---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All extremes of feeling are allied to…"
description: "\"All extremes of feeling are allied to madness.\" — Virginia Woolf"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/virginia-woolf-49_extremes_all-extremes-of-feeling-are-allied-to-ma_2670215.jpg"
---

#  All extremes of feeling are allied to madness.

![“All extremes of feeling are allied to madness.” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/virginia-woolf-49_extremes_all-extremes-of-feeling-are-allied-to-ma_2670215.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/virginia-woolf-49_extremes_all-extremes-of-feeling-are-allied-to-ma_2670215.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/virginia-woolf-49_extremes_all-extremes-of-feeling-are-allied-to-ma_2670215.jpg)

> “All extremes of feeling are allied to madness.”

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Extreme emotions are linked to madness, suggesting that intense feelings can destabilize mental health.

**In simple terms:** Strong feelings can lead to madness.

Key Takeaway

Moderate emotional intensity.

Themes

emotion madness mental health

Mood

introspective cautious

Type

psychological literary

When to use this quote

- therapy
- artistic expression
- stress management

Key Concepts

psychology extremes well‑being

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance intensity and stability?
- What outlets help you process strong feelings?

A Different Perspective

Extreme emotions can also fuel creativity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Allied Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allied-madness-2497090/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Extremes Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes-feeling-2497089/) [Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) [Feeling Allied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-allied-2497091/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/)

## Related quotes

> [All extremes of feeling are allied with madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/all-extremes-of-feeling-are-allied-with-madness/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“None of them seem as crazy obsessive about everything as I am. It's strange 'cause I had the same feeling in high school that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-sheff/none-of-them-seem-as-crazy-obsessive-about-everything-as-i-am-it-s/)

[Nic Sheff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-sheff/)

> [“Sometimes, as now, her heart twisted and broke under his determination to wound her. At others, she was almost convinced that she felt nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-hazzard/sometimes-as-now-her-heart-twisted-and-broke-under-his-determination/)

[Shirley Hazzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-hazzard/)

> [If woman had no existence save in the fiction written by men, one would imagine her a person of utmost importance; very various; heroic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/if-woman-had-no-existence-save-in-the-fiction-written-by-men-one/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“All extremes are dangerous. It is best to keep in the middle of the road, in the common ruts, however muddy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/all-extremes-are-dangerous-it-is-best-to-keep-in-the-middle-of-the/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [Madness is terrific I can assure you, and not to be sniffed at; and in its lava I still find most of the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/madness-is-terrific-i-can-assure-you-and-not-to-be-sniffed-at-and-in/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“I was fighting with Thoby on the lawn. We were pommelling each other with our fists. Just as I raised my fist to hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-was-fighting-with-thoby-on-the-lawn-we-were-pommelling-each-other/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [Playing for complications is an extreme measure that a player should adopt only when he cannot find a clear and logical plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-alekhine/playing-for-complications-is-an-extreme-measure-that-a-player-should/)

[Alexander Alekhine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-alekhine/)

> [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/it-s-fine-to-talk-about-politics-with-people-you-agree-with-but-it-is/)

[Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/)

> [One should try to locate power at the extreme of its exercise, where it is always less legal in character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/one-should-try-to-locate-power-at-the-extreme-of-its-exercise-where/)

[Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/)

> [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/)

[Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/)

> [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/)

[Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/)

