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I wondered how many people there were in the world who suffered, and continued to suffer, because they could not break out from their own web of shyness and reserve, and in their blindness and folly built up a great distorted wall in front of them that hid the truth.
Daphne Du Maurier
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote speaks about the struggles of individuals who are held back by their shyness and emotional barriers, preventing them from connecting with others.

In this quote, Daphne Du Maurier reflects on the invisible barriers created by personal insecurities like shyness and reserve. She emphasizes how these self-imposed walls prevent individuals from experiencing authentic relationships and understanding the truth about themselves and the world around them, ultimately leading to ongoing suffering.

Themes

ShynessRelationshipsBarriersTruthSuffering

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used during a speech about overcoming personal challenges.

More from Daphne Du Maurier

...the routine of life goes on, whatever happens, we do the same things, go through the little performance of eating, sleeping, washing. No crisis can break through the crust of habit.
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here was a silence between them for a moment, and she wondered if all women, when in love, were torn between two impulses, a longing to throw modesty and reserve to the winds and confess everything, and an equal determination to conceal the love forever, to be cool, aloof, utterly detached, to die rather than admit a thing so personal, so intimate.
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She had to live in this bright, red gabled house with the nurse until it was time for her to die... I thought how little we know about the feelings of old people. Children we understand, their fears and hopes and make-believe.
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We are all ghosts of yesterday, and the phantom of tomorrow awaits us alike in sunshine or in shadow, dimly perceived at times, never entirely lost.
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How pleasant,' Dona said, peeling her fruit; 'the rest of us can only run away from time to time, and however much we pretend to be free, we know it is only for a little while - our hands and our feet are tied.
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A familiar name on its own, however, does not carry its bearer far unless the talent is there, and the will to work.
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