--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was a house without kindness, never…" description: "\"It was a house without kindness, never meant to be lived in, not a fit place for people or for love or for hope. Exorcism cannot alter the countenance ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/shirley-jackson-1526_countenance_it-was-a-house-without-kindness-never-me_2458651.jpg" --- # It was a house without kindness, never meant to be lived… ![“It was a house without kindness, never meant to be lived in, not a fit place for people or for love or for hope. Exorcism cannot alter the countenance of a house ; Hill House would stay as it was until it was destroyed.” quote by Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/shirley-jackson-1526_countenance_it-was-a-house-without-kindness-never-me_2458651.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/shirley-jackson-1526_countenance_it-was-a-house-without-kindness-never-me_2458651.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/shirley-jackson-1526_countenance_it-was-a-house-without-kindness-never-me_2458651.jpg) > “It was a house without kindness, never meant to be lived in, not a fit place for people or for love or for hope. Exorcism cannot alter the countenance of a house ; Hill House would stay as it was until it was destroyed.” [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. A house lacking kindness cannot nurture people, love, or hope, and remains unchanged until destroyed. **In simple terms:** A house without kindness is empty and hopeless. Key Takeaway Recognize the need for kindness in environments. Themes environment negativity hope destruction humanity Mood somber reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family home - care facilities - community spaces Key Concepts psychology architecture emotional health Questions to Reflect On - How does kindness transform a space? - Can a place be healed without destruction? A Different Perspective Negativity can be entrenched despite attempts to change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exorcism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exorcism/) [Hills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hills/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“Almost any house, caught unexpectedly or at an odd angle, can turn a deeply humorous look on a watching person; even a mischievous little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/almost-any-house-caught-unexpectedly-or-at-an-odd-angle-can-turn-a/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/no-live-organism-can-continue-for-long-to-exist-sanely-under-4/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/no-live-organism-can-continue-for-long-to-exist-sanely-under-2/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Hill House, not sane, stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/hill-house-not-sane-stood-so-for-eighty-years-and-might-stand-for/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/hill-house-not-sane-stood-by-itself-against-its-hills-holding-2/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [Hill House, she thought, You're as hard to get into as heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/hill-house-she-thought-you-re-as-hard-to-get-into-as-heaven/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Hill House,not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it has stood for eighty years and might stand eighty more. Within,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/hill-house-not-sane-stood-by-itself-against-its-hills-holding/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Perhaps someone had once hoped to lighten the air of the blue room in Hill House with a dainty wallpaper, not seeing how such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/perhaps-someone-had-once-hoped-to-lighten-the-air-of-the-blue-room-in/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [For me, 'The Haunting of Hill House' is a series about life after a haunting, what happens after the credits roll in most horror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-flanagan/for-me-the-haunting-of-hill-house-is-a-series-about-life-after-a/) [Mike Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-flanagan/) > [Back in 1995, I quit my job and joined AmeriCorps at the Hill House in Pittsburgh's legendary Hill District.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fetterman/back-in-1995-i-quit-my-job-and-joined-americorps-at-the-hill-house-in/) [John Fetterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fetterman/) > [And as the hour approached for the execution, in his own mind, Collins became both the executioner and the victim. He would pace up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/and-as-the-hour-approached-for-the-execution-in-his-own-mind-collins/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [Performing an exorcism was like changing your oil. It's a drag, but necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keanu-reeves/performing-an-exorcism-was-like-changing-your-oil-it-s-a-drag-but/) [Keanu Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keanu-reeves/) > [I had a full exorcism performed on me from an archbishop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zak-bagans/i-had-a-full-exorcism-performed-on-me-from-an-archbishop/) [Zak Bagans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zak-bagans/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I began with small roles in successful movies like 'No Country For Old Men' by the Coen brothers; but it was 'The Last Exorcism'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-landry-jones/i-began-with-small-roles-in-successful-movies-like-no-country-for-old/) [Caleb Landry Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-landry-jones/) ## 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? 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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 Countenance quotes > [We can see nothing whatever of the soul unless it is visible in the expression of the countenance; one might call the faces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-can-see-nothing-whatever-of-the-soul-unless-it-is-visible-in-the/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Our communications reflect in our countenance. Therefore, we must be careful not only what we communicate, but also how we do so. Souls can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-lionel-kendrick/our-communications-reflect-in-our-countenance-therefore-we-must-be/) [L. 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The hand will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-allston/it-is-a-hard-matter-for-a-man-to-lie-all-over-nature-having-provided/) [Washington Allston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-allston/) > [The two maxims of any great man at court are, always to keep his countenance, and never to keep his word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-two-maxims-of-any-great-man-at-court-are-always-to-keep-his/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [The countenance is the portrait of the soul, and the eyes mark its intentions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/the-countenance-is-the-portrait-of-the-soul-and-the-eyes-mark-its/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Not only do they offend thee, O Lady, who outrage thee, but thou art also offended by those who neglect to ask thy favors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonaventure/not-only-do-they-offend-thee-o-lady-who-outrage-thee-but-thou-art/) [Bonaventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonaventure/) > [Custom is a violent and treacherous school mistress. She, by little and lithe, slyly and unperceived, slips in the foot of her authority; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/custom-is-a-violent-and-treacherous-school-mistress-she-by-little-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The life of Christ was a life charged with a divine message of the love of God, and He longed intensely to impart this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/the-life-of-christ-was-a-life-charged-with-a-divine-message-of-the/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [“The countenance is the portrait of the soul, and the eyes mark its intention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cicero/the-countenance-is-the-portrait-of-the-soul-and-the-eyes-mark-its-2/) [Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cicero/) > [“In the faces of humanity, the countenances that shine brightest are those whose minds are powered by wisdom's Divine supplier of enlightment...selah.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-bond/in-the-faces-of-humanity-the-countenances-that-shine-brightest-are/) [Tracey Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-bond/) > [This life in us; however low it flickers or fiercely burns, is still a divine flame which no man dare presume to put out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/this-life-in-us-however-low-it-flickers-or-fiercely-burns-is-still-a/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) Browse all 251 Countenance quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was a house without kindness, never meant to be lived in, not a fit place for people or for love or for hope. 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