--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your shelled bed I remember. Father, this…" description: "\"“Your shelled bed I remember. Father, this thick air is murderous. I would breathe water.”\" — Sylvia Plath" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/sylvia-plath-149_parenting_your-shelled-bed-i-remember-father-this_2182192.jpg" --- # Your shelled bed I remember. Father, this thick air is… ![“Your shelled bed I remember. Father, this thick air is murderous. I would breathe water.” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/sylvia-plath-149_parenting_your-shelled-bed-i-remember-father-this_2182192.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/sylvia-plath-149_parenting_your-shelled-bed-i-remember-father-this_2182192.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/sylvia-plath-149_parenting_your-shelled-bed-i-remember-father-this_2182192.jpg) > ““Your shelled bed I remember. Father, this thick air is murderous. I would breathe water.”” [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 speaker feels suffocated by oppressive circumstances, yearning for escape even to the point of imagining breathing water. **In simple terms:** Feeling trapped and desperate for relief. Key Takeaway Seek environments that breathe life, not suffocation. Themes oppression despair yearning Mood melancholic intense Type literary poetic When to use this quote - family conflict - personal crisis - mental health struggles Key Concepts existential dread mental health Questions to Reflect On - What environment feels suffocating now? - How can you create space for breath? A Different Perspective The metaphor may exaggerate, overlooking practical solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Air Murderous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air-murderous-4718912/) [Murderous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murderous/) [Murderous Breathe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murderous-breathe-4718911/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Remember Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-father-349837/) [Shelled Bed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelled-bed-4718913/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [When I was about 15 - that would be some 60 years ago - I remember my father, a secondary school teacher, was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rosen/when-i-was-about-15-that-would-be-some-60-years-ago-i-remember-my/) [Michael Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rosen/) > [There was a young man in our community who said he wanted to be a minister, and my father was trying to mentor him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-c-driskell/there-was-a-young-man-in-our-community-who-said-he-wanted-to-be-a/) [David C. Driskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-c-driskell/) > [When I die, remember that what you knew of me is with you always. What is buried is only the shell of what was.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/when-i-die-remember-that-what-you-knew-of-me-is-with-you-always-what/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [Michael could never remember his father ever having uttered a word about death, as if the Don respected death too much to philosophize about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-puzo/michael-could-never-remember-his-father-ever-having-uttered-a-word/) [Mario Puzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-puzo/) > [On this special day of love, remember that your Father loves you more than you could ever imagine...no matter what you’ve done or haven’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/on-this-special-day-of-love-remember-that-your-father-loves-you-more/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [No one could be the way I remember my father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/no-one-could-be-the-way-i-remember-my-father/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [I remember my father explaining, "A capitalist system is a dog-eat-dog system."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/i-remember-my-father-explaining-a-capitalist-system-is-a-dog-eat-dog/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) > [“I could just remember how my father used to say that the reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-could-just-remember-how-my-father-used-to-say-that-the-reason-for/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [I seldom remember my father, but I sneeze and rub my nose the way he did. I also love my son with grief and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/i-seldom-remember-my-father-but-i-sneeze-and-rub-my-nose-the-way-he/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [And you've got to remember that I'm also the father of nine children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-neeleman/and-you-ve-got-to-remember-that-i-m-also-the-father-of-nine-children/) [David Neeleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-neeleman/) > [I remember my father's last race very clearly when he drove at Hockenheim in front of 100,000 people and I was sitting next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-remember-my-father-s-last-race-very-clearly-when-he-drove-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I remember so well my father's complete concentration when he went to the studio. Everything he did, every movement he made, he did with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-picasso/i-remember-so-well-my-father-s-complete-concentration-when-he-went-to/) [Claude Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-picasso/) > [Roger speaking to Brianna: It's too important. You don't forget having a dad." You do remember your father?" No. I remember yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/roger-speaking-to-brianna-it-s-too-important-you-don-t-forget-having/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [It's kind of hard in politics to forget that you're a Democrat or a Republican and remember that you're a father and a grandfather...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-hall/it-s-kind-of-hard-in-politics-to-forget-that-you-re-a-democrat-or-a/) [Ralph Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-hall/) > [I'd never seen my father stand up. As far as I can remember, my father was always in a wheelchair. I always remembered that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-williams/i-d-never-seen-my-father-stand-up-as-far-as-i-can-remember-my-father/) [Lou Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-williams/) ## 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 Murderous quotes > [This right here is murderous. I'm Mama Kreay the gangsterous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kreayshawn/this-right-here-is-murderous-i-m-mama-kreay-the-gangsterous/) [Kreayshawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kreayshawn/) > [“...she was probably having a few murderous thoughts of her own about any woman that touched him. Good, they were making progress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-mathewson/she-was-probably-having-a-few-murderous-thoughts-of-her-own-about-any/) [R.L. Mathewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-mathewson/) > [“And you offer her your direct protection?” He pinned a murderous glare to Thorn at the insinuation in his snide tone. The boots on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/and-you-offer-her-your-direct-protection-he-pinned-a-murderous-glare/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“Why are we camped so far from the others?” she asked, striving to keep her voice calm. A fire had leapt to life some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/why-are-we-camped-so-far-from-the-others-she-asked-striving-to-keep/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) > [“What happens in my next chapter depends on whether I wake up feeling creative or murderous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-rachelle/what-happens-in-my-next-chapter-depends-on-whether-i-wake-up-feeling/) [Joyce Rachelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-rachelle/) > [Kylie turned and the spirit of the murderous woman stood beside her. 'You did this, didn't you?' 'Why would I burn up my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-c-hunter/kylie-turned-and-the-spirit-of-the-murderous-woman-stood-beside-her/) [C.C. Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-c-hunter/) > [“Come,” he coaxed, “tell me a murderous, wicked thought.” She scowled at her shoe. “I have wanted to strangle my papa,” she muttered. “Egad!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/come-he-coaxed-tell-me-a-murderous-wicked-thought-she-scowled-at-her/) [Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/) > [“They’d never liked her before, for no one liked the Graced, but at least they’d tolerated her presence. Now there was no pretense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/they-d-never-liked-her-before-for-no-one-liked-the-graced-but-at/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [The boy with the thorn in his side behind the hatred there lies a murderous desire for love~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey/the-boy-with-the-thorn-in-his-side-behind-the-hatred-there-lies-a/) [Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey/) > [“Sometimes I wonder which is worse: "To have to kill because it is your job, or to have no remorse for all the murderous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-e-royle/sometimes-i-wonder-which-is-worse-to-have-to-kill-because-it-is-your/) [Jason E. Royle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-e-royle/) > [Sex is not only a divine and beautiful activity; it's a murderous activity. People kill each other in bed. Some of the greatest crimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/sex-is-not-only-a-divine-and-beautiful-activity-it-s-a-murderous/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [For a murderous blow let murderous blow atone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/for-a-murderous-blow-let-murderous-blow-atone/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“It will not say, 'Isn't X beautiful?' Such demands are murderous to beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/it-will-not-say-isn-t-x-beautiful-such-demands-are-murderous-to-beauty/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [Natural selection, as it has operated in human history, favors not only the clever but the murderous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/natural-selection-as-it-has-operated-in-human-history-favors-not-only/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [“Personally, I'm happy I haven't run into a murderous killer since, well...since you chopped my ex's head off with a sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-plum/personally-i-m-happy-i-haven-t-run-into-a-murderous-killer-since-well/) [Amy Plum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-plum/) [Browse all 41 Murderous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murderous/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Your shelled bed I remember. 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