--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She loved nothing in the world except…" description: "\"“She loved nothing in the world except this woman's son, wanted him alive more than anybody, but hadn't the least bit of control over the predator that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/toni-morrison-271_love_she-loved-nothing-in-the-world-except-th_2732287.jpg" --- # She loved nothing in the world except this woman's son… ![“She loved nothing in the world except this woman's son, wanted him alive more than anybody, but hadn't the least bit of control over the predator that lived inside her. Totally taken over by her anaconda love, she had no self left, no fears, no wants, no intelligence that was her own [...] Ruth…” quote by Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/toni-morrison-271_love_she-loved-nothing-in-the-world-except-th_2732287.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/toni-morrison-271_love_she-loved-nothing-in-the-world-except-th_2732287.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/toni-morrison-271_love_she-loved-nothing-in-the-world-except-th_2732287.jpg) > ““She loved nothing in the world except this woman's son, wanted him alive more than anybody, but hadn't the least bit of control over the predator that lived inside her. Totally taken over by her anaconda love, she had no self left, no fears, no wants, no intelligence that was her own \[...\] Ruth heard the supplication in her words and it seemed to her that she was not looking at a person but at an impulse, a cell, a red corpuscle that neither knows nor understands why it is driven to spend its whole life in one pursuit: swimming up a dark tunnel toward the muscle of a heart or an eye's nerve end that it both nourished and fed from.”” [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. A mother’s love can become an all‑consuming obsession that erodes her identity and agency. **In simple terms:** Love can turn into a consuming obsession that erodes self. Key Takeaway Beware love that erases self. Themes love obsession identity parenthood Mood intense tragic Type literary psychological When to use this quote - parenting - relationships - mental health - addiction Key Concepts psychology self‑sacrifice maternal instinct Questions to Reflect On - How does love become self‑destructive? - When does devotion become loss of self? A Different Perspective Love may blind one to personal boundaries and self‑care. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark Tunnel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-tunnel/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“They found these men were not human. More like machines. An intra-species predator that lived amongst its prey. Undetected, unknown and unchangeable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-m-farrugia/they-found-these-men-were-not-human-more-like-machines-an-intra/) [Nathan M. Farrugia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-m-farrugia/) > [“Her heart pounded in her chest, making her feel like she’d just run a few miles carrying a hungry anaconda.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bishop/her-heart-pounded-in-her-chest-making-her-feel-like-she-d-just-run-a/) Jeremy Bishop > [“Oh please, Ray. When you wear sweatpants, everyone can see that anaconda.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santino-hassell/oh-please-ray-when-you-wear-sweatpants-everyone-can-see-that-anaconda/) [Santino Hassell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santino-hassell/) > [“Suzanne glanced over at her, eyebrow raised. “Is there an anaconda?” she asked, like it had suddenly occurred to her she could be totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-mccarthy/suzanne-glanced-over-at-her-eyebrow-raised-is-there-an-anaconda-she/) [Erin McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-mccarthy/) > [I squeeze like an anaconda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tito-ortiz/i-squeeze-like-an-anaconda/) [Tito Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tito-ortiz/) > [I've done movies for certain reasons; I did 'Anaconda' because the black man lives. Simple. The black man isn't dead in the first three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/i-ve-done-movies-for-certain-reasons-i-did-anaconda-because-the-black/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [The Psblurtex is an 18-inch long anaconda that hides in the gentlemen's outfitting departments of Amazonian stores and is often bought by mistake since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/the-psblurtex-is-an-18-inch-long-anaconda-that-hides-in-the-gentlemen/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [“I asked at my local cinema, if they were going to show Anna Karenina, they said no, but they had Anaconda.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-b-lockhart/i-asked-at-my-local-cinema-if-they-were-going-to-show-anna-karenina/) [Peter B. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-b-lockhart/) > [“Every Journey has it's own set of dark tunnels,diversions , exits and sources of lights. If we are not focussed enough, we will keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sail/every-journey-has-it-s-own-set-of-dark-tunnels-diversions-exits-and/) Sail > [I cant stand the girl in the mirror: Shes made so many stupid mistakes. Shes a failure. She cant seem to do anything right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-cant-stand-the-girl-in-the-mirror-shes-made-so-many-stupid-mistakes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We the people, so to speak, need to realize that if we can keep ourselves fed, we might get through this long dark tunnel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-jackson/we-the-people-so-to-speak-need-to-realize-that-if-we-can-keep/) [Wes Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-jackson/) > [The writing process is very much like being in a dark tunnel, and you don't really know what you will end up with until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-haines/the-writing-process-is-very-much-like-being-in-a-dark-tunnel-and-you/) [Emily Haines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-haines/) > [“Sylvie wishes the anti-depressants had been around when she was in her early twenties, not only to rescue her from the dark tunnels that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/sylvie-wishes-the-anti-depressants-had-been-around-when-she-was-in/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [For the first time all day I felt safe. Except that Patch had cornered me in a dark tunnel and was possibly stalking me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/for-the-first-time-all-day-i-felt-safe-except-that-patch-had-cornered/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [“Only the Lisbon house remained dark, a tunnel, an emptiness, past our smoke and flames.