--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the evening, she took a sleeping pill…" description: "\"“In the evening, she took a sleeping pill. As the months passed, she became much kinder to me than she had been, but her new solicitude had an imperson..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/siri-hustvedt-860_quote_in-the-evening-she-took-a-sleeping-pill_1395872.jpg" --- # In the evening, she took a sleeping pill. As the months… ![“In the evening, she took a sleeping pill. As the months passed, she became much kinder to me than she had been, but her new solicitude had an impersonal quality, as if she were tending a homeless man on the street rather than her husband. She stopped sleeping in Matt's bed and returned to ours…” quote by Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/siri-hustvedt-860_quote_in-the-evening-she-took-a-sleeping-pill_1395872.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/siri-hustvedt-860_quote_in-the-evening-she-took-a-sleeping-pill_1395872.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/siri-hustvedt-860_quote_in-the-evening-she-took-a-sleeping-pill_1395872.jpg) > ““In the evening, she took a sleeping pill. As the months passed, she became much kinder to me than she had been, but her new solicitude had an impersonal quality, as if she were tending a homeless man on the street rather than her husband. She stopped sleeping in Matt's bed and returned to ours, but I rarely joined her, choosing instead to sleep in my chair. One night in February, I woke up to find Erica covering me with a blanket. Rather than opening my eyes, I pretended that I was still asleep. When she put her lips to my head, I imagined pulling her toward me and kissing her neck and shoulders, but I didn't do it. At the time, I was like a man encased in a heavy suit of armor, and inside that corporeal fortress I lived with a single-minded wish: I will not be comforted. As perverse as it was, this desire felt like a lifeline, the only shred of truth left to me. I feel quite sure that Erica knew what I felt, and in March she announced a change.”” [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes emotional distance and self‑imposed isolation as a protective armor, even as intimacy attempts surface. **In simple terms:** He feels detached, resisting comfort as a lifeline. Key Takeaway Recognize when self‑protection becomes self‑sabotage. Themes isolation intimacy self‑protection emotional armor Mood melancholic reflective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - marriage - illness - caregiving - nighttime vulnerability Key Concepts psychology attachment self‑identity Questions to Reflect On - What fears keep you from accepting care? - How does self‑imposed distance affect relationships? A Different Perspective Desire for comfort may be suppressed by fear of vulnerability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comforted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforted/) [Erica Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erica-knew-4878830/) [Sleeping Pill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleeping-pill-967489/) [Took Sleeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/took-sleeping-4878832/) [Woke Erica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woke-erica-4878831/) ## Related quotes > [“You were a painting by Matisse, but you took sleeping pills.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-maso/you-were-a-painting-by-matisse-but-you-took-sleeping-pills/) [Carole Maso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-maso/) > [Good sex is better than any sleeping pill. Couples who fall asleep after tend to get a perfect night's sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-sex-is-better-than-any-sleeping-pill-couples-who-fall-asleep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Feeling good about yourself is the best sleeping pill of all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annika-s-rensen/feeling-good-about-yourself-is-the-best-sleeping-pill-of-all/) [Annika Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annika-s-rensen/) > [TV is my sleeping pill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-janssen/tv-is-my-sleeping-pill/) [David Janssen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-janssen/) > [A worker like me who have exhausted themselves more richand deep sleep is sleep? I am poor, can not sleep without a sleeping pill!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/a-worker-like-me-who-have-exhausted-themselves-more-richand-deep/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [“Great.My brother was an entertainer and I was a sleeping pill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawthorne/great-my-brother-was-an-entertainer-and-i-was-a-sleeping-pill/) [Rachel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawthorne/) > [I am fed up with men who use sex like a sleeping pill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-braxton/i-am-fed-up-with-men-who-use-sex-like-a-sleeping-pill/) [Toni Braxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-braxton/) > [To switch off, I will take a sleeping pill if I have to. I also found myself realigning things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-maitlis/to-switch-off-i-will-take-a-sleeping-pill-if-i-have-to-i-also-found/) [Emily Maitlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-maitlis/) > [I'm doped and thick from my last sleeping pill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-m-doped-and-thick-from-my-last-sleeping-pill/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [If I feel in need of sleep, I just open a book or turn on the television. Both are better than any sleeping pill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/if-i-feel-in-need-of-sleep-i-just-open-a-book-or-turn-on-the/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [Never under any circumstances take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-under-any-circumstances-take-a-sleeping-pill-and-a-laxative-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So I take a little sleeping pill, pop it and realize nothing's happening - but something else was happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-renner/so-i-take-a-little-sleeping-pill-pop-it-and-realize-nothing-s/) [Jeremy Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-renner/) > [A sleeping pill will never take the place of a clear conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-cantor/a-sleeping-pill-will-never-take-the-place-of-a-clear-conscience/) [Eddie Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-cantor/) > [“The labels on the little bottles and boxes do not tell you which one is the sleeping pill. Instead they have names, long strange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-murray/the-labels-on-the-little-bottles-and-boxes-do-not-tell-you-which-one/) [Paul Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-murray/) > [My sleeping pill is white. It is a splendid pearl; it floats me out of myself, my stung skin as alien as a loose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/my-sleeping-pill-is-white-it-is-a-splendid-pearl-it-floats-me-out-of/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## More by Siri Hustvedt > [I am married to a writer, and this - writing - is an odd enterprise. It's something we both support very strongly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-am-married-to-a-writer-and-this-writing-is-an-odd-enterprise-it-s/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [With almost no exceptions, art by men is much more expensive than art by women. Even great women artists, like Louise Bourgeois and Lee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/with-almost-no-exceptions-art-by-men-is-much-more-expensive-than-art/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I love the little garden in the back of my family's brownstone in Brooklyn. Digging out there in the dirt is a joy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-love-the-little-garden-in-the-back-of-my-family-s-brownstone-in/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I watched 'Holiday' in college, and that was when I had my first fantasy of being Katharine Hepburn, standing at the top of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-watched-holiday-in-college-and-that-was-when-i-had-my-first-fantasy/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“the impersonal and the personal are always connected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-impersonal-and-the-personal-are-always-connected/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [When I don't get enough sleep, I am cranky, vulnerable to headaches, and my concentration is poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/when-i-don-t-get-enough-sleep-i-am-cranky-vulnerable-to-headaches-and/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“Transformation of the self are related to where you are, and identity Is dependent on others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/transformation-of-the-self-are-related-to-where-you-are-and-identity/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [There's a phenomenology of being sick, one that depends on temperament, personal history, and the culture which we live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/there-s-a-phenomenology-of-being-sick-one-that-depends-on-temperament/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [The faculty of memory cannot be separated from the imagination. They go hand in hand. To one degree or another, we all invent our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-faculty-of-memory-cannot-be-separated-from-the-imagination-they/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“Looking is part of love, but what you see when you look is anybody's guess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/looking-is-part-of-love-but-what-you-see-when-you-look-is-anybody-s/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [Every sickness has an alien quality, a feeling of invasion and loss of control that is evident in the language we use about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/every-sickness-has-an-alien-quality-a-feeling-of-invasion-and-loss-of/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I have a tendency to face my bad fantasies in my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-have-a-tendency-to-face-my-bad-fantasies-in-my-books/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“The outside also becomes us. A human being is born an unfinished organism and as the person develops experience with others becomes a physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-outside-also-becomes-us-a-human-being-is-born-an-unfinished/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I am an American, but a sense of otherness was part of my growing up. I spoke Norwegian before I spoke English. My mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-am-an-american-but-a-sense-of-otherness-was-part-of-my-growing-up-i/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [When I was an impoverished graduate student, I would sometimes spend $20 or $30 on a T-shirt or accessory I didn't need or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/when-i-was-an-impoverished-graduate-student-i-would-sometimes-spend/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) [Explore all 330 Siri Hustvedt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) ## More Comforted quotes > [“Of all the things we fashioned for them that they might be comforted, dawn is the one that works. When darkness sifts from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/of-all-the-things-we-fashioned-for-them-that-they-might-be-comforted/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [“Be comforted! If there are people who can't stand to be around you, just remember that darkness hates light and deceit hates truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisa-hope-wagner/be-comforted-if-there-are-people-who-can-t-stand-to-be-around-you/) [Alisa Hope Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisa-hope-wagner/) > [“It was the way your sweet, soft hands wiped away my tears, and the way your body just curved into mine when you let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/it-was-the-way-your-sweet-soft-hands-wiped-away-my-tears-and-the-way/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [“The shadows had him in their grasp. There was no escape. You don’t have to escape, the voice in his head said. