--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The journey over the bridge had unnerved…" description: "\"The journey over the bridge had unnerved me. The river water passed me by like an untouched drink. I suspected that even if my mother and brother had n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/sylvia-plath-149_bridges_the-journey-over-the-bridge-had-unnerved_1185795.jpg" --- # The journey over the bridge had unnerved me. The river… ![“The journey over the bridge had unnerved me. The river water passed me by like an untouched drink. I suspected that even if my mother and brother had not been there I would have made no move to jump.” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/sylvia-plath-149_bridges_the-journey-over-the-bridge-had-unnerved_1185795.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/sylvia-plath-149_bridges_the-journey-over-the-bridge-had-unnerved_1185795.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cad/sylvia-plath-149_bridges_the-journey-over-the-bridge-had-unnerved_1185795.jpg) > “The journey over the bridge had unnerved me. The river water passed me by like an untouched drink. I suspected that even if my mother and brother had not been there I would have made no move to jump.” [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. The narrator feels paralyzed by fear, unable to act despite danger. **In simple terms:** Fear freezes action. Key Takeaway Recognize paralysis. Themes fear indecision psychology Mood anxious introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - therapy - mountain climbing - emergency response Key Concepts paralysis risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your freeze response? - How can you build courage? A Different Perspective Fear may be rational, not merely irrational. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bridge Unnerved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridge-unnerved-3497349/) [Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drink/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rivers/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) [Unnerved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unnerved-2036358/) [Unnerved River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unnerved-river-3497350/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Water Passed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water-passed-398773/) ## Related quotes > [“I sit down by the river. Its incessant flow has polished the rocks carried from the top of the mountain. The aqueous caress, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-dubois/i-sit-down-by-the-river-its-incessant-flow-has-polished-the-rocks/) [Gabrielle Dubois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-dubois/) > [Environmental laws were not passed to protect our air and water, they were passed to get votes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/environmental-laws-were-not-passed-to-protect-our-air-and-water-they/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Of course, Ankh-Morpork's citizens had always claimed that the river water was incredibly pure. 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Take and clasp it fast: “The mill cannot grind with the water that has passed.” —Sarah Doudney”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-goodnight/take-the-proverb-to-thy-soul-take-and-clasp-it-fast-the-mill-cannot/) [Linda Goodnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-goodnight/) > [The mill cannot grind with the water that has passed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-mill-cannot-grind-with-the-water-that-has-passed/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“He read it over twenty times and though the darkness that sang on held steady about him, the unhurried words fell bright through his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-spencer/he-read-it-over-twenty-times-and-though-the-darkness-that-sang-on/) [Elizabeth Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-spencer/) > [I'm always a little unnerved when I see a show that's set in the past that implies in any way that things were nicer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-soderbergh/i-m-always-a-little-unnerved-when-i-see-a-show-that-s-set-in-the-past/) [Steven Soderbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-soderbergh/) > [I was nearly unnerved at my proximity to a nameless thing at the bottom of a pit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-nearly-unnerved-at-my-proximity-to-a-nameless-thing-at-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Unnerved, the nerve, you're nervous, nervous that I'm right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-quin/unnerved-the-nerve-you-re-nervous-nervous-that-i-m-right/) [Sara Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-quin/) > [Writing about corporate America had sapped my energy, disappointed the editors, and unnerved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seymour-hersh/writing-about-corporate-america-had-sapped-my-energy-disappointed-the/) [Seymour Hersh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seymour-hersh/) > [So being two different people in one day unnerved me to no end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-dunne/so-being-two-different-people-in-one-day-unnerved-me-to-no-end/) [Irene Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irene-dunne/) > [I nod like I'm not at all unnerved by this new cold side to him. Not cruel like his father. Not warm like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-destefano/i-nod-like-i-m-not-at-all-unnerved-by-this-new-cold-side-to-him-not/) [Lauren DeStefano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-destefano/) > [And I remember walking in there and, I must say, I was quite unnerved the closer I got to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-scranton/and-i-remember-walking-in-there-and-i-must-say-i-was-quite-unnerved/) [William Scranton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-scranton/) > [“I see you are still unnerved by my presence,” the Curator noted. He was still smiling. “My apologies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-g-night/i-see-you-are-still-unnerved-by-my-presence-the-curator-noted-he-was/) [S.G. Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-g-night/) ## 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 Bridges quotes > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. 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You can then obtain the silence of a streetlight or a bridge; stop thinking; after that, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-you-walk-try-to-think-nothing-you-can-then-obtain-the-silence-of/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [Al Pacino and Jeff Bridges do it for me in a big way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-scanlon/al-pacino-and-jeff-bridges-do-it-for-me-in-a-big-way/) [Angela Scanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-scanlon/) > [Instead of building castles against your enemies, build bridges for them to come to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/instead-of-building-castles-against-your-enemies-build-bridges-for/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Each person is an island unto himself, in a very real sense; and he can only build bridges to other islands if he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/each-person-is-an-island-unto-himself-in-a-very-real-sense-and-he-can/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [The real test of a bridge player isn’t in keeping out of trouble, but in escaping once he’s in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sheinwold/the-real-test-of-a-bridge-player-isn-t-in-keeping-out-of-trouble-but/) [Alfred Sheinwold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sheinwold/) > [The law ... allows rich as well as poor to sleep under bridges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-law-allows-rich-as-well-as-poor-to-sleep-under-bridges/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Guys like Todd Bridges never overcame being a child star. You can't have any big failures. I've always felt regular. I played organized ball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/guys-like-todd-bridges-never-overcame-being-a-child-star-you-can-t/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) [Browse all 1,521 Bridges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The journey over the bridge had unnerved me. The river water passed me by like an untouched drink. 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