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/only-the-lisbon-house-remained-dark-a-tunnel-an-emptiness-past-our/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) ## More by Toni Morrison > [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-times-of-dread-artists-must-never-choose-to-remain-silent/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Not know it was hard;knowing it was harder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/not-know-it-was-hard-knowing-it-was-harder/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Didn’t everything on God’s earth have or acquire defense?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/didn-t-everything-on-god-s-earth-have-or-acquire-defense/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You looked at them and wondered why the were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-looked-at-them-and-wondered-why-the-were-so-ugly-you-looked/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [All she saw, down in the cellar well beneath the stoop, was a light yellow feather with a tip of green. And she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/all-she-saw-down-in-the-cellar-well-beneath-the-stoop-was-a-light/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [For me, Art is the restoration of order. It may discuss all sort of terrible things, but there must be satisfaction at the end.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/for-me-art-is-the-restoration-of-order-it-may-discuss-all-sort-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“To Sethe, the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/to-sethe-the-future-was-a-matter-of-keeping-the-past-at-bay/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Hate does that. Burns off everything but itself, so whatever your grievance is, your face looks just like your enemy's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/hate-does-that-burns-off-everything-but-itself-so-whatever-your/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You know how a star is supposed to twinkle? We say twinkle because that is how it looks, but when a star feels itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-know-how-a-star-is-supposed-to-twinkle-we-say-twinkle-because/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“There is no bad luck in the world but whitefolks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-is-no-bad-luck-in-the-world-but-whitefolks/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [My father saw two black men lynched on his street in Cartersville, as a child. And I think seeing two black businessmen - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/my-father-saw-two-black-men-lynched-on-his-street-in-cartersville-as/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. 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 Love quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [I love going to Columbia, Missouri. That is a really underrated campus. It shocked me when I went there because I really didn't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-herbstreit/i-love-going-to-columbia-missouri-that-is-a-really-underrated-campus/) [Kirk Herbstreit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-herbstreit/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/) [H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/) > [I fell in love with social work, and that was my undoing as a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rakosi/i-fell-in-love-with-social-work-and-that-was-my-undoing-as-a-poet/) [Carl Rakosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rakosi/) > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [“To be loved by a man, truly loved, made a woman feel as if she could burst. Of course, Lia was strong and could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-anne/to-be-loved-by-a-man-truly-loved-made-a-woman-feel-as-if-she-could/) [Melody Anne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-anne/) > [So when you take those tears, don't look to see I'm alright. …\*Seal - Violet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-nickel/so-when-you-take-those-tears-don-t-look-to-see-i-m-alright-seal-violet/) [Eric Nickel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-nickel/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. 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Totally taken over by her anaconda love, she had no self left, no fears, no wants, no intelligence that was her own [...] Ruth heard the supplication in her words and it seemed to her that she was not looking at a person but at an impulse, a cell, a red corpuscle that neither knows nor understands why it is driven to spend its whole life in one pursuit: swimming up a dark tunnel toward the muscle of a heart or an eye's nerve end that it both nourished and fed from.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Toni Morrison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-loved-nothing-in-the-world-except-this-woman-s-son-wanted-him/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Love" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-loved-nothing-in-the-world-except-this-woman-s-son-wanted-him/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/toni-morrison-271_love_she-loved-nothing-in-the-world-except-th_2732287.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/toni-morrison-271_love_she-loved-nothing-in-the-world-except-th_2732287.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/948/toni-morrison-271_love_she-loved-nothing-in-the-world-except-th_2732287.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She loved nothing in the world except this woman's son, wanted him alive more than anybody, but hadn't the…” — Toni Morrison", "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": "Toni Morrison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“She loved nothing in the world...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-loved-nothing-in-the-world-except-this-woman-s-son-wanted-him/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-loved-nothing-in-the-world-except-this-woman-s-son-wanted-him/#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 } } ] } ```