## More by Virginia Woolf

> [Fatigue is the safest sleeping draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fatigue-is-the-safest-sleeping-draught/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“The train slows and lengthens, as we approach London, the centre, and my heart draws out too, in fear, in exaltation. I am about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-train-slows-and-lengthens-as-we-approach-london-the-centre-and-my/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. On one side all is correct, definite, orderly; the paths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/across-the-broad-continent-of-a-woman-s-life-falls-the-shadow-of-a/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“Other worshipful objects were content with worship; men, women, God, all let one kneel prostrate; but this form, were it only the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/other-worshipful-objects-were-content-with-worship-men-women-god-all/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“Sometimes he woke with a brain like lead; at others it was as if a thousand wax tapers were alight and people were throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/sometimes-he-woke-with-a-brain-like-lead-at-others-it-was-as-if-a/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [A veil of insanity everywhere: Oh why I was born in this age? It is a terrible age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-veil-of-insanity-everywhere-oh-why-i-was-born-in-this-age-it-is-a/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [Love ought to stop on both sides, don’t you think, simultaneously?’ He spoke without any stress on the words, so as not to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/love-ought-to-stop-on-both-sides-don-t-you-think-simultaneously-he/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“It is so vast an alleviation to be able to point for another to look at. And then not to talk. To follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-is-so-vast-an-alleviation-to-be-able-to-point-for-another-to-look/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here &amp; read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“what a luxury to be alone once more,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-luxury-to-be-alone-once-more/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“...a woman writing thinks back through her mothers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-woman-writing-thinks-back-through-her-mothers/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“For one's children so often gave one's own perceptions a little thrust forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-one-s-children-so-often-gave-one-s-own-perceptions-a-little/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

[Explore all 1,872 Virginia Woolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

## More Extremes quotes

> [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/)

[Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/)

> [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/)

[Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/)

> [One should try to locate power at the extreme of its exercise, where it is always less legal in character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/one-should-try-to-locate-power-at-the-extreme-of-its-exercise-where/)

[Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/)

> [It's fine to talk about politics with people you agree with. But it is rude to argue about politics with people you disagree with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-lessig/it-s-fine-to-talk-about-politics-with-people-you-agree-with-but-it-is/)

[Lawrence Lessig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-lessig/)

> [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [Playing for complications is an extreme measure that a player should adopt only when he cannot find a clear and logical plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-alekhine/playing-for-complications-is-an-extreme-measure-that-a-player-should/)

[Alexander Alekhine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-alekhine/)

> [I strongly reject any conceptual scheme that places our options on a line, and holds that the only alternative to a pair of extreme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/i-strongly-reject-any-conceptual-scheme-that-places-our-options-on-a/)

[Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/)

> [My childhood was extreme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/my-childhood-was-extreme/)

[Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/)

> [I like to push characters to extremes so they have to make really tough decisions and there is no life more extreme than that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cleave/i-like-to-push-characters-to-extremes-so-they-have-to-make-really/)

[Chris Cleave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cleave/)

> [An excessive preponderance of an idealistic mood is harmful to society: it creates daydreaming, political Don Quixotism, hope for heavenly intervention. This is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/an-excessive-preponderance-of-an-idealistic-mood-is-harmful-to/)

[Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/)

> [I think that for thousands of years people have made the observation that there are certain kinds of extreme depressive states that seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-think-that-for-thousands-of-years-people-have-made-the-observation/)

[Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/)

> [I find that Americans are all in the middle somewhere, except for the extreme nuts, and extreme nuts on both sides are the loudest.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/i-find-that-americans-are-all-in-the-middle-somewhere-except-for-the/)

[Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/)

> [I have what I call an iron prescription that helps me keep sane when I naturally drift toward preferring one ideology over another and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-have-what-i-call-an-iron-prescription-that-helps-me-keep-sane-when/)

[Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/)

> [I think the only real referent for anybody writing drama is probably Hamlet. You have the most extreme tragic drama, this sort of blood-boltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-think-the-only-real-referent-for-anybody-writing-drama-is-probably/)

[William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/)

[Browse all 1,963 Extremes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "All extremes of feeling are allied to madness.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Virginia Woolf"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/all-extremes-of-feeling-are-allied-to-madness/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Extremes"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/all-extremes-of-feeling-are-allied-to-madness/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/virginia-woolf-49_extremes_all-extremes-of-feeling-are-allied-to-ma_2670215.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/virginia-woolf-49_extremes_all-extremes-of-feeling-are-allied-to-ma_2670215.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/virginia-woolf-49_extremes_all-extremes-of-feeling-are-allied-to-ma_2670215.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“All extremes of feeling are allied to madness.” — Virginia Woolf",
                "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": "Virginia Woolf",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "All extremes of feeling are allied...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/all-extremes-of-feeling-are-allied-to-madness/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/all-extremes-of-feeling-are-allied-to-madness/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
