--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...a habit that had become one of those…" description: "\"...a habit that had become one of those necessary things for the night... surely a body-friendly if not familiar-lying next to you. Someone whose touch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/toni-morrison-271_affront_a-habit-that-had-become-one-of-those-nec_1458755.jpg" --- # ...a habit that had become one of those necessary things… ![“...a habit that had become one of those necessary things for the night... surely a body-friendly if not familiar-lying next to you. Someone whose touch is a reassurance, not an affront or a nuissance. Whose heavy breathing neither enrages nor discusts you, but amuses you like that of a cherished…” quote by Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/toni-morrison-271_affront_a-habit-that-had-become-one-of-those-nec_1458755.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/toni-morrison-271_affront_a-habit-that-had-become-one-of-those-nec_1458755.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fb/toni-morrison-271_affront_a-habit-that-had-become-one-of-those-nec_1458755.jpg) > “...a habit that had become one of those necessary things for the night... surely a body-friendly if not familiar-lying next to you. Someone whose touch is a reassurance, not an affront or a nuissance. Whose heavy breathing neither enrages nor discusts you, but amuses you like that of a cherished pet.” [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intimate physical presence can become a comforting, familiar ritual that soothes and connects, resembling the affection for a beloved pet. **In simple terms:** Close contact can feel soothing and familiar. Key Takeaway Seek comforting, consensual closeness. Themes intimacy comfort trust human connection Mood intimate thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - marriage - friendship - therapeutic touch - companionship Key Concepts psychology literary symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate comfort from dependency? - When does intimacy become invasive? A Different Perspective Comfort may blur boundaries if not mutually respected. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affront](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affront/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Body Friendly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-friendly-2074648/) [Breathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) [Cherished Pet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cherished-pet-5264962/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Familiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/familiar/) [Friendly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendly/) [Friendly Familiar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendly-familiar-1676763/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Heavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heavy/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Lying Touch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying-touch-2074649/) [Necessary things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-things/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Pet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pet/) [Reassurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reassurance/) [Touch Reassurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touch-reassurance-2074647/) ## Related quotes > [“The things that help you sleep all the way through it. 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There are only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/poetry-is-like-air-it-s-one-of-the-necessary-things-everyone-benefits/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [Only Christ could have brought us all together, in this place, doing such absurd but necessary things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/only-christ-could-have-brought-us-all-together-in-this-place-doing/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [ He is not poor who has the use of necessary things. \[Lat., Pauper enim non est cui rerum suppetet usus.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/he-is-not-poor-who-has-the-use-of-necessary-things-lat-pauper-enim/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [It is easier to compare concrete things in a fictional story with concrete things in real life than it is to compare abstractions with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/it-is-easier-to-compare-concrete-things-in-a-fictional-story-with/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [The first state an actor experiences onstage is the one he just experienced in life. One needs great courage not to portray this experience.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-vakhtangov/the-first-state-an-actor-experiences-onstage-is-the-one-he-just/) [Yevgeny Vakhtangov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-vakhtangov/) > [“...something can be a good thing and yet not a necessary thing. It is good for people to be expert at brain surgery. 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Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Explore all 774 Toni Morrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## More Affront quotes > [Self-ruled Taiwan cannot be expected to accept such an affront to the legitimacy of its government and the self-determination of the Taiwanese people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-akin/self-ruled-taiwan-cannot-be-expected-to-accept-such-an-affront-to-the/) [Todd Akin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-akin/) > [Old, that's an affront no woman can well bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/old-that-s-an-affront-no-woman-can-well-bear/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [A government run by billionaires for billionaires is an affront to freedom and morality and humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/a-government-run-by-billionaires-for-billionaires-is-an-affront-to/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [I'm achingly aware of my own limitations as both part of the human race and as an individual. I'm just, casting this out that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/i-m-achingly-aware-of-my-own-limitations-as-both-part-of-the-human/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [Despite my best efforts, I'm not quite perfect. Let's just say I'm like one of those Hopi blankets where they leave a tiny flaw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-lancaster/despite-my-best-efforts-i-m-not-quite-perfect-let-s-just-say-i-m-like/) [Jen Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-lancaster/) > [Torture anywhere is an affront to human dignity everywhere... I call on all governments to join with the United States and the community of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/torture-anywhere-is-an-affront-to-human-dignity-everywhere-i-call-on/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Black people in America have to, for their own protection, develop a defense mechanism, and I just grew terribly tired of it. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-first-and-last-lesson-of-religion-is-the-things-that-are-seen-are/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“Usitukane kamwe. Pigana itakapobidi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/usitukane-kamwe-pigana-itakapobidi/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [“Any path is only a path, and there is no affront, to oneself or to others, in dropping it if that is what your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/any-path-is-only-a-path-and-there-is-no-affront-to-oneself-or-to/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“It is an affront to our present, and it is a bad prescription for our future. History cannot be changed. It cannot be moved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-landrieu/it-is-an-affront-to-our-present-and-it-is-a-bad-prescription-for-our/) [Mitch Landrieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-landrieu/) > [A great mind will neither give an affront nor bear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-home-lord-kames/a-great-mind-will-neither-give-an-affront-nor-bear-it/) [Henry Home, Lord Kames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-home-lord-kames/) [Browse all 106 Affront quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affront/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...a habit that had become one of those necessary things for the night... surely a body-friendly if not familiar-lying next to you. Someone whose touch is a reassurance, not an affront or a nuissance. 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