---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know the bottom, she says. I know it…"
description: "\"“I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root: It is what you fear. I do not fear it: I have been there. --from \"Elm\", written 19 Apri..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/sylvia-plath-149_root_i-know-the-bottom-she-says-i-know-it-wit_2396504.jpg"
---

#  I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap…

![“I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root: It is what you fear. I do not fear it: I have been there. --from "Elm", written 19 April 1962” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/sylvia-plath-149_root_i-know-the-bottom-she-says-i-know-it-wit_2396504.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/sylvia-plath-149_root_i-know-the-bottom-she-says-i-know-it-wit_2396504.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/sylvia-plath-149_root_i-know-the-bottom-she-says-i-know-it-wit_2396504.jpg)

> ““I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root: It is what you fear. I do not fear it: I have been there. --from "Elm", written 19 April 1962””

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Confronting deep fear reveals that it is not as terrifying as imagined; familiarity reduces dread.

**In simple terms:** Facing fear makes it less scary.

Key Takeaway

Approach fears directly to diminish their power.

Themes

fear courage self‑knowledge psychology

Mood

introspective hopeful

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- therapy
- creative writing
- public speaking
- risk taking

Key Concepts

existential anxiety personal growth

Questions to Reflect On

- What fear have you faced and learned from?
- How does understanding a fear change your response?

A Different Perspective

Some fears may be rooted in misunderstanding rather than reality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root: It is what you fear. I do not fear it:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-know-the-bottom-she-says-i-know-it-with-my-great-tap-root-it-is/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“Love is a shadow. How you lie and cry after it --from "Elm", written 19 April 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/love-is-a-shadow-how-you-lie-and-cry-after-it-from-elm-written-19/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“I have suffered the atrocity of sunsets. --from "Elm", written 19 April 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-suffered-the-atrocity-of-sunsets-from-elm-written-19-april-1962/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“Is it the sea you hear in me? Its dissatisfactions? Or the voice of nothing, that was your madness? Love is a shadow. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/is-it-the-sea-you-hear-in-me-its-dissatisfactions-or-the-voice-of-2/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“Is it the sea you hear in me, Its dissatisfactions? Or the voice of nothing, that was you madness? --from "Elm", written 19 April 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/is-it-the-sea-you-hear-in-me-its-dissatisfactions-or-the-voice-of/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [The root of fear is the feeling of not being what you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/the-root-of-fear-is-the-feeling-of-not-being-what-you-are/)

[Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/)

> [“The root of all fear is imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atshushi-okubo/the-root-of-all-fear-is-imagination/)

Atshushi Okubo

> [At the root of fear is low self-esteem. This explains why angry people have low self-esteem, are argumentative, stubborn, and quick to flare up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-j-lieberman/at-the-root-of-fear-is-low-self-esteem-this-explains-why-angry-people/)

[David J. Lieberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-j-lieberman/)

> [Most modern freedom is at root fear. It is not so much that we are too bold to endure rules; it is rather that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-modern-freedom-is-at-root-fear-it-is-not-so-much-that-we-are-too/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I've grown certain that the root of all fear is that we've been forced to deny who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-moore-lapp/i-ve-grown-certain-that-the-root-of-all-fear-is-that-we-ve-been/)

[Frances Moore Lappé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-moore-lapp/)

> [If your motivation for acquiring money or success comes from a non-supportive root such as fear, anger or the need to 'prove' yourself, your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-harv-eker/if-your-motivation-for-acquiring-money-or-success-comes-from-a-non/)

[T. Harv Eker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-harv-eker/)

> [“But I would rather be horizontal. I am not a tree with my root in the soil. Sucking up minerals and motherly love. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/but-i-would-rather-be-horizontal-i-am-not-a-tree-with-my-root-in-the/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“The branches do not support the root. But the root supports the branches.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-branches-do-not-support-the-root-but-the-root-supports-the/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [“How do we build root systems capable of weathering every storm that seeks to draw us into the temporary and the profane?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/how-do-we-build-root-systems-capable-of-weathering-every-storm-that/)

[Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/)

