--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...You know that my spells come from God…" description: "\"“...You know that my spells come from God, and that I would not harm any living creature. You believe that everyone should worship God in the way revea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/willa-cather-634_asylum_you-know-that-my-spells-come-from-god-an_1502712.png" --- # ...You know that my spells come from God, and that I would… ![“...You know that my spells come from God, and that I would not harm any living creature. You believe that everyone should worship God in the way revealed to him. But that is not the way of this country. The way here is for all to do alike. I am despised because I do not wear shoes, because I do…” quote by Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/willa-cather-634_asylum_you-know-that-my-spells-come-from-god-an_1502712.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/willa-cather-634_asylum_you-know-that-my-spells-come-from-god-an_1502712.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67c/willa-cather-634_asylum_you-know-that-my-spells-come-from-god-an_1502712.png) > ““...You know that my spells come from God, and that I would not harm any living creature. You believe that everyone should worship God in the way revealed to him. But that is not the way of this country. The way here is for all to do alike. I am despised because I do not wear shoes, because I do not cut my hair, and because I have visions. At home, in the old country, there were many like me, who had been touched by God, or who had seen things in the graveyard at night and were different afterward. We thought nothing of it, and let them alone. But here, if a man is different in his feet or in his head, they put him in the asylum. . . . That is the way; they have built the asylum for people who are different, and they will not even let us live in the holes with the badgers.”” [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A marginalized individual describes how society forces conformity, punishing those who differ in belief, appearance, or visions, and uses institutions like asylums to suppress uniqueness. **In simple terms:** Society forces conformity and punishes difference. Key Takeaway Respect and protect individuality. Themes conformity persecution identity marginalization religion Mood defiant somber reflective Type narrative social commentary When to use this quote - immigrant experience - religious minorities - mental health advocacy - cultural clash Key Concepts social control othering institutional oppression Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance social cohesion with individual freedom? - What role should institutions play in protecting the different? A Different Perspective Not all societies label difference as illness; some celebrate diversity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alike Despised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alike-despised-5513225/) [Asylum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylum/) [Built Asylum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/built-asylum-2642259/) [Despised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despised/) [God Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-harm-5513224/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Old Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-country/) [Worship god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship-god/) ## Related quotes > [Old age realizes the dreams of youth: look at Dean Swift; in his youth he built an asylum for the insane, in his old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/old-age-realizes-the-dreams-of-youth-look-at-dean-swift-in-his-youth/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“Your wife,” said Arthur, looking around, “mentioned some toothpicks.” He said it with a hunted look, as if he was worried that she might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/your-wife-said-arthur-looking-around-mentioned-some-toothpicks-he/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“All across Italy, as Parasecoli tells me, food is used to identify who is Italian and who is not. But dig a little deeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bittman/all-across-italy-as-parasecoli-tells-me-food-is-used-to-identify-who/) [Mark Bittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bittman/) > [I've been a fan of old country music, like Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline. I think I'm drawn to it because of the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-ve-been-a-fan-of-old-country-music-like-willie-nelson-patsy-cline-i/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [Other days, other ways; and, although they have now been greatly improved upon, the old country midwives did at least succeed in bringing into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flora-thompson/other-days-other-ways-and-although-they-have-now-been-greatly/) [Flora Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flora-thompson/) > [“The German deli was run by a distant cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm and the Great Neck Jews loved the place; they flocked to Kuch's.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/the-german-deli-was-run-by-a-distant-cousin-of-kaiser-wilhelm-and-the/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [The world changes fast, and a lot of the old country folks have a hard time keeping up with it, and it makes them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/the-world-changes-fast-and-a-lot-of-the-old-country-folks-have-a-hard/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [“Meanwhile direct your attention to the three gentlemen at the door: they are conversing. 1st Gent. — Who’s the man of the house —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/meanwhile-direct-your-attention-to-the-three-gentlemen-at-the-door/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There is here, what is not in the old country. In spite of hard, unfamiliar things, there is here - hope. In the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/there-is-here-what-is-not-in-the-old-country-in-spite-of-hard/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“many of us, as immigrants—or our parents or our grandparents—had chosen to leave our pasts behind just as the Goldens were now choosing, encouraging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/many-of-us-as-immigrants-or-our-parents-or-our-grandparents-had/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [There is no Thanksgiving back in the old country where I come from. You know why? Because being thankful is a sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/there-is-no-thanksgiving-back-in-the-old-country-where-i-come-from/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [“She had that emigrant’s sadness—she would never go back to her old country—it was gone in more senses than one—but she was forever gazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/she-had-that-emigrant-s-sadness-she-would-never-go-back-to-her-old/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I see Americans of every party, every background, every faith who believe that we are stronger together: black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; young,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-see-americans-of-every-party-every-background-every-faith-who/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Here, he felt like a stranger in a strange- and extremely seductive- land. In contrast to the places of his past, Bella Vista seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/here-he-felt-like-a-stranger-in-a-strange-and-extremely-seductive/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [“Why do these big old country houses always have family portraits in the dining room? Do you really want to eat with someone's gloomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jane-howard/why-do-these-big-old-country-houses-always-have-family-portraits-in/) [Elizabeth Jane Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jane-howard/) ## More by Willa Cather > [The end is nothing; the road is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-end-is-nothing-the-road-is-all/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Success is less interesting than struggle. There is great pleasure in the effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/success-is-less-interesting-than-struggle-there-is-great-pleasure-in/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“I only knew the schoolbooks said he "died in the wilderness, of a broken heart." "More than him has done that," said Antonia sadly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/i-only-knew-the-schoolbooks-said-he-died-in-the-wilderness-of-a/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Have the last word ma'm," he said cheerfully. "It's a lady's privilege.