QuoteProject
He, who had done more than any human being to draw her out of the caves of her secret, folded life, now threw her down into deeper recesses of fear and doubt. The fall was greater than she had ever known, because she had ventured so far into emotion and had abandoned herself to it.
Anais Nin
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects the complexity of deep emotional connections and the pain that can accompany them.

Anais Nin's quote illustrates the paradox of deep emotional intimacy; while one person may help another explore their inner self, this very vulnerability can lead to greater fear and doubt when trust is betrayed or when the relationship falters. The deeper the emotional connection, the more profound the potential hurt, highlighting the risks involved in allowing oneself to become exposed and reliant on another.

Themes

EmotionFearIntimacyTrustVulnerabilityRelationships

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion about emotional vulnerability in relationships, this quote can be used to illustrate the risks involved.

More from Anais Nin

The poet is one who is able to keep the fresh vision of the child alive.
Anais NinRead
Anxiety is love's greatest killer, because it is like the stranglehold of the drowning.
Anais NinRead
We celebrate peace. Yet we pay no attention to the ways of curing aggression in human beings. And when one sees in psychoanalysis hostility disappearing as people conquer their fears, one wonders if the cure is not there.
Anais NinRead
The impetus to grow and live intensely is so powerful in me I cannot resist it. I will work, I will love my husband, but I will fulfill myself.
Anais NinRead
We have been poisoned by fairy tales.
Anais NinRead
But I lie. I embellish. My words are not deep enough. They disguise, they conceal. I will not rest until I have told of my descent into a sensuality which was as dark, as magnificent, as wild, as my moments of mystic creation have been dazzling, ecstatic, exalted.
Anais NinRead

Similar quotes

The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces. They force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder.
Jim MorrisonRead
So what’s wrong if there happens to be one guy in the world who enjoys trying to understand you?
Haruki MurakamiRead
It is explained that all relationships require a little give and take. This is untrue. Any partnership demands that we give and give and give and at the last, as we flop into our graves exhausted, we are told that we didn't give enough.
Quentin CrispRead
Part of life is a quest to find that one essential person who will understand our story. But we choose wrongly so often. Over the ensuing years that person we thought understood us best ends up regarding us with pity, indifference, or active dislike. Those who truly care can be divided into two categories: those who understand us, and those who forgive our worst sins. Rarely do we find someone capable of both.
Jonathan CarrollRead
When you're growing up, your dad is your superhero. Once you've let yourself fall that in love with someone, once you put him on such a high pedestal and he lets you down, you never want to experience that pain again.
Jay-ZRead
A lot of it was really, really fun, but at some point, things started getting weird. We didn't allow each other to breathe. We didn't really have a sense of ourselves individually. We were very insecure... We were really threatened by the thought of 'Oh my God, what if someone goes off and does something outside the band?'
Charlotte CaffeyRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Anais Nin | QuoteProject