> [Everything, every part that you approach has to be somehow rooted in yourself. You have to somehow root everything so that it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/everything-every-part-that-you-approach-has-to-be-somehow-rooted-in/)

[Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/)

## More by Sylvia Plath

> [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

[Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

## More Root quotes

> [Everything, every part that you approach has to be somehow rooted in yourself. You have to somehow root everything so that it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/everything-every-part-that-you-approach-has-to-be-somehow-rooted-in/)

[Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/)

> [“How do we build root systems capable of weathering every storm that seeks to draw us into the temporary and the profane?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/how-do-we-build-root-systems-capable-of-weathering-every-storm-that/)

[Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/)

> [“The branches do not support the root. But the root supports the branches.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-branches-do-not-support-the-root-but-the-root-supports-the/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [Okay, were talking about the root of all evil. (Money) Never put it before God or your people & never let it come between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-garcia/okay-were-talking-about-the-root-of-all-evil-money-never-put-it/)

[Chad Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-garcia/)

> [“Gravity is the root of lightness;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/gravity-is-the-root-of-lightness/)

[Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/)

> [“Why bother Her?’ What will change the echoes from my heart encapsulated into words for ears? Maybe the hope or belief that will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raz-mihal/why-bother-her-what-will-change-the-echoes-from-my-heart-encapsulated/)

[Raz Mihal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raz-mihal/)

> [“The root of all fear is imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atshushi-okubo/the-root-of-all-fear-is-imagination/)

Atshushi Okubo

> [Most of us know nothing about constitutional law, so it's hardly surprising that we take sides in the Obamacare debate the way we root…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/most-of-us-know-nothing-about-constitutional-law-so-it-s-hardly/)

[Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/)

> [“I follow Plato only with my mind Pure beauty strikes me as a little thin A little cold, however beautiful. I am in love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-francis/i-follow-plato-only-with-my-mind-pure-beauty-strikes-me-as-a-little/)

Robert Francis

> [No American worth his salt should go around looking for a root. I advance this in all modesty, as a not unreasonable opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/no-american-worth-his-salt-should-go-around-looking-for-a-root-i/)

[Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/)

> [I experienced firsthand what it means to be poor, what it means to go hungry, and that, I think, may be the reason, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain/i-experienced-firsthand-what-it-means-to-be-poor-what-it-means-to-go/)

[Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain/)

> [You use me , as much as u full your need ... now its time for me ...to use yew...the way u riuned my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/promita/you-use-me-as-much-as-u-full-your-need-now-its-time-for-me-to-use-yew/)

Promita

> [People are like trees, the leaves are many but the root is one and remember only a good foundation guarantees success and longevity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/people-are-like-trees-the-leaves-are-many-but-the-root-is-one-and/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Everyone wants to root for the underdog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manila-luzon/everyone-wants-to-root-for-the-underdog/)

[Manila Luzon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manila-luzon/)

> [There is a barbarism in the American soul, and we must protect some of it by law. To root it out is to endanger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-pierce/there-is-a-barbarism-in-the-american-soul-and-we-must-protect-some-of/)

[Charlie Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-pierce/)

Browse all 435 Root quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root: It is what you fear. I do not fear it: I have been there. --from \"Elm\", written 19 April 1962”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sylvia Plath"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-know-the-bottom-she-says-i-know-it-with-my-great-tap-root-it-is-2/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Root"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-know-the-bottom-she-says-i-know-it-with-my-great-tap-root-it-is-2/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/sylvia-plath-149_root_i-know-the-bottom-she-says-i-know-it-wit_2396504.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/sylvia-plath-149_root_i-know-the-bottom-she-says-i-know-it-wit_2396504.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/sylvia-plath-149_root_i-know-the-bottom-she-says-i-know-it-wit_2396504.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I know the bottom, she says. I know it with my great tap root: It is what you fear. I do not fear it: I have…” — Sylvia Plath",
                "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": "Sylvia Plath",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I know the bottom, she says....",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-know-the-bottom-she-says-i-know-it-with-my-great-tap-root-it-is-2/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-know-the-bottom-she-says-i-know-it-with-my-great-tap-root-it-is-2/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```