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-warren/the-shadows-had-him-in-their-grasp-there-was-no-escape-you-don-t-have/) [Andrew Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-warren/) > [Be comforted, dear soul! There is always light behind the clouds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/be-comforted-dear-soul-there-is-always-light-behind-the-clouds/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Children be comforted, I am well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-haydn/children-be-comforted-i-am-well/) [Joseph Haydn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-haydn/) > [I could only try to comfort the women that I came face-to-face with. I was really moved by how much they wanted to talk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-sellecca/i-could-only-try-to-comfort-the-women-that-i-came-face-to-face-with-i/) [Connie Sellecca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-sellecca/) > [“Giving and taking comfort in everything they could give and take, every part of them sought to make themselves one till it was impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-koenig/giving-and-taking-comfort-in-everything-they-could-give-and-take/) [Laird Koenig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-koenig/) > [“If I am to become a delicate cloud upon the sky, I must first convince the ground that I am not abandoning her. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/if-i-am-to-become-a-delicate-cloud-upon-the-sky-i-must-first-convince/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“Lists comforted her - they gave her a sense of accomplishment - they meant she had control of something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dakota-cassidy/lists-comforted-her-they-gave-her-a-sense-of-accomplishment-they/) [Dakota Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dakota-cassidy/) > [“Let the pain & suffering of all that appears to be lost, be soothed, healed & comforted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleesha/let-the-pain-suffering-of-all-that-appears-to-be-lost-be-soothed/) [Eleesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleesha/) > [I lost you a long time ago, but I didn't know. How could I not? You watched me cry and it makes you laugh.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaylynn-thompson/i-lost-you-a-long-time-ago-but-i-didn-t-know-how-could-i-not-you/) [Kaylynn Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaylynn-thompson/) > [I knew I wanted to be a part of storytelling. I knew that going to see movies and plays, I wanted to be connected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hechinger/i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-a-part-of-storytelling-i-knew-that-going-to-see/) [Fred Hechinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hechinger/) > [“Only those burdened with a common affliction understand each other. Thanks to their affliction they constitute a circle and provide each other mutual support.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/only-those-burdened-with-a-common-affliction-understand-each-other/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“And in blessing him I was blessed, And in comforting him I was comforted…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-coupe/and-in-blessing-him-i-was-blessed-and-in-comforting-him-i-was/) [Jessica Coupe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-coupe/) [Browse all 135 Comforted quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comforted/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the evening, she took a sleeping pill. As the months passed, she became much kinder to me than she had been, but her new solicitude had an impersonal quality, as if she were tending a homeless man on the street rather than her husband. She stopped sleeping in Matt's bed and returned to ours, but I rarely joined her, choosing instead to sleep in my chair. One night in February, I woke up to find Erica covering me with a blanket. Rather than opening my eyes, I pretended that I was still asleep. When she put her lips to my head, I imagined pulling her toward me and kissing her neck and shoulders, but I didn't do it. At the time, I was like a man encased in a heavy suit of armor, and inside that corporeal fortress I lived with a single-minded wish: I will not be comforted. As perverse as it was, this desire felt like a lifeline, the only shred of truth left to me. I feel quite sure that Erica knew what I felt, and in March she announced a change.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siri Hustvedt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/in-the-evening-she-took-a-sleeping-pill-as-the-months-passed-she/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Comforted" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/in-the-evening-she-took-a-sleeping-pill-as-the-months-passed-she/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/siri-hustvedt-860_quote_in-the-evening-she-took-a-sleeping-pill_1395872.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/siri-hustvedt-860_quote_in-the-evening-she-took-a-sleeping-pill_1395872.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/siri-hustvedt-860_quote_in-the-evening-she-took-a-sleeping-pill_1395872.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the evening, she took a sleeping pill. As the months passed, she became much kinder to me than she had…” — Siri Hustvedt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Siri Hustvedt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In the evening, she took a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/in-the-evening-she-took-a-sleeping-pill-as-the-months-passed-she/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/in-the-evening-she-took-a-sleeping-pill-as-the-months-passed-she/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```