winter seem endless and no amount of wistful recollecting can bring back any air of summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/february-when-the-days-of-winter-seem-endless-and-no-amount-of/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“it’s quite a hazard, quite a hazard indeed, people knocking you down. Still, it’s a genuine pleasure to find one as willing as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/it-s-quite-a-hazard-quite-a-hazard-indeed-people-knocking-you-down/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [On the moon we have everything. Lettuce, and pumpkin pie and Amanita phalloides. We have cat-furred plants and horses dancing with their wings. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/on-the-moon-we-have-everything-lettuce-and-pumpkin-pie-and-amanita/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [She walked quickly around her one-room apartment. After more than four years in this one home she knew all its possibilities, how it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/she-walked-quickly-around-her-one-room-apartment-after-more-than-four/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [I very much dislike writing about myself or my work, and when pressed for autobiographical material can only give a bare chronological outline which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/i-very-much-dislike-writing-about-myself-or-my-work-and-when-pressed/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) [Explore all 224 Shirley Jackson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) ## More Demoralization quotes > [The current demoralization of the art world is attributable at least in part to museum interference, ideological and practical, with ongoing creation in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-rosenberg/the-current-demoralization-of-the-art-world-is-attributable-at-least/) [Harold Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-rosenberg/) > [We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we would be reorganized. 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Petersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-e-petersen/) > [“. . . but in the great demoralization of the land he kept up his appearance. That's backbone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/but-in-the-great-demoralization-of-the-land-he-kept-up-his-appearance/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [No country, however rich, can afford the waste of its human resources. Demoralization caused by vast unemployment is our greatest extravagance. Morally, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/no-country-however-rich-can-afford-the-waste-of-its-human-resources/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. 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