--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How many selves do we contain, like…" description: "\"“How many selves do we contain, like Russian dolls concealed within one another.”\" — Susan Hill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/susan-hill-11625_dolls_how-many-selves-do-we-contain-like-russi_1622477.png" --- # How many selves do we contain, like Russian dolls… ![“How many selves do we contain, like Russian dolls concealed within one another.” quote by Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/susan-hill-11625_dolls_how-many-selves-do-we-contain-like-russi_1622477.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/susan-hill-11625_dolls_how-many-selves-do-we-contain-like-russi_1622477.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/susan-hill-11625_dolls_how-many-selves-do-we-contain-like-russi_1622477.png) > ““How many selves do we contain, like Russian dolls concealed within one another.”” [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human identity consists of multiple layered selves, each nested within the other like Russian dolls. **In simple terms:** We contain many inner selves. Key Takeaway Explore and integrate your different inner selves. Themes identity psychology selfexploration Mood introspective curious Type psychological literary When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - personal growth Key Concepts multifaceted self inner dialogue Questions to Reflect On - Which 'inner doll' dominates your decisions? - How can you honor the hidden layers? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dolls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dolls/) ## Related quotes > [As in a Russian doll, however, the outer layers always contain an inner core. Instead of evolution having replaced simpler forms of empathy with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/as-in-a-russian-doll-however-the-outer-layers-always-contain-an-inner/) [Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/) > [I have collections of quirky things from places I've been to, like a set of Russian dolls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watson/i-have-collections-of-quirky-things-from-places-i-ve-been-to-like-a/) [Emma Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watson/) > [“She looked, thought Alex, like one of those wooden Russian dolls - pop off her head and a slightly smaller version would be revealed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-a-dearsley/she-looked-thought-alex-like-one-of-those-wooden-russian-dolls-pop/) B.A. Dearsley > [“All of it was hers, hers and Nat's, and all those years were nestled inside them like one of those Russian dolls, holding dozens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/all-of-it-was-hers-hers-and-nat-s-and-all-those-years-were-nestled/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [The word begone is a Russian doll. A small, single word, which contains so many others; and when all the smaller words inside line…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-stone/the-word-begone-is-a-russian-doll-a-small-single-word-which-contains/) [Craig Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-stone/) > [“The Russian Dolls would sue a snowman for sexual harassment if they thought the sun would stay away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dunne/the-russian-dolls-would-sue-a-snowman-for-sexual-harassment-if-they/) [Jonathan Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dunne/) > [“Russian dolls, or Matryoshka dolls, are wooden figurine dolls of decreasing size where each doll fits inside the doll next in size”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/russian-dolls-or-matryoshka-dolls-are-wooden-figurine-dolls-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I love all of myself in all ways for all time. I am made of pure love, and it permeates all of my selves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-mercree/i-love-all-of-myself-in-all-ways-for-all-time-i-am-made-of-pure-love/) [Amy Leigh Mercree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-leigh-mercree/) > [A lot of people hurl themselves into relationships to lose themselves, but I think the best relationships help us to be more ourselves, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/a-lot-of-people-hurl-themselves-into-relationships-to-lose-themselves/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [“We all inhabit different selves in space and time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-goddard-kalanithi/we-all-inhabit-different-selves-in-space-and-time/) Lucy Goddard Kalanithi > [Or maybe a person is just made up of a lot of peopleMaybe we’re accumulating these new selves all the time. Hauling them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jandy-nelson/or-maybe-a-person-is-just-made-up-of-a-lot-of-peoplemaybe-we-re/) [Jandy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jandy-nelson/) > [Time is a vindictive bandit to steal the beauty of our former selves. We are left with sagging, rippled flesh and burning gums with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael/time-is-a-vindictive-bandit-to-steal-the-beauty-of-our-former-selves/) [Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael/) > [Nothing can stop us from living the dream except our selves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spido/nothing-can-stop-us-from-living-the-dream-except-our-selves/) Spido > [“As a species, we are hardwired for connection. We are our best selves when we are sharing and communicating with others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-henry/as-a-species-we-are-hardwired-for-connection-we-are-our-best-selves/) [Tyler Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-henry/) > [I decided to lock myself in. A forced segregation. Sabbatical. A retreat into myself. My selves. Play hide and go seek in the looking-glass.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/i-decided-to-lock-myself-in-a-forced-segregation-sabbatical-a-retreat/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) ## More by Susan Hill > [“Here, in the garden at night, it is another world, strange and yet friendly and familiar, never frightening. There is such quietness, such sweetness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/here-in-the-garden-at-night-it-is-another-world-strange-and-yet/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [I read a lot of ghost stories because I was writing a ghost story. I didn't think at all I was writing a horror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/i-read-a-lot-of-ghost-stories-because-i-was-writing-a-ghost-story-i/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [A man may be accused of cowardice for fleeing away from all manner of physical dangers but when things supernatural, insubstantial and inexplicable threaten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/a-man-may-be-accused-of-cowardice-for-fleeing-away-from-all-manner-of/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“You try so hard to shield me, and protect me, and really, there is no need, you try so hard to hide what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/you-try-so-hard-to-shield-me-and-protect-me-and-really-there-is-no/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“We make our own destiny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/we-make-our-own-destiny/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [Books help to form us. If you cut me open, you will find volume after volume, page after page, the contents of every one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/books-help-to-form-us-if-you-cut-me-open-you-will-find-volume-after/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“You don't have to pay its rent just because it is a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/you-don-t-have-to-pay-its-rent-just-because-it-is-a-book/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [Ghost stories ... tell us about things that lie hidden within all of us, and which lurk outside all around us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/ghost-stories-tell-us-about-things-that-lie-hidden-within-all-of-us/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“...the past still held secrets, the past threw its shadows...