--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The terrible shock of his sentence had in…" description: "\"“The terrible shock of his sentence had in some way broken that wall which separates us from the mystery of things beyond and which we call life.”\" — V..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/victor-hugo-32_broken_the-terrible-shock-of-his-sentence-had-i_2588608.jpg" --- # The terrible shock of his sentence had in some way broken… ![“The terrible shock of his sentence had in some way broken that wall which separates us from the mystery of things beyond and which we call life.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/victor-hugo-32_broken_the-terrible-shock-of-his-sentence-had-i_2588608.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/victor-hugo-32_broken_the-terrible-shock-of-his-sentence-had-i_2588608.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/victor-hugo-32_broken_the-terrible-shock-of-his-sentence-had-i_2588608.jpg) > ““The terrible shock of his sentence had in some way broken that wall which separates us from the mystery of things beyond and which we call life.”” [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A shocking sentence breaks the barrier between ordinary life and deeper mysteries we call existence. **In simple terms:** Unexpected events reveal life's hidden depths. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond the obvious. Themes existence mystery shock Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal crises - artistic inspiration - spiritual awakening Key Concepts philosophy literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - What walls have you broken? - Do shocks shape your worldview? A Different Perspective May overemphasize drama as a path to insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) [Broken Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken-wall-1840330/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Sentence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentence/) [Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shock/) [Shock Sentence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shock-sentence-1840329/) [Terrible Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-shock-1840331/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [To become acquainted with oneself is a terrible shock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/to-become-acquainted-with-oneself-is-a-terrible-shock/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I ruled the world with these hands, I shook the Heavens to the ground I laid the gods to rest I held the key…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-veil-brides/i-ruled-the-world-with-these-hands-i-shook-the-heavens-to-the-ground/) [Black Veil Brides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-veil-brides/) > [“What astonished me greatly was, that though he believed that he was under sentence of death, he made no effort to avail himself of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/what-astonished-me-greatly-was-that-though-he-believed-that-he-was/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [We are all under sentence of death, but with a sort of indefinite reprieve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/we-are-all-under-sentence-of-death-but-with-a-sort-of-indefinite/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“As for the bishop, the sight of the guillotine was a great shock to him, from which he recovered only slowly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/as-for-the-bishop-the-sight-of-the-guillotine-was-a-great-shock-to/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [If our education had included training to bear unpleasantness and to let the first shock pass until we could think more calmly, many an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-weekes/if-our-education-had-included-training-to-bear-unpleasantness-and-to/) [Claire Weekes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-weekes/) > [“Looks sure can be deceiving: not every ‘ugly’ person is a ‘bad’ person (or is guilty of whatever it is that they are accused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/looks-sure-can-be-deceiving-not-every-ugly-person-is-a-bad-person-or/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Soon enough my mind hooked onto the missing guitars and the locked door and the hole filled up with clues and suspects and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gran/soon-enough-my-mind-hooked-onto-the-missing-guitars-and-the-locked/) [Sara Gran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gran/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [A sentence can offer a moment of quiet, it can crackle with energy or it can just lie there, listless and uninteresting. 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It has been happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-still-a-certain-grace-in-a-dead-festival-it-has-been-happy/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [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/) > [“First I loved women, then animals, and now I love stones. They're just as amusing as women and animals and they're much less trecherous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/first-i-loved-women-then-animals-and-now-i-love-stones-they-re-just/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. 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She did not know whether it was good or evil, beneficent or dangerous, necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/loving-in-ignorance-she-loved-with-all-the-more-passion-she-did-not/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/laughter-is-the-sun-that-drives-winter-from-the-human-face/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Our joys have shadows. The perfect smile belongs to God alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/our-joys-have-shadows-the-perfect-smile-belongs-to-god-alone/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When those we love are in question, our prudence invents every sort of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/when-those-we-love-are-in-question-our-prudence-invents-every-sort-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is a fault; so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/love-is-a-fault-so-be-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More Broken quotes > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. 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I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Marriage is a desperate thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-selden/marriage-is-a-desperate-thing/) [John Selden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-selden/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [There is no pain like the first time you get your heart broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ne-yo/there-is-no-pain-like-the-first-time-you-get-your-heart-broken/) [Ne-Yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ne-yo/) > [Broken china lasts longer than unbroken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/broken-china-lasts-longer-than-unbroken/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [My life was incoherent to me. I felt it quivering, spitting out broken teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/my-life-was-incoherent-to-me-i-felt-it-quivering-spitting-out-broken/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [Don't fix what's not broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-atkins/don-t-fix-what-s-not-broken/) [Robert Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-atkins/) > [“ving self and others is an every second of every day of every week, of every month, of every year gift that should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/ving-self-and-others-is-an-every-second-of-every-day-of-every-week-of/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Rome, believe me, my friend, is like its own Monte Testaceo, Merelya marvellous mass of broken and castaway wine-pots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hugh-clough/rome-believe-me-my-friend-is-like-its-own-monte-testaceo-merelya/) [Arthur Hugh Clough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hugh-clough/) > [Its funny how someone breaks your heart but you still love them with all those broken pieces..!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-funny-how-someone-breaks-your-heart-but-you-still-love-them-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we don't get what we want, there's a legitimate grieving, and then the spiritual journey truly begins, because not getting what we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/when-we-don-t-get-what-we-want-there-s-a-legitimate-grieving-and-then/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) [Browse all 5,851 Broken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The terrible shock of his sentence had in some way broken that wall which separates us from the mystery of things beyond and which we call life.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Victor Hugo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-terrible-shock-of-his-sentence-had-in-some-way-broken-that-wall/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Broken" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-terrible-shock-of-his-sentence-had-in-some-way-broken-that-wall/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/victor-hugo-32_broken_the-terrible-shock-of-his-sentence-had-i_2588608.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/victor-hugo-32_broken_the-terrible-shock-of-his-sentence-had-i_2588608.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/955/victor-hugo-32_broken_the-terrible-shock-of-his-sentence-had-i_2588608.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The terrible shock of his sentence had in some way broken that wall which separates us from the mystery of…” — Victor Hugo", "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": "Victor Hugo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The terrible shock of his sentence...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-terrible-shock-of-his-sentence-had-in-some-way-broken-that-wall/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-terrible-shock-of-his-sentence-had-in-some-way-broken-that-wall/#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 } } ] } ```