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/have-the-last-word-ma-m-he-said-cheerfully-it-s-a-lady-s-privilege/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > ["More than him has done that," said Antonia sadly, and the girls murmured assent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/more-than-him-has-done-that-said-antonia-sadly-and-the-girls-murmured/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Nothing mattered ... but writing books, and living the kind of life that made it possible to write them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/nothing-mattered-but-writing-books-and-living-the-kind-of-life-that/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Money and office and success are the consolations of impotence. Fortune turns kind to such solid people and lets them suck their bone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/money-and-office-and-success-are-the-consolations-of-impotence/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [But she still had that something which fires the imagination, could still stop one's breath for a moment by a look or gesture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/but-she-still-had-that-something-which-fires-the-imagination-could/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“You remember how homesick I used to get, and what long talks we used to have coming from school? We've someway always felt alike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/you-remember-how-homesick-i-used-to-get-and-what-long-talks-we-used/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“He placed this book in my grandmother's hands, looked at her entreatingly, and said, with an earnestness which I shall never forget, "Te-e-ach, te-e-ach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/he-placed-this-book-in-my-grandmother-s-hands-looked-at-her/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [The sincerity of feeling that is possible between a writer and a reader is one of the finest things I know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-sincerity-of-feeling-that-is-possible-between-a-writer-and-a/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Our tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/our-tree-became-the-talking-tree-of-the-fairy-tale-legends-and/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Isn’t it queer: there are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/isn-t-it-queer-there-are-only-two-or-three-human-stories-and-they-go/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) [Explore all 434 Willa Cather quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) ## More Asylum quotes > [Any country that grants asylum to Snowden risks retaliation from the United States, including diplomatic isolation and costly trade sanctions. Several don't seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/any-country-that-grants-asylum-to-snowden-risks-retaliation-from-the/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Sometimes I think they should set up an asylum for people like that... a whole slew of paparazzi defending their positions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-think-they-should-set-up-an-asylum-for-people-like-that-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“congress - that great, benevolent asylum for the helpless”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/congress-that-great-benevolent-asylum-for-the-helpless/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I would not invest in a Trump hate wall. We don't need to be protected from immigrants that are coming here seeking asylum and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayanna-pressley/i-would-not-invest-in-a-trump-hate-wall-we-don-t-need-to-be-protected/) [Ayanna Pressley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayanna-pressley/) > [This is called 'the land of the free and the home of the brave'; it is called the 'asylum of the oppressed,' and some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wells-brown/this-is-called-the-land-of-the-free-and-the-home-of-the-brave-it-is/) [William Wells Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wells-brown/) > [The lunatics have taken over the asylum and we can do anything we want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-lunatics-have-taken-over-the-asylum-and-we-can-do-anything-we-want/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Individuals whose asylum claims have been accepted have gone on to become professors, soldiers in our military, artists, and more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pramila-jayapal/individuals-whose-asylum-claims-have-been-accepted-have-gone-on-to/) [Pramila Jayapal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pramila-jayapal/) > [I shouldn't make movies anymore. I should go to a lunatic asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-shouldn-t-make-movies-anymore-i-should-go-to-a-lunatic-asylum/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [South Carolina is too small for a republic and too large for an insane asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-l-petigru/south-carolina-is-too-small-for-a-republic-and-too-large-for-an/) [James L. Petigru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-petigru/) > [I had, toward the last, been shut off from all visitors, and so when the lawyer, Peter A. Hendricks, came and told me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-bly/i-had-toward-the-last-been-shut-off-from-all-visitors-and-so-when-the/) [Nellie Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-bly/) > [“I was in a mental asylum? When the fuck did that happen?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/i-was-in-a-mental-asylum-when-the-fuck-did-that-happen/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [The United States should be an asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-united-states-should-be-an-asylum-for-the-persecuted-lovers-of/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“Asylum. The word always made me smile. Such a pretty name for a hellhole.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-estep/asylum-the-word-always-made-me-smile-such-a-pretty-name-for-a-hellhole/) [jennifer estep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-estep/) > [“Insane asylums are deliberate and premeditated receptacles of black magic, and it is not only that doctors encourage magic with their untimely and hybrid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/insane-asylums-are-deliberate-and-premeditated-receptacles-of-black/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [Instead of turning loose these bogus asylum applicants onto the American streets never to be seen again, let's put them into mobile homes. Let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kobach/instead-of-turning-loose-these-bogus-asylum-applicants-onto-the/) [Kris Kobach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kobach/) [Browse all 166 Asylum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asylum/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...You know that my spells come from God, and that I would not harm any living creature. You believe that everyone should worship God in the way revealed to him. But that is not the way of this country. The way here is for all to do alike. I am despised because I do not wear shoes, because I do not cut my hair, and because I have visions. At home, in the old country, there were many like me, who had been touched by God, or who had seen things in the graveyard at night and were different afterward. We thought nothing of it, and let them alone. But here, if a man is different in his feet or in his head, they put him in the asylum. . . . 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