--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Then he had kept himself to himself, \"in…" description: "\"“Then he had kept himself to himself, \"in the way you might stick by a tree, which might be rotten, but at least it's a tree,\" and heart and understand..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/thomas-bernhard-3514_dismissed_then-he-had-kept-himself-to-himself-in-t_2775371.jpg" --- # Then he had kept himself to himself, "in the way you might… ![“Then he had kept himself to himself, "in the way you might stick by a tree, which might be rotten, but at least it's a tree," and heart and understanding had been dismissed, pushed into the background.” quote by Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/thomas-bernhard-3514_dismissed_then-he-had-kept-himself-to-himself-in-t_2775371.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/thomas-bernhard-3514_dismissed_then-he-had-kept-himself-to-himself-in-t_2775371.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89f/thomas-bernhard-3514_dismissed_then-he-had-kept-himself-to-himself-in-t_2775371.jpg) > ““Then he had kept himself to himself, "in the way you might stick by a tree, which might be rotten, but at least it's a tree," and heart and understanding had been dismissed, pushed into the background.”” [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He isolates himself like a decaying tree, dismissing heart and understanding, pushing them aside. **In simple terms:** Isolation rejects feeling and understanding. Key Takeaway Recognize and integrate emotions. Themes isolation neglect psychology Mood somber introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal crises - mental health - creative blocks Key Concepts emotional suppression self-imposed barriers Questions to Reflect On - What drives self-imposed isolation? - How can one re-engage with feeling? A Different Perspective Self-isolation can hinder growth and connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dismissed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dismissed/) [Dismissed Pushed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dismissed-pushed-3271189/) [Kept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Rotten Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rotten-tree-977275/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Understanding Dismissed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding-dismissed-3271190/) ## Related quotes > [“the rotten tree-trunk, until the very moment when the storm-blast breaks it in two, has all the appearance of might it ever had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-rotten-tree-trunk-until-the-very-moment-when-the-storm-blast/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [The Zionist regime is a dried up and rotten tree which will be annihilated with one storm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-ahmadinejad/the-zionist-regime-is-a-dried-up-and-rotten-tree-which-will-be/) [Mahmoud Ahmadinejad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-ahmadinejad/) > [Sugaring season is the season when you tap the trees for sugar that turns into maple syrup. I've married someone from Vermont, so it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-orton/sugaring-season-is-the-season-when-you-tap-the-trees-for-sugar-that/) [Beth Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-orton/) > [I'm very distressed that the report was leaked early so that the initial headline said 'dismissed, fired.' That's 180 degrees from the arrangement we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-la-russa/i-m-very-distressed-that-the-report-was-leaked-early-so-that-the/) [Tony La Russa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-la-russa/) > [“Don't call us saints, we don't want to be dismissed that easily.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/don-t-call-us-saints-we-don-t-want-to-be-dismissed-that-easily/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [I've had my fair share of being dismissed. But I'm only about to turn 30. 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In general, he's a fiendish idiot, banking on the stupidity of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/lawyers-make-nothing-but-confusion-a-lawyer-is-an-instrument-of-the/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“I know nothing about nature. 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I have always considered them superior to me in every way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/all-my-life-i-have-had-the-utmost-admiration-for-suicides-i-have/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“I barricaded myself and stared out the window, without seeing anything but my own unhappiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/i-barricaded-myself-and-stared-out-the-window-without-seeing-anything/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [... Whatever condition we are in, we must always do what we want to do, and if we want to go on a journey,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/whatever-condition-we-are-in-we-must-always-do-what-we-want-to-do-and/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [Those are terrible people who don't like Glenn Gould... I will have nothing to do with such people, they are dangerous people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/those-are-terrible-people-who-don-t-like-glenn-gould-i-will-have/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [It would be wrong to refuse to face the fact that everything is fundamentally sick and sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/it-would-be-wrong-to-refuse-to-face-the-fact-that-everything-is/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“We publish only to satisfy out craving for fame; there's no other motive except the even baser one of making money…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/we-publish-only-to-satisfy-out-craving-for-fame-there-s-no-other/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) [Explore all 96 Thomas Bernhard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) ## More Dismissed quotes > [I hear a lot of 'Top Model' girls say they are dismissed by clients because they recognize them, but it never happened to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fatima-siad/i-hear-a-lot-of-top-model-girls-say-they-are-dismissed-by-clients/) [Fatima Siad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fatima-siad/) > [Having been a 'Page 3' model I know what is it like to be singled out as one thing, to be dismissed as unintelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keeley-hazell/having-been-a-page-3-model-i-know-what-is-it-like-to-be-singled-out/) [Keeley Hazell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keeley-hazell/) > [Your a foaggot, case dismissed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-a-foaggot-case-dismissed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [History is weirdly dismissed as not having anything to do with the present moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/history-is-weirdly-dismissed-as-not-having-anything-to-do-with-the/) [Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/) > [Because I was the only child, I was completely indulged. My father thought I was the best looking boy. And even though I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-johar/because-i-was-the-only-child-i-was-completely-indulged-my-father/) [Karan Johar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-johar/) > [“Wasn't much of a life anyway. Wasn't much of a brain." "But didn't you say you were satisfied with your life?" "Word games," I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/wasn-t-much-of-a-life-anyway-wasn-t-much-of-a-brain-but-didn-t-you/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [When someone you loved finds no flattery in the gift you gave them then you must ask yourself, What was worth loving?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-alder/when-someone-you-loved-finds-no-flattery-in-the-gift-you-gave-them/) [Shannon Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-alder/) > [Don't call me a saint. I don't want to be dismissed so easily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/don-t-call-me-a-saint-i-don-t-want-to-be-dismissed-so-easily/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [Golf made me feel like a loser. So I dismissed it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariska-hargitay/golf-made-me-feel-like-a-loser-so-i-dismissed-it/) [Mariska Hargitay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariska-hargitay/) > [I've had my fair share of being dismissed. But I'm only about to turn 30. 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