--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The longing for a man, as you know, is a…" description: "\"“The longing for a man, as you know, is a grand escape. It can arch your mental process to extremes so that, like a gymnast or a ballerina, you’re cont..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/vicki-covington-29699_desire_the-longing-for-a-man-as-you-know-is-a-g_1744074.jpg" --- # The longing for a man, as you know, is a grand escape. It… ![“The longing for a man, as you know, is a grand escape. It can arch your mental process to extremes so that, like a gymnast or a ballerina, you’re contorted to such outrageous limits – I’m speaking of passion – that nothing else matters. I wanted this. I desired diversion.” quote by Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/vicki-covington-29699_desire_the-longing-for-a-man-as-you-know-is-a-g_1744074.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/vicki-covington-29699_desire_the-longing-for-a-man-as-you-know-is-a-g_1744074.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4d/vicki-covington-29699_desire_the-longing-for-a-man-as-you-know-is-a-g_1744074.jpg) > ““The longing for a man, as you know, is a grand escape. It can arch your mental process to extremes so that, like a gymnast or a ballerina, you’re contorted to such outrageous limits – I’m speaking of passion – that nothing else matters. I wanted this. I desired diversion.”” [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Passion can dominate thoughts, turning desire into an all‑consuming escape that distorts rational thinking. **In simple terms:** Passion can become an obsessive escape. Key Takeaway Recognize when desire eclipses reason. Themes passion escape identity self‑control Mood intense conflicted Type reflective cautionary When to use this quote - relationship turmoil - creative burnout - personal crisis - addictive behavior Key Concepts psychology obsession self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to seek escape through desire? - How can you balance passion with rationality? A Different Perspective Passion may blind judgment and harm relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Diversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diversion/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) ## Related quotes > [“In her book For Women Only, Shaunti Feldhahn revealed the results of a professional survey of men that asked this question: With regard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/in-her-book-for-women-only-shaunti-feldhahn-revealed-the-results-of-a/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [“I wanted every sensation you experienced— every spark of pleasure, every hint of pain— to come from me. I wanted to fuck you until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kenner/i-wanted-every-sensation-you-experienced-every-spark-of-pleasure/) [J. Kenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kenner/) > [“I knew what I possessed was exactly what I wanted, that I desired no more than what I had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/i-knew-what-i-possessed-was-exactly-what-i-wanted-that-i-desired-no/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) > [The longing for Paradise is man's longing not to be man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-longing-for-paradise-is-man-s-longing-not-to-be-man/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Alas! there comes the time when man will no longer launch the arrow of his longing beyond man…. Lo! I show you the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-s-de-ropp/alas-there-comes-the-time-when-man-will-no-longer-launch-the-arrow-of/) [Robert S. de Ropp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-s-de-ropp/) > [“Now we are longtime outcasts, flying through the emptiness of time in a straight line. Yet somewhere deep down a thin thread still ties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/now-we-are-longtime-outcasts-flying-through-the-emptiness-of-time-in/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [As long as humans have existed, we have always desired to live longer. Every society, every religion, every culture. Of course, they all failed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/as-long-as-humans-have-existed-we-have-always-desired-to-live-longer/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [I found that what I had desired all my life was not to live - if what others are doing is called living -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/i-found-that-what-i-had-desired-all-my-life-was-not-to-live-if-what/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Friendship is a relationship that is given to few, but desired by all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friendship-is-a-relationship-that-is-given-to-few-but-desired-by-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What must that be like? To be admired before you’ve even said a word, to be desired two or three hundred times a day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/what-must-that-be-like-to-be-admired-before-you-ve-even-said-a-word/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [I'm sorry, I guess my company leaves a lot to be desired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/i-m-sorry-i-guess-my-company-leaves-a-lot-to-be-desired/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [The US wished things to turn out as they did, and worked to bring this about. The department of state desired that the UN…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/the-us-wished-things-to-turn-out-as-they-did-and-worked-to-bring-this/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [“When a long-desired baby is born, what joy! More happiness than we find in sex, more than we take in success, revenge, or wealth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-hall/when-a-long-desired-baby-is-born-what-joy-more-happiness-than-we-find/) [Donald Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-hall/) > [I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. I have the vocation of the Apostle. Martyrdom was the dream of my youth, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/therese-of-lisieux/i-feel-in-me-the-vocation-of-the-priest-i-have-the-vocation-of-the/) [Therese of Lisieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/therese-of-lisieux/) > [Peace, above all things, is to be desired, but blood must sometimes be spilled to obtain it on equable and lasting terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/peace-above-all-things-is-to-be-desired-but-blood-must-sometimes-be/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) ## More by Vicki Covington > [“I was that kind of tired you feel when you’ve spent a day in a hospital while a loved one undergoes surgery and comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/i-was-that-kind-of-tired-you-feel-when-you-ve-spent-a-day-in-a/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“The choice was whether to be sad and foolish or sad and reasonable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/the-choice-was-whether-to-be-sad-and-foolish-or-sad-and-reasonable/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“I’m serious, now let me know every time you see her cry. The thought brings me great joy. Hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/i-m-serious-now-let-me-know-every-time-you-see-her-cry-the-thought/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“If there’s one thing I learned in Alanon, it’s that you got to face the music because it just grows louder when you ignore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/if-there-s-one-thing-i-learned-in-alanon-it-s-that-you-got-to-face/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Old age breeds the miracle of recall. 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Don’t they always look like they just sat on a tack?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/i-ve-never-known-a-tranquil-atheist-don-t-they-always-look-like-they/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Dinah and I were raised to believe money taints ordinary people, obstructs virtue, and makes a fool out of you. So, the inheritance was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/dinah-and-i-were-raised-to-believe-money-taints-ordinary-people/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Mornings are fresh like babies, uncontaminated by events. I find them sad for that reason. They’re too fragile and naïve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/mornings-are-fresh-like-babies-uncontaminated-by-events-i-find-them/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“I allowed myself a microscopic view into his ice-colored eyes. 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It breaks her anxiety into tiny pieces of joy you want to gather up and hand back to her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/neva-ought-to-smile-more-it-breaks-her-anxiety-into-tiny-pieces-of/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“All the men I know add that “hands that prepared it” line. They must know it’s right complimentary, an incentive to keep the women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/all-the-men-i-know-add-that-hands-that-prepared-it-line-they-must/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) > [“Wasting talent is a sin. I’m not big on sin, but I know a sin when I see one staring me in the face.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-covington/wasting-talent-is-a-sin-i-m-not-big-on-sin-but-i-know-a-sin-when-i/) [Vicki Covington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) [Explore all 18 Vicki Covington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-covington/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The longing for a man, as you know, is a grand escape. It can arch your mental process to extremes so that, like a gymnast or a ballerina, you’re contorted to such outrageous limits – I’m speaking of passion – that nothing else matters. I wanted this. 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