--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pausing on the threshold, he looked in…" description: "\"“Pausing on the threshold, he looked in, conscious not so much of the few familiar sticks of furniture - the trucklebed, the worn strip of Brussels car..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/walter-de-la-mare-9548_fear_pausing-on-the-threshold-he-looked-in-co_2542558.png" --- # Pausing on the threshold, he looked in, conscious not so… ![“Pausing on the threshold, he looked in, conscious not so much of the few familiar sticks of furniture - the trucklebed, the worn strip of Brussels carpet, the chipped blue-banded ewer and basin, the framed illuminated texts on the walls - as of a perfect hive of abhorrent memories. That high…” quote by Walter de la Mare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/walter-de-la-mare-9548_fear_pausing-on-the-threshold-he-looked-in-co_2542558.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/walter-de-la-mare-9548_fear_pausing-on-the-threshold-he-looked-in-co_2542558.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/walter-de-la-mare-9548_fear_pausing-on-the-threshold-he-looked-in-co_2542558.png) > ““Pausing on the threshold, he looked in, conscious not so much of the few familiar sticks of furniture - the trucklebed, the worn strip of Brussels carpet, the chipped blue-banded ewer and basin, the framed illuminated texts on the walls - as of a perfect hive of abhorrent memories. That high cupboard in the corner, from which certain bodiless shapes had been wont to issue and stoop at him cowering out of his dreams; the crab-patterned paper that came alive as you stared; the window cold with menacing stars; the mouseholes, the rusty grate - trumpet of every wind that blows - these objects at once lustily shouted at him in their own original tongues. ("Out Of The Deep")”” [Walter de la Mare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-de-la-mare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A narrator confronts a room where ordinary objects become vivid, terrifying symbols of past traumas, reflecting how memory can animate the mundane into haunting reminders. **In simple terms:** Memory makes everyday things feel threatening. Key Takeaway Recognize how past pain colors present perception. Themes memory trauma perception imagery fear Mood uneasy reflective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative writing - home décor changes - nighttime anxiety - museum curation Key Concepts psychology symbolism subjective reality Questions to Reflect On - How do personal memories alter your view of familiar places? - What objects in your life trigger strong recollections? A Different Perspective The vivid description may exaggerate emotional intensity beyond realistic experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) [Nightmares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmares/) ## Related quotes > [“I got to the threshold and looked up and figured I could not do it, but also knew the only way through was up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-got-to-the-threshold-and-looked-up-and-figured-i-could-not-do-it/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“They told me that Billy would never come back any more, and I stared out of the window at the sun which came back,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-grahame/they-told-me-that-billy-would-never-come-back-any-more-and-i-stared/) [Kenneth Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-grahame/) > [“For the next thirteen-plus hours, I stared out the window at the passing towns and countryside. All those lives. All those untold stories and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-klise/for-the-next-thirteen-plus-hours-i-stared-out-the-window-at-the/) [Kate Klise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-klise/) > [If it's us", she whispered, "how come you get to decide?" 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I stared hard, trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/i-stared-out-the-window-for-the-rest-of-the-journey-building-tree-car/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [“I barricaded myself and stared out the window, without seeing anything but my own unhappiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/i-barricaded-myself-and-stared-out-the-window-without-seeing-anything/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [I wrapped my arms around my knees and stared through the window's wavy glass. The red velvet curtains were drawn around the tiny alcove,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/i-wrapped-my-arms-around-my-knees-and-stared-through-the-window-s/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [“It was becoming a nightmare. Ronan could hear the night horrors coming, in love with his blood and his sadness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/it-was-becoming-a-nightmare-ronan-could-hear-the-night-horrors-coming/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [I wish I was sleeping having a nightmare.But,im not sleeping its the reeal thing.Everything I'm losing.It wont be the same the fear is eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/i-wish-i-was-sleeping-having-a-nightmare-but-im-not-sleeping-its-the/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [“One of the critical factors that make people’s dreams become nightmares is that they don’t know there is a cost to be paid!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/one-of-the-critical-factors-that-make-people-s-dreams-become/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) ## More by Walter de la Mare > [“In these days of faith-cures, and hypnotism, and telepathy, and subliminalities – why, the simple old world grows very confusing. But rarely, very rarely novel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-de-la-mare/in-these-days-of-faith-cures-and-hypnotism-and-telepathy-and/) [Walter de la Mare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-de-la-mare/) > [“When indeed you positively press your face, so to speak, against the crystalline window of your eyes, your mind is apt to become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-de-la-mare/when-indeed-you-positively-press-your-face-so-to-speak-against-the/) [Walter de la Mare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-de-la-mare/) > [What is the world, O soldiers? It is I, I, this incessant snow, This northern sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-de-la-mare/what-is-the-world-o-soldiers-it-is-i-i-this-incessant-snow-this/) [Walter de La Mare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-de-la-mare/) > [“Away There is no sorrow Time heals never; No loss, betrayal, Beyond repair. 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For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) Nagisa Tatsumi > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. 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That high cupboard in the corner, from which certain bodiless shapes had been wont to issue and stoop at him cowering out of his dreams; the crab-patterned paper that came alive as you stared; the window cold with menacing stars; the mouseholes, the rusty grate - trumpet of every wind that blows - these objects at once lustily shouted at him in their own original tongues. 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