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/the-past-still-held-secrets-the-past-threw-its-shadows/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“I was frightened of myself, I seemed to have no control over my thoughts and feelings, it was like a sort of madness...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/i-was-frightened-of-myself-i-seemed-to-have-no-control-over-my/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“I go downstairs and the books blink at me from the shelves. Or stare. In a trick of the light, a row of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/i-go-downstairs-and-the-books-blink-at-me-from-the-shelves-or-stare/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“They told of dripping stone walls in uninhabited castles and of ivy-clad monastery ruins by moonlight, of locked inner rooms and secret dungeons, dank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/they-told-of-dripping-stone-walls-in-uninhabited-castles-and-of-ivy/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [I had not yet learned that we make our own destiny, it springs from within us. It is not the outward events but what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/i-had-not-yet-learned-that-we-make-our-own-destiny-it-springs-from/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“I had always known in my heart that the experience would never leave me, that it was now woven into my very fibers, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/i-had-always-known-in-my-heart-that-the-experience-would-never-leave/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [I have sat here at my desk, day after day, night after night, a blank sheet of paper before me, unable to lift my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/i-have-sat-here-at-my-desk-day-after-day-night-after-night-a-blank/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) [Explore all 57 Susan Hill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) ## More Dolls quotes > [I used to cut out paper dolls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-used-to-cut-out-paper-dolls/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [I have a twelve year old sex doll. Brand new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-a-twelve-year-old-sex-doll-brand-new/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [I would ask my mum to feed my dolls and make sure they were tucked in when I went to school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-rankin/i-would-ask-my-mum-to-feed-my-dolls-and-make-sure-they-were-tucked-in/) [Gayle Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-rankin/) > [I always loved putting on shows - when you're the youngest of seven and five are older sisters, you've got to get noticed somehow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wenham/i-always-loved-putting-on-shows-when-you-re-the-youngest-of-seven-and/) [David Wenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wenham/) > [I will try to make a doll of Oksana with a little dog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oksana-baiul/i-will-try-to-make-a-doll-of-oksana-with-a-little-dog/) [Oksana Baiul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oksana-baiul/) > [Now a doll found naked in a ditch eyes rusted open, is blasphemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-digges/now-a-doll-found-naked-in-a-ditch-eyes-rusted-open-is-blasphemy/) Deborah Digges > [People have a different idea of how movies are made than they really are. On a certain level, everyone throws ideas into the hopper.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-gere/people-have-a-different-idea-of-how-movies-are-made-than-they-really/) [Richard Gere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-gere/) > [If I really like the smell of something - a piece of tar or my goddaughter's plastic doll - I put a tiny piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mika/if-i-really-like-the-smell-of-something-a-piece-of-tar-or-my/) [Mika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mika/) > [And what did you do last night, Dexter? Oh, I played with my dolls while a friend chopped up my sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/and-what-did-you-do-last-night-dexter-oh-i-played-with-my-dolls-while/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [To his ex-wife in court, he said I lost interest in you when the Botox lost its effect and you looked like a plastic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/to-his-ex-wife-in-court-he-said-i-lost-interest-in-you-when-the-botox/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [We fill the hands and nurseries of our children with all manner of dolls, drums and horses, withdrawing their eyes from the plain face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-fill-the-hands-and-nurseries-of-our-children-with-all-manner-of/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I'd never been turned on by the Ken doll—even before I looked down his pants and saw what was missing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-d-never-been-turned-on-by-the-ken-doll-even-before-i-looked-down/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“I make paper dolls with deep personal issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polly-m-law/i-make-paper-dolls-with-deep-personal-issues/) Polly M. Law > [I've had a lifelong love affair with makeup. When I was a little girl, I used to take my mother's makeup and paint all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobbi-brown/i-ve-had-a-lifelong-love-affair-with-makeup-when-i-was-a-little-girl/) [Bobbi Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobbi-brown/) [Browse all 467 Dolls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dolls/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How many selves do we contain, like Russian dolls concealed within one another.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Hill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/how-many-selves-do-we-contain-like-russian-dolls-concealed-within-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dolls" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/how-many-selves-do-we-contain-like-russian-dolls-concealed-within-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/susan-hill-11625_dolls_how-many-selves-do-we-contain-like-russi_1622477.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/susan-hill-11625_dolls_how-many-selves-do-we-contain-like-russi_1622477.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/susan-hill-11625_dolls_how-many-selves-do-we-contain-like-russi_1622477.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How many selves do we contain, like Russian dolls concealed within one another.” — Susan Hill", "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": "Susan Hill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“How many selves do we contain,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/how-many-selves-do-we-contain-like-russian-dolls-concealed-within-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/how-many-selves-do-we-contain-like-russian-dolls-concealed-within-one/#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 } } ] } ```